every [OE] An Old English word that is related to ever and each. Every occurs in two well-known proverbs. Every little helps has a rather rude origin. It appears to be from a 1590 work by the French writer Gabriel Meurier, which translates as ‘Every little helps, said the ant, pissing into the sea.’ In the first English example, ten years later, the ant is replaced by a wren. Every man for himself (and the devil take the hindmost) was used by Chaucer in the 14th century in the simple sense, while the devil take the hindmost is found in 1620.