very

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English verray, from Old French verai (“true”), from Early Medieval Latin vērāgus, from Classical Latin vērāx, derived from vērus, from Proto-Italic *wēros, from Proto-Indo-European *weh₁ros. Distantly cognate with the Old English wǣr (“true”). Over time displaced the use of a number of Germanic words or prefixes to convey the sense 'very' such as fele, full-, mægen, sore, sin-, swith, (partially) wel. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA(key): /ˈvɛɹi/ (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA(key): /ˈveɹi/ (Scotland) IPA(key): /ˈvɛɾe/ (Wales) IPA(key): /ˈvɛɾi/ Rhymes: -ɛɹi Homophone: vary (only in accents with the Mary–marry–merry merger) === Adverb === very (not comparable) To a great extent or degree. Synonyms: see Thesaurus:very Conforming to fact, reality or rule; true. Synonyms: truly, actually, authentically (with superlatives) Used to firmly establish that nothing else surpasses in some respect. ==== Usage notes ==== Commonly intensified by reduplication, as in very, very important person. When used in their senses as degree adverbs, very and too never modify verbs (except in some dialects influenced by Chinese: see citations). ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Descendants ==== Solombala English: вери (veri) ==== Translations ==== === Adjective === very (not generally comparable, comparative verier, superlative veriest) (literary) True, real, actual. 1659, Henry Hammond, A Paraphrase and Annotations upon All the Books of the New Testament, London: Richard Davis, 2nd edition, The First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians, Chapter 3, verse 19, p. 517,[1] […] they that think to be wiser then other men, are by so much verier fools then others, and so are discerned to be. The same; identical. Synonyms: selfsame, (Scotland, Northern England) ilk, (Rhode Island) wicked With limiting effect: mere. Synonyms: bare, simple, only; see also Thesaurus:mere ==== Usage notes ==== Exclusively used attributively and never predicatively. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Anagrams === evry, ev'ry == Malagasy == === Adjective === very lost (archaic) enslaved == Middle English == === Etymology 1 === From Old French verai. ==== Alternative forms ==== verai, veray, verra, verray, verre, verrei, verrey, verri, verry werai, werrai, wery ==== Adjective ==== very (comparative verier) true ===== Quotations ===== For quotations using this term, see Citations:very. ==== Adverb ==== very very === Etymology 2 === ==== Verb ==== very alternative form of ferien