neither English · revision 3075

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 899|origins=ang nāhwæþer}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈnaɪ.ðə/, /ˈniː.ðə/, US /ˈniː.ðɚ/, /ˈnaɪ.ðɚ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|neither]], earlier naither and nauther,^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline) [[inh|ang|nāwþer]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) a contraction of [[m|ang|nāhwæþer|t=not of two]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[m|ang|nā|t=no]] and [[m|ang|hwæþer|t=which of two]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the source of [[whether]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) The vowel and spelling were altered about 1200 after [[either]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) Old High German neweder “neither” is formed in the same way.^(Barnhart 1988) See also [[nor]], a contraction of the older form.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As a pronoun, not either of two: late Old English, before 899, in Alfred's translation of Boethius.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The Middle English form næther is from about 1150, and neither from about 1200.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It was paired with ''ne'' at first, and with ''nor'' from about 1300.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''Neither here nor there'' is from the 14th century.^(OED 1989) As an adjective, “not either”, it is from the mid-14th century.^(Etymonline) “Nor, also not”, as in ''nor I neither'', is from 1462,^(OED 1989) and “not at all, in no case” from the 1550s.^(Etymonline) Use with another negative, as in ''I don't know neither'', is from 1470–85 and is now nonstandard.^(OED 1989)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 899 – pronoun, not either.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1200 – the spelling ''neither''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1300 – ''neither … nor''.^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-14th century – adjective.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1462 – “nor, also not”.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Determiner===

+ # Not one or the other of two: ''neither side won''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # Not either one: ''neither of them came''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Conjunction===

+ # Not either; used with [[nor]]: ''neither here nor there''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Also not: ''if you won't go, neither will I''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # ''(nonstandard)'' Either, after a negative: ''I don't like it neither''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[either]]

+ * [[nor]]

+ * [[whether]]

+ * [[no]]

+

+ ==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.^(AHD)^(OED 1989) The Cambridge pronouncing dictionary gives /ˈnaɪ-/ first for British English and /ˈniː-/ first for American.^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}