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Whether to Whilom
Whether
(Wheth"er) pron. [OE. whether, AS. hwæer; akin to OS. hwear, OFries. hweder, OHG. hwedar,
wedar, G. weder, conj., neither, Icel. hvarr whether, Goth. hwaar, Lith. katras, L. uter, Gr. Skr.
katara, from the interrogatively pronoun, in AS. hwa 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.
Whethering
(Wheth"er*ing), n. The retention of the afterbirth in cows. Gardner.
Whetile
(Whet"ile) n. [Cf. Whitile.] (Zoöl.) The green woodpecker, or yaffle. See Yaffle. [Prov. Eng.]
Whetstone
(Whet"stone`) n. [AS. hwetstan.] A piece of stone, natural or artificial, used for whetting,
or sharpening, edge tools.
The dullness of the fools is the whetstone of the wits. Shak.
Diligence is to the understanding as the whetstone to the razor. South. Some whetstones are used dry, others are moistened with water, or lubricated with oil.
To give the whetstone, to give a premium for extravagance in falsehood. [Obs.]
Whetter
(Whet"ter) n.
1. One who, or that which, whets, sharpens, or stimulates.
2. A tippler; one who drinks whets. [Obs.] Steele.
Whettlebones
(Whet"tle*bones) n. pl. The vertebræ of the back. [Prov. Eng.] Dunglison.
Whew
(Whew) n. & interj. A sound like a half-formed whistle, expressing astonishment, scorn, or dislike.
Whew duck, the European widgeon. [Prov. Eng.]
Whew
(Whew), v. i. To whistle with a shrill pipe, like a plover. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
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