Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Whether
Wheth′er
,p
ron.
[OE.
whether
, AS. hwæ[GREEK]er
; akin to OS. hwe[GREEK]ar
, OFries. hweder
, OHG. hwedar
, wedar
, G. weder
, conj., neither, Icel. hvārr
whether, Goth. hwa[GREEK]ar
, Lith. katras
, L. uter
, Gr. [GREEK], [GREEK], Skr. katara
, from the interrogatively pronoun, in AS. hwā
who. [GREEK][GREEK][GREEK][GREEK]. 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.
Wheth′er
,c
onj.
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,
But you, Lorenzo,
whether
I am yours? Shakespeare
You have said; but
whether
wisely or no, let the forest judge. Shakespeare
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
Rise on the earth, or earth rise on the sun, . . .
Solicit not thy thoughts with matters hid.
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.
Webster 1828 Edition
Whether
WHETHER
, pronoun or substitute. [L. The sense seems to be what, or which of two, referring either to persons or to sentences.]1.
Which of two.Whether of them twain did the will of his father? Matthew 21/
Here whether is a substitute for one of two, and signifies which; which of the two; but in this sense it is obsolete.
2.
Which of two alternatives, expressed by a sentence or the clause of a sentence, and followed by or. Resolve whether you will go or not; that is, you will go or not go; resolve which.[Note. IN the latter use, which is now most common, whether is called an adverb. This is a mistake. It is the same part of speech as in the former example. The only difference is that in the former example it represents or refers to a noun, and in the latter to a sentence or clause.]