whether
pronunciation
How to pronounce whether in British English:
UK [ˈweðə(r)]
How to pronounce whether in American English:
US [ˈweðər]
Word Origin
- whether
- whether: [OE] Whether was formed in the prehistoric Germanic period from the interrogative base *khwa-, *khwe- (source of English what, who, etc) and the comparative suffix *-theraz, which also occurs in English other. Its Germanic relatives include German weder ‘neither’ and Swedish hvar ‘each’. English either goes back to a Germanic compound formed from the ancestors of ay and whether.=> either, other
- whether (conj.)
- Old English hwæðer, hweðer "which of two, whether," from Proto-Germanic *gihwatharaz (cognates Old Saxon hwedar, Old Norse hvarr, Gothic huaþar, Old High German hwedar "which of the two," German weder "neither"), from interrogative base *khwa- "who" (see who) + comparative suffix *-theraz (cognate compounds in Sanskrit katarah, Avestan katara-, Greek poteros, Latin uter "which of the two, either of two," Lithuanian katras "which of the two," Old Church Slavonic koteru "which"). Its comparative form is either. Also in Old English as a pronoun and adjective. Phrase whether or not (also whether or no) recorded from 1650s.
Example
- 1. The question is whether obesity might change that .
- 2. Our only competition has been armies , whether conventional forces or guerrilla insurgencies .
- 3. There 's no denying , the power of suggestion works , whether you 're five or 50 .
- 4. Some doubt whether this will be enough .
- 5. The question is whether it will be .