Everbody
In Southern and Appalachian speech, "everbody" is the common pronunciation (and sometimes spelling) of "everybody." The middle r sound is dropped, turning three clear syllables into two smoother ones.
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synonyms: everyone, all y’all
Hillbilly Dude Says...
I don't know if I've every said 'everbody' the right way - and neither have most of us out in the country. Pronunciation
[EV-uh-bah-dee] /ˈɛv.ə.bɑ.di/
Meaning & Usage
- Everyone; all people present
Pearl:
Who came over?
Who came over?
Benny:
Shoot-everbody.
Shoot-everbody.variations: everybody, ever’body, ever-body
Origin and Etymology
From the standard English "everybody," with the unstressed r dropped-a feature common in Southern, Appalachian, and many older rural English dialects. The form appears in speech going back to at least the 1800s, reflecting the region’s natural vowel smoothing and relaxed rhythm.
Usage Notes
Used in daily speech across the South, often spelled phonetically in writing to show dialect or local color.
- "Everbody knows not to park in Miss Ida’s spot." → all the locals.
- "Everbody was laughin’." → the whole group.
- "Tell everbody hey for me." → common farewell phrase.