whether (pron.) Copy link • whether (pron.): ŭter: w. of us two is on the people's side, you or I? uter nostrum est popularis, tune an ego? Cic. Rab. perd. 4, 11: v. which.
whether (conj.) Copy link Outline I. In single questions1. nĕ (attached to the most important word in the question)2. num3. an (after verbs of doubting, not knowing, etc.)4. si (after verbs of seeing, trying)5. utrum (very rare in this use)II. In double questions, whether ... or1. utrum ... an, anne, ne2. ne ... an3. ... an, ne, the Latin word for whether being not expressedIII. Whether ... or, where a matter is left undecided, but a conclusion drawn whichever way it be • whether (conj.): I. In single questions: 1. nĕ (attached to the most important word in the question): w. Publilius will go, you will be able to know from Aledius, Publilius iturusne sit, ex Aledio cognosces, Cic. 2. num: I ask w. things would happen differently from what they do happen, quaero num aliter ac nunc eveniunt evenirent, Cic. 3. an (after verbs of doubting, not knowing, etc.): I do not know w. I may (not) better call it patience, nescio an melius patientiam possim dicere, Cic. Lig. 9, 26: there is really no ellipse of a negative here; it is only that I am not sure w., in Latin, conveyed a leaning to the affirmative, whereas in English it leans to the negative: I doubt w. I should (not) place (i. e. I am almost inclined to place) Thrasybulus the first of all men, dubito an Thrasybulum primum omnium ponam, Nep. Thras. 1. 4. si (after verbs of seeing, trying): I will go and see w. he is at home, ibo et visam si domi est, Pl.: the Helvetii tried w. they could break through, Helvetii si perrumpere possent conati, Caes. B. G. 1, 8. 5. utrum (very rare in this use): will you dare to say that it matters not w. the Sicilians think well of you? an hoc dicere audebis utrum de te Siculi bene existiment, ad rem non pertinere? Cic. Verr. 2, 69, 167. II. In double questions, whether ... or: 1. utrum ... an, anne, ne: w. he spoke in a Roman sense, or as the Stoics speak, I will hereafter inquire, utrum Romano more locutus sit, an, ut Stoici dicunt, postea videro, Cic.: w. they think this or pretend it, you will understand, id utrum illi sentiant anne simulent, tu intelliges, id.: w. you have bought it or not, utrum emeris necne, id. 2. ne ... an: w. in the whole compass of the speech, or in the beginning, or in the end, or in both, in totone circuitu orationis, an in principiis, an in extremis, an in utraque parte, Cic. 3. ... an, ne, the Latin word for whether being not expressed: w. wounded or whole, have I deserted your standard? saucius an sanus numquid tua signa reliqui? Ov.: so that it was uncertain w. they were conquerors or conquered, ut incertum fuerit vicissent victine essent, Liv. III. Whether ... or, where a matter is left undecided, but a conclusion drawn whichever way it be: sive ... sive, seu ... seu (the former Ciceronian, the latter, as also sive ... seu, seu ... sive, in Caes. and in the poets): w. I am thinking, or writing, or reading, I am wont to use that as my favourite place, sive quid mecum ipse cogito sive quid aut scribo aut lego, illo loco libentissime soleo uti, Cic.: w. it was done rightly or wrongly, I confess myself the doer, seu recte seu pervorse facta sunt, egomet fecisse confiteor, Pl.: w. by guile or w. the fates of Troy so willed it, sive dolo seu Trojae sic fata ferebant, Virg.: w. it is madness or any one has harmed you, seu furor est, sive aliquis nocuit, Ov.
WHETHER Copy link • WHETHER 1. pronoun, uter. 2. conjunction, ne (suffix, attached to the chief word of the clause, on which the stress of the inquiry is laid): num (simply as the sign of a question; Vid: Zumpt, § 351, note. ☞ We rarely find utrum in single questions; an, in classical prose, is only = our “or” after “either,” “whether;” Vid: Zumpt, § 353: as the sign of indirect interrogation, it occurs only in writers of the Silver Age, beginning with Curt.). I ask you whether you have given him money, quaero dederisne ei pecuniam, or num ei pecuniam dederis (☞ not an ei pecuniam dederis, which is unclassical). He asked me whether I wanted anything, quaesivit ex me, numquid vellem: I asked him whether anybody would come, quaesivi ex eo, ecquis esset venturus: let me know whether you will come, ecquid venturi sitis, fac sciam. After words expressing doubt, hesitation, or the like; e.g., dubito (I doubt), dubium est (it is doubtful), incertum est (it is uncertain), delibero (I am considering), haesito (I am undecided), and especially after haud scio or nescio (I do not know), “whether” is expressed by an: I doubt whether I ought not to prefer this man to all others, dubito an hunc primum omnium ponam: death is certain, but it is uncertain whether or not it will take place on a particular day, moriendum certe est, et id incertum, an eo ipso die. I do not know whether I should not place, dubito an ponam (not annon ponam); so also without a negative expressed in Latin after haud scio, nescio, etc.; Vid: Zumpt, § 354. After verbs of seeing, expecting, attempting, “whether” is sometimes expressed by si (Greek εἰ); e.g., Helvetii nonnumquam, si perrumpere possent, conati sunt (Caes.); tentata res est, si primo impetu capi Ardea possit (Liv.); visam si domi est (Terentianus). In a double interrogation: Whether... or, utrum... an; e.g., permultum interest, utrum perturbatione aliqua animi, an consulto et cogitato injuria fiat (Cic.): (more rarely) num... an; e.g., illud considerandum videtur, num propter imbecillitatem atque inopiam desiderata sit amicitia, an esset antiquior, etc. (Cic.): also by ne... an; e.g., quaeritur, unusne mundus sit, an plures (Cic.: ☞ ne... ne and an... an for utrum... an are very rare): whether or not, utrum... necne; ne... annon. Sometimes utrum, etc., in the first clause is omitted; e.g., interrogatur, pauca sint, anne multa (Cic.); nihil interest civis sit an peregrinus (Cic.). Sometimes both signs of interrogation are omitted; e.g., velit, nolit, scire difficile est (Cic.). Whether... or (=be it that... or be it that; when the speaker either does not know which is the right supposition, or chooses to leave it undecided), sive... sive (Cic.); seu... seu (not Cic., but Caes.) ☞ seu... sive or sive... seu are post-Augustan, Pr. Intr., ii, 543. Sometimes vel... vel; e.g., pace vel Quirini vel Romuli dixerim: whether by divine inspiration, or from a sort of presentiment, sive divinitus, sive aliqua conjectura (so sive casu, sive consilio deorum immortalium factum est). Sometimes the verb is expressed: you will recover, whether you take medicine or not, sive adhibueris medicinam, sive non adhibueris, convalesces.