Ev"er*y (?), a. & a. pron. [OE. everich, everilk; AS. &aemacr;fre ever + ælc each. See Ever, each.] 1. All the parts which compose a whole collection or aggregate number, considered in their individuality, all taken separately one by one, out of an indefinite number.

Every man at his best state is altogether vanity.

Every door and window was adorned with wreaths of flowers.

2. Every one. Cf. Each. [Obs.] "Every of your wishes." Shak.

Daily occasions given to every of us.

&fist; Every may, by way of emphasis, precede the article the with a superlative adjective; as, every, the least variation. Locke.

Syn. -- Every, Each, Any. Any denotes one, or some, taken indifferently from the individuals which compose a class. Every differs from each in giving less prominence to the selection of the individual. Each relates to two or more individuals of a class. It refers definitely to every one of them, denoting that they are considered separately, one by one, all being included; as, each soldier was receiving a dollar per day. Every relates to more than two and brings into greater prominence the notion that not one of all considered is excepted; as, every soldier was on service, except the cavalry, that is, all the soldiers, etc.

In each division there were four pentecosties, in every pentecosty four enomoties, and of each enomoty there fought in the front rank four [soldiers].

If society is to be kept together and the children of Adam to be saved from setting up each for himself with every one else his foe.

• All of a countable group, without exception.
        Every person in the room stood and cheered.
  
• Used with ordinal numbers to denote those items whose position is divisible by the corresponding cardinal number, or a portion of equal size to that set.
        Every third bead was red, and the rest were blue. The sequence was thus red, blue, blue, red, blue, blue etc.
        Decimation originally meant the execution of every tenth soldier in a unit.