Definitions for Whether
ˈʰwɛð ər, ˈwɛð-Whether

Wiktionary(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. whether(Pronoun)

   Which of two.

   Etymology: hwæþer, from hwaþeraz, comparative form of hwaz. Cognate with German weder, Swedish hvar, Icelandic hvorr.

2. whether(Conjunction)

   ; if, whether or not.

   Do you know whether he's coming?

   Etymology: hwæþer, from hwaþeraz, comparative form of hwaz. Cognate with German weder, Swedish hvar, Icelandic hvorr.

3. whether(Conjunction)

   Introducing a direct interrogative question which indicates doubt between alternatives.

   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?

   Etymology: Old English hwæþer, from Proto-Germanic *hwaþeraz, comparative form of *hwaz ("who") . Cognate with English either, German weder ("neither") , Swedish var, Icelandic hvor ("each of two, which of two") .

4. whether(Conjunction)

   Used to introduce an indirect interrogative question that consists of multiple alternative possibilities.

   He chose the correct answer, but I don't know whether it was by luck or by skill.

   Etymology: Old English hwæþer, from Proto-Germanic *hwaþeraz, comparative form of *hwaz ("who") . Cognate with English either, German weder ("neither") , Swedish var, Icelandic hvor ("each of two, which of two") .

5. whether(Conjunction)

   Without a correlative, used to introduce a simple indirect question.

   Do you know whether he's coming?

   Etymology: Old English hwæþer, from Proto-Germanic *hwaþeraz, comparative form of *hwaz ("who") . Cognate with English either, German weder ("neither") , Swedish var, Icelandic hvor ("each of two, which of two") .

6. whether(Conjunction)

   Used to introduce a disjunctive adverbial clause which qualifies the main clause of the sentence.

   He's coming, whether you like it or not.

   Etymology: Old English hwæþer, from Proto-Germanic *hwaþeraz, comparative form of *hwaz ("who") . Cognate with English either, German weder ("neither") , Swedish var, Icelandic hvor ("each of two, which of two") .

Webster Dictionary(4.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Whether

   which (of two); which one (of two); -- used interrogatively and relatively

   Etymology: [OE. whether, AS. hwer; akin to OS. hwear, OFries. hweder, OHG. hwedar, wedar, G. weder, conj., neither, Icel. hvrr whether, Goth. hwaar, Lith. katras, L. uter, Gr. , , Skr. katara, from the interrogatively pronoun, in AS. hw who. . See Who, and cf. Either, Neither, Or, conj.]

2. Whether

   in case; if; -- used to introduce the first or two or more alternative clauses, the other or others being connected by or, or by or whether. When the second of two alternatives is the simple negative of the first it is sometimes only indicated by the particle not or no after the correlative, and sometimes it is omitted entirely as being distinctly implied in the whether of the first

   Etymology: [OE. whether, AS. hwer; akin to OS. hwear, OFries. hweder, OHG. hwedar, wedar, G. weder, conj., neither, Icel. hvrr whether, Goth. hwaar, Lith. katras, L. uter, Gr. , , Skr. katara, from the interrogatively pronoun, in AS. hw who. . See Who, and cf. Either, Neither, Or, conj.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Whether

   hweth′ėr, interrog. and rel. pron. signifying which of two.—conj. which of two alternatives.—interrog. adv. introducing the first of two questions, the second being introduced by or—also conj.—Whether or no (coll.), in any case, surely. [A.S. hwæther, from hwá, who, with the old comp. suffix -ther; cog. with Goth. hwathar, Ger. weder; also with L. uter, Gr. koteros, Sans. katara. Cf. Other and Alter.]

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Whether' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #277

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Whether' in Written Corpus Frequency: #265

How to pronounce Whether?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say Whether in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of Whether in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of Whether in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of Whether in a Sentence

1. Doug Collins:

   We're more' Alice in Wonderland' than we are House of Representatives. Because whether you agree that he needs to be impeached or not, do you not think there needs to be a modicum of process and rights ?

2. Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann:

   Some things clearly point to an Islamist background, but there is no evidence at this point connecting him to any other individuals, or indicating whether he radicalized himself, that must all still be investigated.

3. The IEA Baroni:

   What matters is whether enough funds have been set aside to provide for it.

4. Emeasoba George:

   I do aspire to inspire the world and the posterity ahead because my lifetime will surely and eventually expire someday. Thus, you too should aspire to inspire the world as well. For, whether you like it or not your lifetime on earth will surely and eventually elapse or expire someday. Oh! yes, every living thing and every human was born to live here (on earth) just for a while. And then, die someday or eventually and never to live forever (mark you). -Emeasoba George

5. New Hampshire Perry:

   To be prepared, to stand on the stage and talk about this myriad of issues, whether it's domestic policy, monetary policy or foreign policy, it takes years of intense studies, i spent the last three years in that mode—being able to stand up and discuss all of these issues and do it in a way that is very profound and impactful.

Images & Illustrations of Whether

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