Even vs But - What's the difference?
even | but |
Flat and level.
Without great variation.
Equal in proportion, quantity, size etc.
(not comparable, of an integer) Divisible by two.
(of a number) Convenient for ing other numbers to; for example, ending in a zero.
* 1989 , , Other People's Money , Act I:
* 1998 , paperback edition, ISBN 0060930934, page 253 [http://books.google.com/books?id=28iYykbTIhwC&pg=PA253&dq=even]:
On equal monetary terms; neither owing or being owed.
(colloquial) On equal terms of a moral sort; quits.
parallel; on a level; reaching the same limit
* Bible, Luke xix. 44
(obsolete) Without an irregularity, flaw, or blemish; pure.
* Shakespeare
(obsolete) Associate; fellow; of the same condition.
* Wyclif (Matt.)
To make flat and level.
* Sir Walter Raleigh
* Evelyn
(obsolete) To equal.
* Fuller
(obsolete) To be equal.
(obsolete) To place in an equal state, as to obligation, or in a state in which nothing is due on either side; to balance, as accounts; to make quits.
(obsolete) To set right; to complete.
(obsolete) To act up to; to keep pace with.
Exactly, just, fully.
:
:
*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=1
, passage=He used to drop into my chambers once in a while to smoke, and was first-rate company. When I gave a dinner there was generally a cover laid for him. I liked the man for his own sake, and even had he promised to turn out a celebrity it would have had no weight with me.}}
*
*:Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers,. Even' such a boat as the ''Mount Vernon'' offered a total deck space so cramped as to leave secrecy or privacy well out of the question, ' even had the motley and democratic assemblage of passengers been disposed to accord either.
*{{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers), title=(A Cuckoo in the Nest)
, chapter=1 *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-29, volume=407, issue=8842, page=29, magazine=(The Economist)
, title=
:
(lb) Rather.
:
(archaic, or, poetic) Evening.
* 1526 , William Tyndale, trans. Bible , Matthew ch. 8:
(obsolete, outside, Scotland) Outside of.
Without, apart from, except.
Merely, only.
* 1791 , (Robert Burns), "(Ae Fond Kiss)":
* 1900 , , (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) :
* 1977 , (Alistair Horne), A Savage War of Peace , New York Review Books, 2006, p.49:
(Australian, conjunctive) Though, however.
Except (for), excluding. Preceded by a negation.
:
*{{quote-news, year=2011, date=October 23, author=Becky Ashton, work=BBC Sport
, title= On the contrary, but rather (introducing a word or clause that contrasts with or contradicts the preceding clause or sentence without the not ).
:
However, although, nevertheless (implies that the following clause is contrary to prior belief or contrasts with or contradicts the preceding clause or sentence).
:
:
*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-19, author=
, volume=189, issue=6, page=34, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title= *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-29, volume=407, issue=8842, page=55, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= Except that (introducing a subordinate clause which qualifies a negative statement); also, with omission of the subject of the subordinate clause, acting as a negative relative, "except one that", "except such that".
*, II.15:
*:There is no reason but hath another contrary unto it, saith the wisest party of Philosophers.
*Shakespeare
*:And but my noble Moor is true of mindit were enough to put him to ill thinking.
*1820 , (John Keats), ‘Lamia’, Lamia & Other Poems :
*:A deadly silence step by step increased, / Until it seem'd a horrid presence there, / And not a man but felt the terror in his hair.
:
Without it also being the case that; unless that (introducing a necessary concomitant).
:
(obsolete) Except with; unless with; without.
*Fuller
*:So insolent that he could not go but either spurning equals or trampling on his inferiors.
*Motto of the Mackintoshes
*:Touch not the cat but a glove.
(obsolete) Only; solely; merely.
*Milton
*:Observe but how their own principles combat one another.
*Bible, 2 Kings vii. 4
*:If they kill us, we shall but die.
*Dryden
*:a formidable man but to his friends
An instance or example of using the word "but".
(Scotland) The outer room of a small two-room cottage.
A limit; a boundary.
The end; especially the larger or thicker end, or the blunt, in distinction from the sharp, end; the butt.
But is a conjunction of even.
In obsolete terms the difference between even and but
is that even is associate; fellow; of the same condition while but is only; solely; merely.As adverbs the difference between even and but
is that even is exactly, just, fully while but is merely, only.As nouns the difference between even and but
is that even is evening while but is an instance or example of using the word "but".As an adjective even
is flat and level.As a verb even
is to make flat and level.As a proper noun Even
is a Tungusic language spoken by the Evens in Siberia.As a preposition but is
outside of.As a conjunction but is
except (for), excluding. Preceded by a negation.even
English
(wikipedia even)Etymology 1
From (etyl), from (etyl) efen, efn, . The traditional proposal connecting the Germanic adjective with the root (etyl) ) is problematic from a phonological point of view.Schaffner, Stefan (2000). “Altindisch amnás'', urgermanisch *''e?na-'', kelt. *''e?no-''.” In: ''Indoarisch, Iranisch und die Indogermanistik. Akten des Kolloquiums der Indogermanischen Gesellschaft vom 2. bis 5. Oktober 1997 in Erlangen , Forssman, Bernhard & Plath, Robert (eds.), Wiesbaden, pp. 491–505. In German.Adjective
(en adjective)- Clear out those rocks. The surface must be even .
- Despite her fear, she spoke in an even voice.
- The distribution of food must be even .
- Four, fourteen and forty are even numbers.
- Coles. How many shares have you bought, Mr. Garfinkle?
- Garfinkle. One hundred and ninety-six thousand.
- Jorgenson. How'd you figure out to buy such an odd amount? Why not two hundred thousand — nice even' number. Thought you liked nice ' even numbers.
- He put me on the scale in my underwear and socks: 82 pounds. I left, humming all day long, remembering that once upon a time my ideal weight had been 84, and now I'd even beaten that. I decided 80 was a better number, a nice even number to be.
- You biffed me back at the barn, and I biffed you here—so now we're even .
- And shall lay thee even with the ground.
- I know my life so even .
- His even servant.
Usage notes
* Because of confusion with the "divisible by two" sense, use of to mean "convenient for rounding" is rare; the synonym round is more common.Synonyms
* (flat and level) flat, level, uniform * (without great variation) monotone (voice) * (convenient for rounding) round * (On equal monetary terms) quits (qualifier)Antonyms
* (flat and level) uneven * (of an integer) oddDerived terms
* break-even point * call it even * doubly even * even function * even keel * even odds * even-pinnate * even-steven, even-stevens * getting even * of even date * singly evenVerb
(en verb)- We need to even this playing field; the west goal is too low.
- His temple Xerxes evened with the soil.
- It will even all inequalities.
- to even him in valour
- (Shakespeare)
- (Shakespeare)
Synonyms
(to make flat and level ): flatten, levelDerived terms
* an even chance * break even * break-even * even as * even-handed * even if * even-keeled * evenly * evenhood * even money * even more * even out * even permutation * even stevens * even-tempered * even up * get even * of even date * unevenReferences
Etymology 2
From (etyl) .Adverb
(-)citation, passage=He read the letter aloud. Sophia listened with the studied air of one for whom, even in these days, a title possessed some surreptitious allurement.}}
Unspontaneous combustion, passage=Since the mid-1980s, when Indonesia first began to clear its bountiful forests on an industrial scale in favour of lucrative palm-oil plantations, “haze” has become an almost annual occurrence in South-East Asia. The cheapest way to clear logged woodland is to burn it, producing an acrid cloud of foul white smoke that, carried by the wind, can cover hundreds, or even thousands, of square miles.}}
Usage notes
SeeDerived terms
* even as we speak * even so * even though * not even * not even oneEtymology 3
From (etyl) even, from (etyl) . Cognate with Dutch avond, Low German Avend, German Abend, Danish aften. See also the related terms (l) and (l).Noun
(en noun)- When the even was come they brought unto him many that were possessed with devylles [...].
Synonyms
* e'en (archaic) * eveningDerived terms
* evenfall * evensongStatistics
*but
English
Preposition
(English prepositions)- Away but the hoose and tell me whae's there.
- Everyone but Father left early.
- ''I like everything but that.
Adverb
(-)- For to see her was to love her,
Love but her, and love for ever.
- Now the Wicked Witch of the West had but one eye, yet that was as powerful as a telescope, and could see everywhere.
- The stony outcrops are often covered but thinly with arable soil; winters are bitingly cold, and rainfall scanty and unpredictable.
- I'll have to go home early but .
Conjunction
(wikipedia but) (English Conjunctions)QPR 1-0 Chelsea, passage=Luiz struggled with the movement of Helguson in the box, as he collected a long ball and the Spaniard barged him over, leaving referee Chris Foy little option but to point to the spot.}}
Ian Sample
Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains, passage=Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits. ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.}}
Travels and travails, passage=Even without hovering drones, a lurking assassin, a thumping score and a denouement, the real-life story of Edward Snowden, a rogue spy on the run, could be straight out of the cinema. But , as with Hollywood, the subplots and exotic locations may distract from the real message: America’s discomfort and its foes’ glee.}}
Usage notes
* Beginning a sentence with a coordinating conjunction such as but' is considered incorrect by classical grammarians arguing that a coordinating conjunction at the start of a sentence has nothing to connect, but use of the word in this way is very common. It is, however, best to avoid beginning a sentence with '''but''' in formal writing. Combining sentences or using '''however''', '''nevertheless''', '''still''', or ' though is appropriate for the formal style. ** But this tool has its uses. ** This tool has its uses, however. ** Nevertheless, this tool has its uses. ** Still, this tool has its uses. ** This tool still has its uses. ** This tool has its uses, though. * The use of the word but preceded by a comma is also considered incorrect by classical grammarians. ** I was very tired, but I decided to continue. ** It was a lovely day, but rain looked likely.Synonyms
* (except) bar, unless, excepting, excluding, with the exception of, without * (however) yet, although, acNoun
(en noun)- It has to be done – no ifs or buts .
