Whether vs Yet - What's the difference?
whether | yet |
(obsolete) Which of two.
* 1526 , William Tyndale, trans. Bible , Matthew XXVII:
* Bible, Matthew xxi. 31
(lb)
*1526 , (William Tyndale), trans. Bible , Mark II:
*:whether ys it easyer to saye to the sicke of the palsey, thy synnes ar forgeven the: or to saye, aryse, take uppe thy beed and walke?
*1616 , (William Shakespeare), (King John) , I.i:
*:Whether hadst thou rather be a Faulconbridge, [...] Or the reputed sonne of Cordelion?
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*:As a political system democracy seems to me extraordinarily foolish,I do not suppose that it matters much in reality whether laws are made by dukes or cornerboys, but I like, as far as possible, to associate with gentlemen in private life.
*{{quote-news, year=2012, date=June 19, author=Phil McNulty, work=BBC Sport
, title= *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-20, volume=408, issue=8845, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= ; if, whether or not.
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:
(dialectal) To melt; found; cast, as metal.
(usually with negative) Thus far; up to the present; up to some specified time.
Continuously up to the current time; still.
* Addison
At some future time; eventually.
* Shakespeare
(after certain copulative verbs, followed by an infinitive) Not as of the time referenced.
In addition.
* , chapter=10
, title= * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=September 18, author=Ben Dirs, work=BBC Sport
, title= (degree) Even.
* Francis Bacon
Nevertheless; however; but; despite that.
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*
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-05-25, volume=407, issue=8837, page=74, magazine=(The Economist)
, title=
As conjunctions the difference between whether and yet
is that whether is (lb) while yet is nevertheless; however; but; despite that.As a pronoun whether
is (obsolete) which of two.As a verb yet is
(dialectal) to melt; found; cast, as metal.As a noun yet is
(dialectal) a metal pan or boiler; yetling.As an adverb yet is
(usually with negative) thus far; up to the present; up to some specified time.whether
English
Pronoun
(English Pronouns)- The debite answered and sayde unto them: whether of the twayne will ye that I lett loosse unto you?
- Whether of them twain did the will of his father?
Conjunction
(English Conjunctions)England 1-0 Ukraine, passage=The incident immediately revived the debate about goal-line technology, with a final decision on whether it is introduced expected to be taken in Zurich on 5 July.}}
Old soldiers?, passage=Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine. The machine gun is so much more lethal than the bow and arrow that comparisons are meaningless. One thing that is true, though, is that murder rates have fallen over the centuries, as policing has spread and the routine carrying of weapons has diminished.}}
Usage notes
* There is some overlap in usage between senses 2 and 3, in that a yes-or-no interrogative content clause can list the two possibilities explicitly in a number of ways:- Do you know whether he's coming or staying?''
- ''Do you know whether he's coming or not?''
- ''Do you know whether or not he's coming?''
yet
English
(wikipedia yet)Etymology 1
From (etyl) yeten, from (etyl) . More at (l).Alternative forms
* (l) * (l) (obsolete)Verb
(yett)Etymology 2
From (etyl) yet, yit, from (etyl) .Anatoly Liberman, An Analytic Dictionary of English Etymology: An Introduction'', s.v. “yet” (Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 2008), xlvi.Marlies Philippa et al., eds., ''Etymologisch Woordenboek van het Nederlands , A-Z, s.v. “ooit” (Amsterdam UP, 3 Dec. 2009):Adverb
(-)- facts they had heard while they were yet heathens
- He'll be hanged yet .
The Mirror and the Lamp, passage=It was a joy to snatch some brief respite, and find himself in the rectory drawing–room. Listening here was as pleasant as talking; just to watch was pleasant. The young priests who lived here wore cassocks and birettas; their faces were fine and mild, yet really strong, like the rector's face; and in their intercourse with him and his wife they seemed to be brothers.}}
Rugby World Cup 2011: England 41-10 Georgia, passage=After yet another missed penalty by Kvirikashvili from bang in front of the posts, England scored again, centre Tuilagi flying into the line and touching down under the bar.}}
- Men may not too rashly believe the confessions of witches, nor yet the evidence against them.
Derived terms
* not yetReferences
Conjunction
(English Conjunctions)- Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers, of errand not wholly obvious to their fellows, yet of such sort as to call into query alike the nature of their errand and their own relations. It is easily earned repetition to state that Josephine St. Auban's was a presence not to be concealed.
- Thus the red damask curtains which now shut out the fog-laden, drizzling atmosphere of the Marylebone Road, had cost a mere song, and yet they might have been warranted to last another thirty years. A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor;.
No hiding place, passage=In America alone, people spent $170 billion on “direct marketing”—junk mail of both the physical and electronic varieties—last year. Yet of those who received unsolicited adverts through the post, only 3% bought anything as a result.}}