whether
Part of speech: conj
Morphological type: simple
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”).
Inflected forms:
Senses:
gloss: Introduces a simple indirect question (without a correlative).
pos: conj
examples: Whether we'll be on time I'm unsure.
Do you know whether he's coming?
gloss: Indicates doubt between possibilities (usually with correlative or).
pos: conj
examples: He chose the correct answer, but whether by luck or by skill I don't know.
I can't decide whether to get divorced now or wait.
As a political system democracy seems to me extraordinarily foolish,[…]. My servant is, so far as I am concerned, welcome to as many votes as he can get.[…]I do not suppose that it matters much in reality whether laws are made by dukes or cornerboys, but I like, as far as possible, to associate with gentlemen in private life.
The incident immediately revived the debate about goal-line technology, with a final decision on whether it is introduced expected to be taken in Zurich on 5 July.
Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine. The machine gun is so much more lethal than the bow and arrow that comparisons are meaningless. One thing that is true, though, is that murder rates have fallen over the centuries, as policing has spread and the routine carrying of weapons has diminished.
gloss: Introduces a disjunctive adverbial clause qualifying the main clause (with correlative or).
pos: conj
examples: He's coming, whether you like it or not.
I'll enjoy playing with my friends again, whether we win or lose.
Whether or not you're successful, you can be sure you did your best.
The years have gone by and still we know not whether or no Mallory and Irvine reached the summit. But the will to climb Mount Everest is still alive.
gloss: Introduces a direct question between alternatives (often with correlative or).
pos: conj
tags: obsolete
examples: whether ys it easyer to saye to the sicke of the palsey, thy synnes ar forgeven the: or to saye, aryse, take uppe thy beed and walke?
Whether hadst thou rather be a Faulconbridge, [...] Or the reputed sonne of Cordelion?
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:
lang: Arabic
word: هَلْ
roman: hal
lang: Bulgarian
word: дали́
roman: dalí
lang: Catalan
word: si
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 還是 /还是
roman: háishi
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: ...不
roman: ...bù...
lang: Czech
word: zda
lang: Czech
word: zdali
lang: Danish
word: om
lang: Danish
word: hvorvidt
lang: Dutch
word: of
lang: Esperanto
word: ĉu
lang: French
word: si
lang: West-Frisian
word: oft
lang: German
word: ob
lang: Gothic
word: 𐌾𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌹
roman: jabai
lang: Hebrew
word: באם
lang: Hebrew
word: אם
roman: ím
lang: Hungarian
word: -e
lang: Hungarian
word: vajon
lang: Icelandic
word: hvort
lang: Irish
word: an
lang: Irish
word: ar
lang: Italian
word: se
lang: Japanese
word: か
roman: ka
lang: Japanese
word: かどうか
roman: -ka dō ka
lang: Japanese
word: か否か
roman: -ka ina ka
lang: Kapampangan
word: ...ka alika
lang: Kapampangan
word: ...ya aliya
lang: Kapampangan
word: -man aliman
lang: Kapampangan
word: -mo alimo
lang: Korean
word: -지
roman: -ji
lang: Korean
word: -지 어떤지
roman: -ji eotteonji
lang: Latin
word: utrum
lang: Macedonian
word: дали
roman: dali
lang: Māori
word: rānei ... rānei
lang: Māori
word: ahakoa ... ahakoa
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: om
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: hvorvidt
lang: Norwegian Nynorsk
word: om
lang: Norwegian Nynorsk
word: kor vidt
lang: Pashto
word: چې که
roman: če ka
lang: Polish
word: czy ... czy
lang: Portuguese
word: se
lang: Romanian
word: dacă
lang: Russian
word: и́ли
roman: íli
lang: Russian
word: и́ли ... и́ли
roman: íli ... íli
lang: Slovak
word: či
lang: Spanish
word: si
lang: Swedish
word: om
lang: Swedish
word: huruvida
lang: Tagalog
word: man
lang: Vietnamese
word: dù ... hay
lang: Welsh
word: a
lang: Welsh
word: ai
lang: Zazaki
word: se (diq)