everwho

everwho pronunciation

/EV-er-hoo/

Meaning

Means the same as whoever. Appalachian speakers flip the parts of the compound so ever comes first. You use it when you do not care which person did the thing, or when you are pointing at an unknown somebody. Same family as everwhat, everwhich, and everwhere.

How folks use it

• “Everwho left that gate open better come shut it.”
• “Everwho was here sure left in a hurry.”

Origin and etymology

Documented Southern Appalachian (and Ozark) reversed compounds in the Dictionary of American Regional English and in notes from southwestern Virginia as early as 1917. Linguist Michael Montgomery lists everwho with everwhat and everwhich as mountain speech. Exact why the flip caught on is uncertain. It is an American mountain pattern, not a Scotch-Irish import with a neat paper trail.

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