whether

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈweð.ə/, /ˈhweð.ə/, US /ˈweð.ɚ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English whether, inherited from Old English hwæþer (“which of two”) (also hweþer),^[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *hwatharaz,^[3] from Proto-Indo-European *kʷoteros,^[3] formed from the interrogative stem *kʷo- (“who”) and the comparative suffix seen in other.^[3][2][4] Its relatives include Latin uter (“which of two”), Ancient Greek πότερος (póteros, “which of two”) and German weder (“neither”).^[3][5][6] It is related to either, neither, neuter and who.^[6][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

As an adverb, Old English hwæþer, about 725, in Beowulf, and as a word for “which of two”, before 830.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In Old English hwæþer was also a pronoun and adjective meaning “which of the two”, a use now archaic.^[2][7] The conjunction introducing alternatives, as in I wonder whether he'll come, is found probably before 1200, in Layamon.^[3][8] Whether or not and whether or no are from the 1650s.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 725 – Old English hwæþer (Beowulf).^[3]
• before 830 – which of two.^[3]
• before 1200 – conjunction (Layamon).^[3]
• 1650s – whether or not.^[2]

Modern meaning

Conjunction

1. Used in indirect questions to introduce an alternative: ask whether she's coming.
2. Used to introduce alternative possibilities: whether you like it or not.
3. (archaic) Either.

Pronoun

1. (archaic) Which of two.

Related words

• either
• neither
• neuter
• who
• other

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
8. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)