Standard Lemma guide

howbeit

adv · conj · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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/haʊˈbiː.ɪt/
US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

adv

Meaning 1

Be that as it may; nevertheless.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic, not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

conj

Meaning 2

Although.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: albeit, much as, although, as, as much as, despite that, even though, howbeit, though, thoughbeit, while

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Univerbation of how + be + it, literally “however it [may] be”.

Across languages

Translations

12 source translations are retained for this English entry.

Czech: nicméně — be that as it may
French: quoi qu'il en soit — be that as it may
French: néanmoins — be that as it may
German: gleichwohl — be that as it may
Polish: bądź co bądź — be that as it may
Russian: те́м не ме́нее (tém ne méneje) — be that as it may
Scottish Gaelic: gidheadh — be that as it may
Swedish: hur som helst — be that as it may
Czech: ačkoli — although
Māori: otirā — although
Polish: aliści — although
Scottish Gaelic: ge — although

Word forms

Inflections and variants

howbe — alternative

Word family

Derived and related words

Derived: none provided

Related: albeit, —, henceafter, henceforth, henceforward, henceforwards, hencefrom, hereabout, hereabouts, hereabove, hereafter, hereafters, hereagainst, hereamong, hereanent, hereat, hereaway, herebefore, hereby, herefor, herefore, hereforth, hereforward, hereforwards, herefrom, herehence, hereinabove, hereinafter, hereinbefore, hereinbelow, hereinelsewhere, hereinsoever, hereinto, hereinunder, heremid, hereof, hereon, hereout, hereover, herethrough, herethroughout, hereto, heretofore, hereunto, hereupon, herewith, herewithal, herewithin, herewithout, hitherto, hitherunto, hitherward, hitherwards, however, howso, howsoever, howsomedever, howsomever, thataway, thatwise, thenceafter, thenceforth, thenceforward, thenceforwards, thencefrom, thenceout, thereabout, thereabouts, thereabove, thereacross, thereafter, thereafters, thereagain, thereagainst, therealong, thereamong, thereamongst, thereanent, therearound, thereat, thereaway, therebefore, therebeside, therebetween, therebeyond, thereby, therever, therefor, therefore, thereforth, therefrom, therehence, thereinabove, thereinafter, thereinbefore, thereinbelow, thereinto, thereinunder, theremid, thereof, thereon, thereout, thereover, theresoever, therethrough, therethroughout, thereto, theretofore, thereunto, thereup, thereupon, therewith, therewithal, therewithin, therewithout, thisaway, thiswise, thitherinsoever, thitherto, thitherward, thitherwards, whatever, whatso, whatsoever, whatsomedever, whatsomever, whatwise, whenabout, whenabouts, whenas, whenever, whenso, whensoever, whensomever, whenceafter, whencever, whenceforth, whenceforward, whencefrom, whenceward, whencewards, whereabout, whereabouts, whereabove, whereafter, whereafters, whereagainst, wherealong, whereamong, whereamongst, whereanent, wherearound, whereas, whereat, whereaway, wherebefore, wherebeside, wherebetween, wherebeyond, whereby, wherever, wherefor, wherefore, whereforth, wherefrom, wherehence, whereinabove, whereinafter, whereinbefore, whereinbelow, whereinsoever, whereinto, whereinunder, wheremid, whereof, whereon, whereout, whereover, whereso, wheresoever, wheresomever, wherethrough, wherethroughout, whereto, wheretofore, whereunto, whereup, whereupon, wherewith, wherewithal, wherewithin, wherewithout, whitherever, whitherinsoever, whitherso, whitherto, whithertofore, whitherward, whitherwards, whyever, whyfor, whyso, whysoever, 1. Scottish2. from Middle English mid3. old dialectal form

Semantic map

Other relationships

Sources

Where this information comes from

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