# e'en

CEFR C2 · Adverb

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/een
Updated: 2026-05-03

## Definition

a short, poetic way to say 'even'. You will mostly see this in old books or poems.

For teachers: a poetic or dialectal contraction of 'even'. Used primarily in verse to maintain a specific meter or to evoke an archaic tone.

## Examples

- The sun sets e'en now over the hills.
- The poet wrote of a love that would last e'en after the stars had faded from the sky.
- Though the castle stood in ruins, e'en the crumbling stones seemed to whisper stories of the kings who once walked its halls.

## Usage notes

- A literary contraction; the apostrophe replaces the letter 'v'.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.