278 What’s More and Whatever
c. HE that affi rmeth Gregory or Griffeth Williams ( or whatever the name of
the hobgobling Gr. be,) (1643 Goodwin, Os ossis & oris [EEBO])
d. We are so ignorant of Truth, or so carelesse of the profession of it, that any
Opinion, or Faction, or whatever it be cal|led, should thrust it selfe so farre
and so fast into Our Kingdomes without Our know|ledge of it; (1645 Prynne,
Hidden workes of darkenes brought to publike light [EEBO])
e. And Histories tell us that King Iohn , who was an Usurper too (for a long
time at least) made that donation or sub|mission or whatever you call it,
directly against the Kingdom: (1674 Walsh, The history & vindication of the
loyal formulary, or Irish remonstrance [EEBO])
f. I have used it [ sc. the word ‘Idea’] to express whatever is meant by Phantasm,
Notion, Species, or whatever it is, which the Mind can be employ’d about
in thinking. (1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding i.i.4 [OED])
g. Those few defects,..monstrositys or whatever you please to call them,
which are to be found in the world, and seem to disfi gure the face of nature.
(1701 J. Norris, Ess. Ideal World I. ii. 48 [OED])
h. I have stated the true notion of clemency, mercy, compassion, good- nature,
humanity, or whatever else it may be called, so far as is consistent with wis-
dom. (1716 J. Addison, Freeholder No. 31 [OED])
i. printed in 4to. Lond. 1632, and dedicated by a copy of Verses, to the Right
Honourable, Right Reverend, Right Worshipful, or whatever he be, (1753
Cibber, The lives of the poets of Great Britain and Ireland [CLMET3.0])
j. and edging in her left foot at the same movement, to take hold of the map
or plan, or upright, or whatever it was, and with out- stretched neck meet-
ing it half way (1759– 67 Sterne, The life and opinions of Tristram Shandy
[CLMET3.0])
We see metalinguistic meaning arising early in clauses such as or whatever
it be called/ you call it , etc. (33c, d, e, g, h). In examples such as (33a, f, i,
j), however, with or whatever it was/ is , it is often indeterminate whether the
meaning is metalinguistic or not; for example, in (33j) the speaker may be
uncertain either about the correct categorial membership or the correct termin-
ology of the “map.” In the same way, bare or whatever may be clearly referring
to categorical membership (30a, d, e, g) or to metalinguistic uncertainty (30f,
h), or it may be indeterminate (30b, c).
Given the early appearance of or whatever parenthetical clauses, we may
most likely deduce that bare or whatever derives by ellipsis of these clauses.
We may also assume that the specifi cally metalinguistic meaning of or what-
ever (as in example [30h]) derives from a parenthetical clause containing a
verb referring to the illocutionary act of naming or calling (e.g., or whatever it
is called/ you call it , etc.).
The question of whether the pragmatic marker whatever derives from the
general extender use will be taken up below, once we have considered an alter-
native source.