English Explanatory Dictionary

if

English dictionary entry

Meanings

conj
  1. Supposing that, assuming that, in the circumstances that; used to introduce a condition that may be (or prove to be) either true or false.
  2. A keyword that invokes conditional processing: in the event that a given condition is true, execute the given statement(s) (otherwise execute other statements).
  3. Supposing that; used with past or past perfect subjunctive to indicate a counterfactual or hypothetical condition.
  4. Even if; even in the circumstances that.
  5. Considering the fact that; given that; introducing a condition that is known to be true.
  6. When; whenever; every time that.
  7. Although; used to introduce a concession; may..but.
  8. Whether; used to introduce a noun clause, an indirect question, that functions as the direct object of certain verbs.
  9. Introducing a relevance conditional; in case.
  10. While; used to introduce a contrast.
noun
  1. An uncertainty, possibility, condition, doubt etc.
noun
  1. Initialism of interactive fiction.
  2. Initialism of impact factor.
  3. Initialism of intermediate filament.
  4. Initialism of intermediate frequency.
  5. Initialism of intermittent fasting.
  6. Initialism of immunofluorescence.

Pronunciation

ĭf /ɪf/ /ɪv/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Back ache-if.wav LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-if.wav en-us-if.ogg

Word forms

if eef ifen iffen if'n ifs

Etymology

From Middle English if, yif, yef, from Old English ġif (“if”), from Proto-West Germanic *jabu, *jabē, from Proto-Germanic *jabai (“when, if”). Cognate with Scots gif (“if, whether”), Saterland Frisian af, of (“if, whether”), West Frisian oft (“whether”), Dutch of (“or, whether, but”), Middle Low German ef, if, af, of ("if; whether"; > German Low German of), German ob (“if, whether”), Icelandic ef (“if”).

Related words

and else false or then true whether

Derived words

and if an if as if as if by magic as if nothing had happened as if one's life depended on it as if one's life depends on it as-if rule as if someone owns the place as if there is no tomorrow as if there's no tomorrow as if there was no tomorrow as if there were no tomorrow big if true but if claret would be port if it could correct me if I'm wrong damned if I know damned if one does and damned if one doesn't don't mind if I do elif endif even if even if one's life depended on it fuck if I know hell if I care hell if I know if a day if all else fails if and only if if and when if anything if applicable if at all if at first you don't succeed if-bet if-by-whiskey if clause if ever if ever there was one if ever there were one if ever there were some if there ever were one if ever there has been one iff iffy if I do say so myself if I ever saw one if I had a nickel for every time if I may if I may be so bold if I may make so bold if I may say so if I'm honest if I might be so bold if I'm not mistaken if I say so myself if it be so if it had not been for if it isn't

Translations

Afrikaans: as Afrikaans: indien Ahom: 𑜆𑜦𑜡 Akkadian: 𒋳𒈠 Albanian: nëse Arabic: إِنْ Arabic: لَوْ Arabic: إِذَا Arabic: اذا Arabic: إذا Arabic: لو Arabic: إن Arabic: كون كان Arabic: كُن كان Arabic: إنكنّـ Tunisian Arabic: لَوْ كَانْ Aragonese: si Aramaic: ܐܢ Aramaic: ܐܠܘ Aramaic: אֶן Aramaic: אִין Aramaic: אִלּוּ Armenian: եթե Aromanian: disi Asturian: si Azerbaijani: əgər Bakhtiari: ار Bashkir: әгәр Bashkir: әгәр ҙә Belarusian: калі́ Bengali: যদি Bislama: sapos Breton: ma Bulgarian: а́ко Burmese: က Burmese: အကယ်၍ Burmese: ရင် Burmese: လျှင် Catalan: si Chinese Cantonese: 要是 Chinese Cantonese: 如果 Chinese: вәё Chinese: зэсы Chinese: дан Chinese: дансы Chinese: зэ Chinese: 假使 Chinese: 檢采 /检采 Chinese: 若 Eastern Min Chinese: 儷是 /俪是 Chinese Mandarin: 如果 Chinese Mandarin: 要是 Chinese Mandarin: 如 Chinese Mandarin: ...的话 Chinese Mandarin: 當 /当 Chukchi: эвыр Chukchi: эвыт Chukchi: эвыръым Chuvash: эхер Maore Comorian: djeli Czech: jestliže Czech: pokud Danish: hvis Danish: om Danish: dersom Danish: nærmest Danish: snarere Dutch: als Dutch: indien Dutch: as Esperanto: se Estonian: kui Finnish: jos Finnish: mikäli French: si Middle French: si Old French: se West-Frisian: as West-Frisian: at Galician: se Georgian: თუ
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on I Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary