hwæþer

Forms

hwæþer^[1] Also hweþer.^[2] Northumbrian hueðer in the Lindisfarne gloss.^[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *hwaþar, from Proto-Germanic *hwaþeraz (“which of two”).^[1][4] The pronoun is found in all the old Germanic languages: Gothic 𐍈𐌰𐌸𐌰𐍂 (ƕaþar), Old Norse hvárr, Old Frisian hweder, Old Saxon hwethar and Old High German wedar.^[4][5]

It matches Ancient Greek πότερος (póteros), Latin uter and Lithuanian katras, all “which of two”, going back to Proto-Indo-European *kʷoteros.^[4] Köbler derives it from the interrogative stem Proto-Indo-European *kʷo- (“who”) and relates it to hwā.^[5] Etymonline describes the formation as the interrogative base with a comparative suffix.^[6] Köbler derives the conjunction from the pronoun.^[5]

The unstressed vowel of the second syllable is one of those kept before /r/ instead of being raised to /i/.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word is first recorded in the Vespasian Psalter gloss, added in the mid-ninth century: Psalm 13:2 has ðæt he gese hweðer sie ongeotende “that he may see whether there is anyone who understands”, for Latin “ut uideat si est intellegens”.^[8][9] It is the conjunction introducing an indirect question.^[2] The pronoun “which of two” is in the Pastoral Care of 890×897: Hwæðres ðonne ðara yfela is betere ær to tilianne “Which of the two evils, then, is it better to treat first?”.^[10][9]

Semantic evolution

As a pronoun it asks “which of two”, and it also means “one or other of two, either” and “each of two, both”.^[11] With swā … swā it means “whichever”, as in Beowulf.^[12] In the laws it is used both of either and of each of two persons, and in swā hwæþer swā “whichever of the two”.^[13] As a conjunction it introduces direct questions, often expecting a yes or no answer, and dependent questions, usually with the subjunctive; with þe it marks the alternatives “whether … or”.^[2][3] In glosses it renders Latin utrum, an, numquid and si.^[5]

The word lived on as Middle English whether, now English whether, as a pronoun and a conjunction.^[14][6]

Timeline

• s. ix med. – hweðer “whether” in the Vespasian Psalter gloss.^[8][9]
• 890×897 – Hwæðres … ðara yfela “which of the two evils” in the Pastoral Care (Hatton 20).^[10][9]
• s. x/xi – hwæðer sél mǽge wunde gedýgan uncer twega “which of us two can better survive his wounds” in the Beowulf manuscript.^[15][11]
• a1150 – Hweðer sceal cepinge þe lofigen in the Vespasian homilies, in Middle English.^[14]

Meanings

Pronoun

1. which of two.^[11][12]
2. one or other of two, either.^[11][13]
3. each of two, both.^[11]
4. (swā hwæþer swā) whichever.^[12][13]

Conjunction

1. whether, in dependent questions; hwæþer … þe “whether … or”.^[2][3]
2. introducing a direct question.^[2][1]

Word family

• ǣġhwæþer
• ġehwæþer
• āhwæþer
• nōþer

Descendants

• Middle English whether (→ English whether; Scots quhether)^[1]

Related words

• hwā

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. 572
3. ^ a b c Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. Suppl. 577
4. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 264
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. hwæþer
6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ Hogg, Richard M. (1992), A Grammar of Old English, vol. 1: Phonology, Oxford: Blackwell, p. § 3.30
8. ^ a b Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 329
9. ^ a b c d Healey, Antonette diPaolo; Price Wilkin, John; Xiang, Xin, eds. (2009), Dictionary of Old English Web Corpus, Toronto: Dictionary of Old English Project
10. ^ a b Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 499
11. ^ a b c d e Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. 571
12. ^ a b c Fulk, R. D.; Bjork, Robert E.; Niles, John D., eds. (2008), Klaeber's Beowulf and The Fight at Finnsburg, 4th ed., Toronto: University of Toronto Press (glossary), p. s.v. hwæðer
13. ^ a b c Liebermann, F. (1906), Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen, vol. II.1: Wörterbuch, Halle: Niemeyer, p. 119
14. ^ a b Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
15. ^ Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 344