Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

e'en

1 American  
[een] / in /

adverb

Chiefly Literary.

  1. contraction of even.

e'en 2 American  
[een] / in /

noun

Chiefly Literary.

  1. evening.

e'en British  
/ iːn /

adverb

  1. a contraction of even 2 evening

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of e'en

Contraction of even 2 ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Thou wouldst make e’en the coolest temper burn, For thou art made of heat and flame and fire.  

From Slate • May 28, 2014

I must Make haste and get me hence, e’en now.

From Slate • May 28, 2014

For e’en though I have join’d rebellion’s ranks These many weeks and months, and gain’d respect Within their noble band, my scoundrel past Doth make its harsh demands upon my life.

From Slate • May 28, 2014

Nay, more, nor kann this knight e'en parler ye Englysshe langue, bot muttereth mayhappe in Frensshe, as, 'Yagottalissena me.

From Time Magazine Archive

“I know you will be Jenny whatever happens, and I must e’en be Lancelot.”

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.