the word 'whichever' is a relatively modern english formation, emerging in the late middle english period by combining two ancient english elements. the first element, 'which', descends from the proto-germanic interrogative stem hwa-, which also gives us 'what' and 'who', and is ultimately traceable to the proto-indo-European interrogative root kʷo-. the second element, 'ever', originates from old english ǣfre, of uncertain etymology but possibly meaning "ever, at any time." the fusion of these two elements created a compound pronoun that generalizes and intensifies the selective meaning of 'which', shifting it from a specific inquiry to an indefinite, all-encompassing choice. this logical construction, meaning "any which one at all," elegantly captures the word's modern function of expressing indifference or universality among a set of options.

Structure: which + ever which: from old english hwilc (which, what kind of). functions as an interrogative/relative pronoun root. ever: from old english ǣfre (ever, always). functions as an intensifying suffix meaning 'any at all' or 'no matter which'.