hwæþer
Old English edit
Etymology edit
From Proto-West Germanic *hwaþar, see also Old High German wedar, Old Norse hvaðarr.
Pronunciation edit
Pronoun edit
hwæþer
Conjunction edit
hwæþer
- 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.
- late 10th century, Ælfric, "Chair of Saint Peter"
- used to introduce a question
Usage notes edit
"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 edit
References edit
- Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898) “Hwæþer”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary[1], 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.