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Webster 1913 Edition


Where

Wher

,

Where

,
p
ron.
& c
onj.
[See
Whether
.]
Whether.
[Sometimes written
whe’r
.]
[Obs.]
Piers Plowman.
Men must enquire (this is mine assent),
Wher
she be wise or sober or dronkelewe.
Chaucer.

Where

,
adv.
[OE.
wher
,
whar
, AS.
hw[GREEK]r
; akin to D.
waar
, OS.
hw[GREEK]r
, OHG.
hwār
,
wār
,
wā
, G.
wo
, Icel. and Sw.
hvar
, Dan.
hvor
, Goth.
hwar
, and E.
who
; cf. Skr.
karhi
when. √182. See
Who
, and cf.
There
.]
1.
At or in what place; hence, in what situation, position, or circumstances; – used interrogatively.
God called unto Adam, . . .
Where
art thou?
Gen. iii. 9.
☞ See the Note under
What
, pron., 1.
2.
At or in which place; at the place in which; hence, in the case or instance in which; – used relatively.
She visited that place
where
first she was so happy.
Sir P. Sidney.
Where
I thought the remnant of mine age
Should have been cherished by her childlike duty.
Shakespeare
Where
one on his side fights, thousands will fly.
Shakespeare
But
where
he rode one mile, the dwarf ran four.
Sir W. Scott.
3.
To what or which place; hence, to what goal, result, or issue; whither; – used interrogatively and relatively; as, where are you going?
But
where
does this tend?
Goldsmith.
Lodged in sunny cleft,
Where
the gold breezes come not.
Bryant.
Where is often used pronominally with or without a preposition, in elliptical sentences for a place in which, the place in which, or what place.
The star . . . stood over
where
the young child was.
Matt. ii. 9.
The Son of man hath not
where
to lay his head.
Matt. viii. 20.
Within about twenty paces of
where
we were.
Goldsmith.
Where
did the minstrels come from?
Dickens.
Where is much used in composition with preposition, and then is equivalent to a pronoun. Cf.
Whereat
,
Whereby
,
Wherefore
,
Wherein
, etc.
Where away
(Naut.)
,
in what direction;
as,
where away
is the land?
Syn. – See
Whither
.

Where

,
c
onj.
Whereas.
And flight and die is death destroying death;
Where
fearing dying pays death servile breath.
Shakespeare

Where

,
Noun.
Place; situation.
[Obs. or Colloq.]
Finding the nymph asleep in secret
where
.
Spenser.

Webster 1828 Edition


Where

WHERE

,
adv.
1.
At which place or places.
She visited the place where first she was so happy--
In all places where I record my name, I will come to thee and I will bless thee. Exodus 20.
2.
At or in what place.
Adam, where art thou? Genesis 3.
3.
At the place in which.
Where I though the remnant of my age should have been cherishd by her child-like duty.
4.
Whither; to what place, or from what place. Where are you going? Where are you from? [These uses of where are common, and the first cannot be condemned as vulgar.]
Any where, in any place. I sought the man, but could not find him any where.
[Note. Where seems to have been originally a noun, and was so used by Spenser. He shall find no where safe to him. In this sense, it is obsolete; yet it implies place, its original signification.]

Definition 2024


where

where

See also: where- and were

English

Alternative forms

Conjunction

where

  1. While on the contrary; although; whereas.
    • William Shakespeare
      And flight and die is death destroying death; / Where fearing dying pays death servile breath.
    • July 18 2012, Scott Tobias, AV Club The Dark Knight Rises
      Where the Joker preys on our fears of random, irrational acts of terror, Bane has an all-consuming, dictatorial agenda that’s more stable and permanent, a New World Order that’s been planned out with the precision of a military coup.
    • 2013 June 14, Jonathan Freedland, Obama's once hip brand is now tainted”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 18:
      Now we are liberal with our innermost secrets, spraying them into the public ether with a generosity our forebears could not have imagined. Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet.
    Where Susy has trouble coloring inside the lines, Johnny has already mastered shading.
  2. At or in which place or situation.
    • 2013 July-August, Henry Petroski, Geothermal Energy”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 4:
      Energy has seldom been found where we need it when we want it. Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame. With more settled people, animals were harnessed to capstans or caged in treadmills to turn grist into meal.
    He is looking for a house where he can have a complete office.
    I've forgotten where I was in this book, but it was probably around chapter four.
  3. To which place or situation.
    The snowbirds travel where it is warm.
  4. Wherever.
    Their job is to go where they are called.
  5. (law) In a position, case, etc., in which.
    Where no provision under this Act is applicable, the case shall be decided in accordance with the customary practices.

Translations

Adverb

where (not comparable)

  1. Interrogative adverb, used in either a direct or indirect question: at what place; to what place; what place.
    Where are you?
    Where are you going?
    He asked where I grew up.
    1. With the preposition from
    Where did you come from?
  2. In what situation.
    Where would we be without our parents?

Translations

Pronoun

where

  1. The place in which.
    He lives within five miles of where he was born.

Translations

Noun

where (plural wheres)

  1. The place in which something happens.
    A good article will cover the who, the what, the when, the where, the why and the how.
    Finding the nymph asleep in secret where. Spenser.

Translations

Derived terms

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: never · shall · most · #102: where · those · own · old

Anagrams