English Explanatory Dictionary

whether

English dictionary entry

Meanings

conj
  1. Introduces a simple indirect question (without a correlative).
  2. Indicates doubt between possibilities (usually with correlative or).
  3. Introduces a disjunctive adverbial clause qualifying the main clause (with correlative or).
  4. Introduces a direct question between alternatives (often with correlative or).
det
  1. Which of two.
pron
  1. Which of two.

Pronunciation

wĕthə /ˈwɛðə(ɹ)/ hwĕthə /ˈʍɛðə(ɹ)/ en-us-whether.ogg

Word forms

whether

Etymology

From Middle English whether, whather, from Old English hweþer, hwæþer, from Proto-West Germanic *hwaþar, from Proto-Germanic *hwaþeraz, comparative form of *hwaz (“who”). Cognate with North Frisian weđer (“if, whether”), German weder (“neither”), Swedish var (“each, every”), Icelandic hvor (“each of two, which of two”).

Related words

either neither whethersoever

Derived words

know whether one is Arthur or Martha not know whether one is coming or going not know whether to shit or go blind not know whether to spit or go blind

Translations

Arabic: هَلْ Bulgarian: дали́ Catalan: si Chinese Mandarin: 還是 /还是 Chinese Mandarin: ...不 Czech: zda Czech: zdali Danish: om Danish: hvorvidt Dutch: of Esperanto: ĉu French: si West-Frisian: oft German: ob Gothic: 𐌾𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌹 Hebrew: באם Hebrew: אם Hungarian: -e Hungarian: vajon Icelandic: hvort Irish: an Irish: ar Italian: se Japanese: か Japanese: かどうか Japanese: か否か Kapampangan: ...ka alika Kapampangan: ...ya aliya Kapampangan: -man aliman Kapampangan: -mo alimo Korean: -지 Korean: -지 어떤지 Latin: utrum Macedonian: дали Māori: rānei ... rānei Māori: ahakoa ... ahakoa Norwegian Bokmål: om Norwegian Bokmål: hvorvidt Norwegian Nynorsk: om Norwegian Nynorsk: kor vidt Pashto: چې که Polish: czy ... czy Portuguese: se Romanian: dacă Russian: и́ли Russian: и́ли ... и́ли Slovak: či Spanish: si Swedish: om Swedish: huruvida Tagalog: man Vietnamese: dù ... hay Welsh: a Welsh: ai Zazaki: se (diq)
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