The phrase "scarcely ever" is often misspelled as "scarcely every". The correct spelling emphasizes the pronunciation difference between the two words "ever" and "every". The IPA phonetic transcription for "scarcely ever" is /ˈskɛəsli ˈɛvər/. The second syllable of "scarcely" contains the schwa sound /ə/ and is followed by the stressed vowel sound /ɛ/. The word "ever" is pronounced with the stressed vowel sound /ɛ/ and not the unstressed sound /i/ found in "every".
The expression "scarcely ever" refers to an extremely rare occurrence or the likelihood of something happening being close to none. It denotes an infrequent or almost non-existent happening, conveying the idea that an event or action is extremely uncommon or hardly ever experienced. Rather than suggesting a complete absence, "scarcely ever" implies an overwhelming scarcity or near absence of the mentioned happening.
The term "scarcely ever" can be used to describe occasions or instances that happen so rarely that they are almost never witnessed or encountered. It conveys a strong sense of scarcity, emphasizing the rarity of an event or action. The notion of "scarcely ever" emphasizes the limited occurrence of something, suggesting that it is almost impossible or highly improbable.
When used to describe a person's habits or actions, "scarcely ever" indicates that the individual has a strong tendency to avoid particular activities or rarely engages in them. It emphasizes that they have a persistent tendency of rarely indulging in a specific action. "Scarcely ever" can be a strong affirmation of the infrequency of an occurrence or action, implying that it is a rare event that is barely observed or experienced.
The word "scarcely" originated from the Old French term "escarcier", which was derived from the Late Latin word "excarcerare", meaning "to release". Over time, "escarcier" transformed into "escarcement" in Middle English, which meant "a brief respite" or "a short amount of time". Eventually, "escarcement" evolved into "scarcely", indicating a small or minimal quantity. The word "ever" comes from the Old English word "æfre", which means "at any time" or "always". The combination of "scarcely" and "ever" gives the phrase "scarcely ever", indicating something happening infrequently or almost never.