Etymologically
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whether

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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.
  • 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)