English word whether comes from Proto-Indo-European *kʷ-, Proto-Indo-European *kʷe-, Proto-Indo-European *kʷo-, Proto-Indo-European *-teros (Contrastive or oppositional adjectival suffix.)
| Dictionary entry | Language | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| *kʷ- | Proto-Indo-European (ine-pro) | |
| *kʷe- | Proto-Indo-European (ine-pro) | |
| *kʷo- | Proto-Indo-European (ine-pro) | |
| *-teros | Proto-Indo-European (ine-pro) | Contrastive or oppositional adjectival suffix. |
| *kʷód, kʷod | Proto-Indo-European (ine-pro) | |
| *kʷís | Proto-Indo-European (ine-pro) | Who, what (interrogative). Who, which, that (relative) Which, what. |
| *hwat | Proto-Germanic (gem-pro) | |
| *kʷóteros | Proto-Indo-European (ine-pro) | Which of two. |
| *hwaþeraz | Proto-Germanic (gem-pro) | (interrogative) which, what (of two). |
| hwæþer | Old English (ca. 450-1100) (ang) | Which (of the two). |
| whether | English (eng) | (obsolete) Introducing a direct interrogative question (often with correlative or) which indicates doubt between alternatives.. Used to introduce a disjunctive adverbial clause which qualifies the main clause of the sentence (with correlative or).. Used to introduce an indirect interrogative question that consists of multiple alternative possibilities (usually with correlative or).. Without [...] |