Etymologically
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neither

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈnaɪ.ðə/, /ˈniː.ðə/, US /ˈniː.ðɚ/, /ˈnaɪ.ðɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English neither, earlier naither and nauther,[2][3] inherited from Old English nāwþer,[3][4][5] a contraction of nāhwæþer (“not of two”),[3][4] from nā (“no”) and hwæþer (“which of two”),[3][4] the source of whether.[4][5] The vowel and spelling were altered about 1200 after either.[3][4][5] Old High German neweder “neither” is formed in the same way.[4] See also nor, a contraction of the older form.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a pronoun, not either of two: late Old English, before 899, in Alfred's translation of Boethius.[4][3] The Middle English form næther is from about 1150, and neither from about 1200.[4]

Semantic evolution

It was paired with ne at first, and with nor from about 1300.[3][6] Neither here nor there is from the 14th century.[6] As an adjective, “not either”, it is from the mid-14th century.[3] “Nor, also not”, as in nor I neither, is from 1462,[6] and “not at all, in no case” from the 1550s.[3] Use with another negative, as in I don't know neither, is from 1470–85 and is now nonstandard.[6][7]

Timeline

  • before 899 – pronoun, not either.[4]
  • c. 1200 – the spelling neither.[4][3]
  • c. 1300 – neither … nor.[3]
  • mid-14th century – adjective.[3]
  • 1462 – “nor, also not”.[6]

Modern meaning

Determiner

  1. Not one or the other of two: neither side won.

Pronoun

  1. Not either one: neither of them came.

Conjunction

  1. Not either; used with nor: neither here nor there.
  2. Also not: if you won't go, neither will I.

Adverb

  1. (nonstandard) Either, after a negative: I don't like it neither.

Usage notes

Traditional grammar says neither as a pronoun takes a singular verb (neither is ready), though a plural verb is common in speech, and that neither … nor links only two alternatives.[7][6] The Cambridge pronouncing dictionary gives /ˈnaɪ-/ first for British English and /ˈniː-/ first for American.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  5. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin