[what.ev.er] pron (14c) 1 a: anything or everything that "take ~ you want" b: no matter what "~ he says, they won't believe him" c: whatnot "buffalo or rhinoceros or ~ --Alan Moorehead"
2: what 1a(1)--used to express astonishment or perplexity "~ do you mean by that"
[2]whatever adj (14c) 1 a: any ... that: all ... that "buy peace ... on ~ terms could be obtained --C. S. Forester" b: no matter what "money, in ~ hands, will confer power --Samuel Johnson"
2: of any kind at all--used after the substantive it modifies with any or with an expressed or implied negative "in any order ~ --W. G. Moulton" "no food ~" [3]whatever adv (1870): in any case: whatever the case may be--sometimes used interjectionally to suggest the unimportance of a decision between alternatives