Definition

a conditional particle; in case that, provided, etc.; often used in connection with other particles to denote indefiniteness or uncertainty

Etymology

from G1487 (εἰ) and G302 (ἄν);

Where the KJV renders it

• before
• but
• except
• (and) if
• (if) so
• (what-
• whither-)soever
• though
• when (-soever)
• whether (or)
• to whom
• (who-)so(-ever)

Every distinct English word the King James Version uses to translate this Greek term. The variety shows what readers in English receive across many different surface words — the same underlying word, scattered across the English Bible under different names.

What the first audience heard

A deep-dive treatment of this word is in the works. The featured chapter above carries the long form of what this word meant to its first audience.