hwæþer

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *hwaþar, see also Old High German wedar, Old Norse hvaðarr.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈxwæ.θer/, [ˈʍæ.ðer]

Pronoun

hwæþer

1. who or what (of two)

Conjunction

hwæþer

1. whether
   • late 10th century, Ælfric, "Chair of Saint Peter"

     ...and hē lēop sona cunniġende his fēðes hwæðer hē cūðe gān.

     and he leapt up immediately, trying his power of motion, whether he could walk.

2. used to introduce a question

Usage notes

"Whether... or..." is rendered with þē instead of oþþe: Sē cyning wolde fandian hwæðer Eġel swā wel sċute swā man sæġde þē nā ("The king wanted to test whether Egil shot as well as they said or not").

Descendants

• Middle English: whether
  • Scots: quhether, quhither, whedder
  • English: whether

References

• Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898) “Hwæþer”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary‎^[1], 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.