Crossword clues for whether
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Whether \Wheth"er\, pron. [OE. whether, AS. hw[ae]?er; akin to OS. hwe?ar, OFries. hweder, OHG. hwedar, wedar, G. weder, conj., neither, Icel. hv[=a]rr whether, Goth. hwa?ar, Lith. katras, L. uter, Gr. ?, ?, Skr. katara, from the interrogatively pronoun, in AS. hw[=a] who. ????. See Who, and cf. Either, Neither, Or, conj.] Which (of two); which one (of two); -- used interrogatively and relatively. [Archaic]
Now choose yourself whether that you liketh.
--Chaucer.
One day in doubt I cast for to compare
Whether in beauties' glory did exceed.
--Spenser.
Whether of them twain did the will of his father?
--Matt. xxi.
31.
Whether \Wheth"er\, conj. 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.
And now who knows
But you, Lorenzo, whether I am yours?
--Shak.
You have said; but whether wisely or no, let the forest
judge.
--Shak.
For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether
we die, we die unto the Lord; whether we live
therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.
--Rom. xiv. 8.
But whether thus these things, or whether not;
Whether the sun, predominant in heaven,
Rise on the earth, or earth rise on the sun, . . .
Solicit not thy thoughts with matters hid.
--Milton.
Whether or no, in either case; in any case; as, I will go whether or no.
Whether that, whether.
--Shak.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
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.
Wiktionary
conj. 1 (lb en obsolete) {{non-gloss definition|Introducing a direct interrogative question (often with correlative (term: or)) which indicates doubt between alternatives.}} 2 {{non-gloss definition|Used to introduce an indirect interrogative question that consists of multiple alternative possibilities (usually with correlative (term: or))}}. pron. (context obsolete English) which of two. (11th-19th c.)
Usage examples of "whether".
I have made up my mind, you must be good enough to decide now, and to tell me whether I am to accompany you or to remain here.
They noted the date, time, day of the week, bank location, amount stolen, and whether he had brought an accomplice into the bank.
Fritigern was doubtful whether he could accomplish the conclusion of the treaty, unless he found himself supported by the presence and terrors of an Imperial army.
The question presented was whether a judgment rendered by a New York court under a statute which provided that, when joint debtors were sued and one of them was brought into court on a process, a judgment in favor of the plaintiff would entitle him to execute against all, and so must be accorded full faith and credit in Louisiana when offered as the basis of an action in debt against a resident of that State who had not been served by process in the New York action.
Yet it may be doubted whether in any quarter of the world, sedimentary deposits, including fossil remains, have gone on accumulating within the same area during the whole of this period.
Over all these causes of Change I am convinced that the accumulative action of Selection, whether applied methodically and more quickly, or unconsciously and more slowly, but more efficiently, is by far the predominant Power.
She wrenched her own hand free from his and struck it backward against him, as Lester had struck at Richard, one gesture whether accurst or blest.
Doctor Gozzi, who was attached to me, called me privately one day into his study, and asked me whether I would feel disposed to carry out the advice he would give me in order to bring about my removal from the house of the Sclavonian woman, and my admission in his own family.
For all wounds, bruises, sprains, bee-stings, insect and snake-bites, frost-bites, chilblains, caked breast, swollen glands, rheumatism, and, in short, for any and all ailments, whether afflicting man or beast, requiring a direct external application, either to allay inflammation or soothe pain, the Extract of Smart-weed cannot be excelled.
Only Thyra was once affrighted when a night-jar flew up shrieking, for she was divided in her thoughts whether the old gods or the new were the more powerful and this bird might have been the shape-shifting Odin in one of his avatars.
Whether the legend and history of this Degree are historically true, or but an allegory, containing in itself a deeper truth and a profounder meaning, we shall not now debate.
Whether it is that bears make such a row when wounded, or Whether there be anything in the smell, I know not, but I have heard many sportsmen allude to the fact.
He hardly knew whether to be angry with Donovan Farrant for alluding to matters which brought a look of sadness to her eyes, or to thank him for the story which made her face light up with indignation and look, if possible, more beautiful than before.
Although the Pathfinder did not dare to look at Mabel while he made this direct allusion to his change of life, he would have given the world to know whether she was listening, and what was the expression of her countenance.
Whether or not she realized it, she was an invaluable source of information, Ambrose thought, turning a page of the newspaper.