whether

English Online Dictionary. What means whether‎? What does whether mean?

English

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 German weder (“neither”), Swedish var, Icelandic hvor (“each of two, which of two”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: wĕ'thə(r), IPA^(key): /ˈwɛðə(ɹ)/
• enPR: hwĕ'thə(r), IPA^(key): /ˈʍɛðə(ɹ)/
• Rhymes: -ɛðə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: wheth‧er
• Homophones: weather, wether (wine–whine merger)

Conjunction

whether

1. Indicates doubt between possibilities (usually with correlative or).
2. Without a correlative, introduces a simple indirect question.

3. Introduces a disjunctive adverbial clause qualifying the main clause (with correlative or).
4. (obsolete) Introduces a direct question between alternatives (often with correlative or).

Usage notes

• Traditional grammar classifies senses 2 and 3 as whether heading a noun clause, but classifies sense 4 as whether heading an adverbial clause.
• There is some overlap in usage between senses 2 and 3, in that a yes-or-no interrogative content clause can list the two possibilities explicitly in a number of ways:

Do you know whether he’s coming or staying?

Do you know whether he’s coming or not?

Do you know whether or not he’s coming?

Further, in the first two of these examples, the “or staying” and “or not” may be added as an afterthought (sometimes indicated in writing with a comma before), such that the whether may be uttered in sense 3 and then amended to sense 2.

• The or not can be placed after whether or after the verb, although in senses 2 and 3, or not is not required.
• Sense 4 does not have a counterpart that introduces only a single possibility and thus requires or not if no other possibilities are presented. For example,

“He’s coming, whether you like it” is ungrammatical. Grammatical versions are “He’s coming, whether you like it or not” or “He’s coming, whether you like it or dislike it”.

• The main verb in adverbial clauses with whether is sometimes in the subjunctive mood, especially if the verb is be:

I shall be glad to play any instrument, whether it be a violin or a trumpet.

Derived terms

Related terms

• either
• neither
• whethersoever

Translations

Determiner

whether

1. (obsolete) Which of two.

Pronoun

whether

1. (obsolete) Which of two. [11th–19th c.]