to say not even a word vs not to say even a word

Question

Are there any differences in meaning between the following sentences? Are they equally usual?

A. He said not even a word.

B. He did not say even a word.

C. He did not even say a word.

Answer 1

I don't quite understand what you mean by "equally usual"; I don't think A and B are common usage. Out of the three, sentence C is the most idiomatic to me. When it comes to meaning, all three are attempting to say the same thing - He did not say a word. Only C gets it across correctly.

All of the following

"He did not even say a word", "He did not even look at me", "He did not even reply to my text message"

are more common constructions in comparison to the constructions of A and B.

I am having difficulty in finding a situation where B would be more appropriate than C.

"Even" is an adverb here. According to Cambridge, "even" is used to show that something is surprising, unusual, unexpected, or extreme.

Cambridge says:

When "even" refers to a whole clause or sentence, we usually put it in the normal mid position for adverbs, between the subject and the main verb, after the modal verb or [after the] first auxiliary verb, or after be as a main verb.

See Even.