either, a. (pron.) and adv. (conj.)
(ˈiːðə(r), ˈaɪðə(r))
Forms: 1 ǽᵹ-, œ́ᵹ-, éᵹhwæðer, 1–2 ǽᵹðer, 2 eiᵹðer, (3 Orm. eȝȝðer), 3 æiðer, aieþer, 2–4 eiðer, eiþer, 3–5 aiþer, aither, ayther, (ayder, 5 eyder), 3–6 ether, (? 4–6 aþer, ather, -ir, 4 euther, ewther), 3–7 eyther, -thir, (5 eithar), 6 eather, 4– either. See also er.
[OE. ǽᵹhwæðer (contracted ǽᵹðer) = OHG. eogihwedar (MHG. iegeweder), f. WGer. *aiwo(n (in OE. á, ó) ay, always + *gihwaþaro-z (in OE. ᵹehwæðer: see y- and whether) each of two.
In OE. and early ME. the word appears only in its original sense ‘each of two’, or as adv. = ‘both’; but about the beginning of 14th c. it assumed the disjunctive sense ‘one or the other of two’ (and the corresponding adverbial use), which properly belonged to OE. áhwæðer, áwðer, ME. owþer, oþer (see outher). This disjunctive sense has so far prevailed that in mod.Eng. such expressions as on either side = ‘on both sides’ are felt to be somewhat arch., and must often be avoided on account of their ambiguity. The word outher became obs. in literary use in 16th c.; its mod. dial. forms (pronounced ɔːðə(r)) are popularly regarded as belonging to either. (It is not quite clear whether the forms aþer athir in Sc. from 14th to 16th c. should not be referred to outher; cf. OE. áðor.)
The pronunciation (ˈaɪðə(r)), though not in accordance with the analogies of standard Eng., is in London somewhat more prevalent in educated speech than (ˈiːðə(r)). The orthoepists of 17th c. seem to give (ˈɛːðər, ˈeːðər); Jones 1701 has (ˈeːðər) and (ˈaɪðər), Buchanan (1766) has (ˈaɪðə(r)) without alternative (see Ellis, Early Eng. Pron. ix, x.). Walker (1791) says that (ˈiːðə(r)) and (ˈaɪðə(r)) are both very common, but gives the preference to the former on the ground of analogy and the authority of Garrick. Smart (1849) says that ‘there is little in point of good usage to choose’ between the two pronunciations, though in the body of his dictionary he, like earlier orthoepists, gives (ˈiːðə(r)) without alternative.]
A. adj. (pron.) I. Each of the two.
1. a. As adj. used attrib.
| c 893 K. ælfred Oros. i. ix. §1 Hwa is þætte ariman mæᵹe hwæt þær moncynnes forwearð on æᵹðere hand. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1439 Muche folc in eiþer half to gronde me slou. a 1300 Cursor M. 12881 Þe holi strem of flum iordane On aeiþer side stude still as stane. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 1274 Bot with þe world comes dam fortone, Þat ayther hand may chaung sone. 1375 Barbour Bruce ii. 346 On athir syd thus war thai yhar. c 1420 Anturs of Arth. xxxix, Aythire freke appoune fold has fastned his spere. 1535 Coverdale Ezek. xl. 48 By the walles also were pilers, on either syde one. 1628 Hobbes Thucyd. (1822) 25 The standard being on either side lift up, they joind battle. 1762 Falconer Shipwr. Proem 40 The fierce extremes of either zone. 1820 Scott Ivanhoe iii, There was a huge fireplace at either end of the hall. 1842 Tennyson E. Morris 37 Either twilight and the day between. |
† b. With plural n.: = ‘both’. Also (rarely), either both, in same sense. Obs.
| 1561 T. Norton Calvin's Inst. i. Pref., They all endeuor..to kepe still eyther bothe kingdome safe. 1586 Let. Earle Leycester 20 The Lords and Commons in either houses assembled. 1608 Topsell Serpents 694 Upon either feet they [skinks] have five distinct fingers or claws. |
† c. With possessive pron. interposed before the n. Obs. rare.
| c 1305 St. Kenelm 355 in E.E.P. (1862) 57 Out berste aiþere hire [the queen's] eȝe & fulle adoun vpe hire sautere. |
† d. either other: each of the two. (In quot. with pl. vb. as if = ‘both’.) Obs.
| 1526 Tindale Lev. Prol., For which cause either other of them were ordained. |
† 2. a. absol. as pron.; used both of persons and things. Often followed by of with pl. n. or pron. (In ME. with gen. pl. in same sense; in the case of pronouns this survived until 17th c., e.g. your either = ‘either of you’.) Obs. or arch.
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. ix. 17 Hiᵹ doð niwe win on niwe bytta, and æᵹðer byð ᵹehealden. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 15 Eour eyþer sunegað bi-foran drihten. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 141 Hur eiðer alumð þe se. c 1200 Ormin 119 Forr eȝȝþer here ȝede swa Rihht affterr Godess lare. c 1205 Lay. 15982 æiðer [c 1275 aiþer] wende to his hole. a 1300 Cursor M. 8360 And did þair ether dun for to sitt. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. i. 808 So shall her eitheres werke been overblowe With colde or hoote. 1479 Bury Wills (1850) 54, I beqwethe to eyther of myn executors xls. 1535 Coverdale Ruth i. 9 Ye maie fynde reste ether of you in hir huszbandes house. 1591 Spenser M. Hubberd 551 So parted they, as eithers way them led. 1615 Chapman Odyss. iv. 79 The portraiture of Jove-sustain'd and sceptre-bearing kings Your either person in his presence brings. 1676 in Picton L'pool Munic. Rec. (1883) I. 268 The Serjeant and Water Baylive shall have either a cloak. 1759 Goldsm. Misc. Wks. (1837) III. 219 Fontenelle and Voltaire were men of unequal merit; yet how different has been the fate of either. |
† b. With plural concord. Obs.
| 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. 53 b, Either of them as naked as ever they wer born. 1647 W. Browne tr. Polex. ii. 90 Either of them have treated me as the scandall..of my Sex. |
c. Sometimes = each (of more than two things).
| 1588 R. Parke tr. Mendoza's Hist. China 76 The other thirteene prouinces that do remaine haue eyther of them a vizroy or governor. 1867 Howells Ital. Journ. 228 Just above the feet, at either of the three corners, is an exquisite..female bust. |
† d. either other: = ‘each other’: cf. each. Obs. exc. in form either..the other.
Usually the two words were in different grammatical relations, one of them (in most cases the former) being the subj., and the other governed in acc., genit., or dat. by a vb., n., or prep. Sometimes, however, either other became a compound (cf. each other, and might be governed by a prep.
| a 1000 Andreas 1053 (Gr.) ægðer þara eorla oðrum trymede Heofonrices hyht. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 213 Þesse wise biswikeð her aiðer oðer. c 1205 Lay. 3932 Eiþer hateden oþer. a 1300 Floriz & Bl. 509 Eiþer oþer sone ikneu. a 1300 Cursor M. 799 Quen ayder biheld oþer naked, For scham þay stode bath and quakid. c 1320 Sir Beues 1991 Ather askede of otheres stat. 1393 Langland P. Pl. C. xxi. 127 Ayþer axed of oþ er of þis grete wonder. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. v. i. (1495) 99 Membres helpen eyther other. 1439 E.E. Wills (1882) 124 Aither aftir othir in the taile. 1471 Hist. Arrivall Edw. IV (1838) 19 There was a greate myste and letted the syght of eithar othar. 15.. Kyng to Hermyt 513 in Hazl. E.P.P. I. 33 Ather betauȝt other gode dey. 1552 Lyndesay Monarche 4023 Atheris deand in vtheris armis. 1593 Shakes. Lucr. 66 Beauties red and Vertues white, Of eithers colour was the other Queene. 1677 Hale Prim. Orig. Man. 297 There seems to be a more connatural Transmutation of either into other. 1874 Morley Compromise (1886) 103 The rights of either to disturb the other. |
II. One or other of the two.
3. a. As adj. used attrib.
| c 1300 Beket 2247 He miȝte..wende up aither side. c 1320 Sir Tristr. (1886) 356 Chese onaiþer hand. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 424 Spirits when they please Can either Sex assume, or both. 1740 Chesterfield Lett. I. lx. 170 When the sun shines on either side of us (as it does mornings and evenings) the shadows are very long. 1788 Gibbon Decl. & F. (1846) VI. 190 The artificial thunder, in the hands of either nation, must have turned the fortune of the day. |
¶ Incorrectly with plural vb.
| 1874 Ruskin Val D'Arno 119, I don't mean that either of the writers I name are absolutely thus narrow in their own views. |
† b. either other: one or the other of two. Obs.
| 1532 More Confut. Tindale Wks. (1557) 707/2 Wythoute anye chaunge of beliefe on eyther other syde. 1567 Jewel Def. Apol. (1611) 100 Let him take whether he liketh best, if either other of these words shall serue his turne. |
4. a. absol. as pron. (Formerly sometimes inflected in genit.)
| 1548 Coverdale Erasm. Par. 1 Cor. iii. 15 If eythers worke be with fyre destroyed, the workeman shall lose his labour. 1593 Hooker Eccl. Pol. i. x. (1611) 25 If wee bee both or eyther of these. 1802 Med. Jrnl. VIII. 188 It is by no means necessary to determine a preference between the two..since either of them may be resorted to. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 164 Whatever was ridiculous or odious in either increased the scorn and aversion which the multitude felt for both. 1866 Crump Banking viii. 167 Either causes a loss to the community. |
¶ Incorrectly with plural vb.
| 1833 Bp. Thirwall Philolog. Museum ii. 656 Religious rites by which either Thebes or Eleusis were afterwards distinguished. |
† b. either of both: = ‘either of the two’. Obs.
| a 1575 Abp. Parker Corr. 396, I never heard of either of them both till your honour had sent me your last letters. 1621 Ainsworth Annot. Pentat. (1639) 86 Wives were taken in Israel by bils of Dowry, and solemne espousals; but concubines without either of both. |
c. Sometimes = any one (of more than two).
| 1616 Hieron Wks. (1624) II. 11 That doctrine which tends to the furtherance of all or either of these three. 1796 Encycl. Brit. XVII. 566 Rubens, Jordens, and Snyders, used to co-operate in each other's..pictures..and thus they became more valuable than if finished by either of them singly. 1845 Stephen Laws Eng. II. 31 If either of them [several methods] be found to fail. |
B. as adv. (conj.) I. Adverbial uses of A. I.
† 1. In OE. and early ME. = both. In the oldest use followed by ᵹe..ᵹe, or ᵹe..and; afterwards ᵹe was omitted, and being retained in the second place. Obs.
| c 893 K. ælfred Oros. ii. v. §8 æᵹþer ᵹe of Sciþþium ᵹe of Crecum. a 1067 Chart. Eadweard in Cod. Dipl. IV. 227 æᵹðer ᵹe binnan burh and butan. a 1175 Cott. Hom. 223 [Ȝe] imugon ȝecnowen eiȝðer god and euyl. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 23 Bute þu heo alle for-lete eiðer ȝe þa ane ȝe þa oðer. a 1200 Moral Ode 32 in E.E.P. (1862) 24 Ayþer to lutel & to muchel. c 1205 Lay. 30887 Aiðer [c 1275 boþe] bi worden and by writen. |
† 2. Used to connect more than two terms. Obs.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 115 Eiðer ȝe on herȝunge ȝe on hungre ȝe on cwalme ȝe on uniwidere ȝe on wilde deoran. |
II. Adverbial uses of A. II.
3. Introducing the mention of alternatives. a. either..or, † either..o(u)ther. (Formerly either might be preceded by an adj.; see quot. 1594.)
| 138. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 297 Eþer to kyng..oþer to deukis. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. Prol. 5 Non..that eythir hath in heuyn or in hell I-be. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. i. 25 Eyther springing there Or elles thider brought from elles where. 1540 Cromwell in Ellis Orig. Lett. ii. 142 II. 168, I never thought treson to your Highnes..ayther in woorde or dede. 1563 Homilies ii. Rogation Wk. iv. (1859) 498 They either quite ear them up..or else, etc. 1593 Hooker Eccl. Pol. i. ii, How should either men or Angels be able perfectly to behold? 1594 Bp. J. King Jonas, &c. (1618) 623 The mutable and transitory either pleasures or profits of this life. 1713 Berkeley Hylas & P. i. Wks. 1871 I. 291 Either, Hylas, you are jesting, or have a very bad memory. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 266 A narration of events, either past, present, or to come. |
† b. either..either: = either..or. Obs.
| 1551 Recorde Pathw. Knowl. Pref., Knowledge..that maye appertaine either to good gouernance in time of peace, eyther wittye pollicies in time of warre. 1574 Hellowes Gueuara's Ep. (1584) 20 In those golden times either philosophers did governe, either else governours did use philosophie. 1588 A. King tr. Canisius' Catech. G viij b, Ather on y⊇ day self of y⊇ æquinoxe, ather ellis on y⊇ day nixt yairefter. |
c. either-or, either/or [in some examples reflecting Da. enten-eller (title of book by the Danish philosopher Kierkegaard, 1843)], used as n., a necessary or unavoidable choice between alternatives. Also attrib. or as adj., black and white, susceptible of only one of two (often extreme) solutions, responses, etc.
| 1931 Times Lit. Suppl. 10 Sept. 672/3 Dr. Harris is a philosopher and a logician with a little too much of the ‘either-or’ in his mental make-up. 1931 Church Times 9 Oct. 388/2 Catholicism..provides..a check upon humanism, which any ‘either/or’ theology cannot give. 1941 Auden New Year Let. ii. 44 The either-ors, the mongrel halves Who find truth in a mirror. 1942 ‘G. Orwell’ in Partisan Rev. IX. 498 One can predict the future in the form of an ‘either-or’: either we introduce Socialism, or we lose the war. 1944 W. Lowrie tr. Kierkegaard's Either/or II. 134 Although my life now has to a certain degree its either/or behind it, yet I know well that it may still encounter many a situation when the either/or will have its full significance. 1951 C. S. Lewis Let. 23 Apr. (1966) 228, I have no use for mere either-or people. 1953 Economist 10 Jan. 58/1 Too much rigid logic of the black-and-white either-or variety. 1958 Spectator 30 May 709/1 An ‘either-or’ attitude, leading to..the Cawnpore Well and the hanging-parties at Benares. 1965 Language XLI. 258 Either-or questions. |
† 4. = Or. Also, either else = or else. Obs.
| 138. Wyclif Antecr. in Todd 3 Treat. Wyclif 118 Who ever clepiþ himself unyversal prest eiþer desireþ to be clepid. 1395 Purvey Remonstr. (1851) 8 The cruelte of all thevis eithir robberis. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour K vij b, She was brente eyther stoned with stones. 1546 Coverdale Lord's Supper Wks. 1844 I. 462 Perhaps men would have forgotten themselves, either else the mercy of God should not have been so much known as it ought to be. 1583 Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. 10 Either else they would neuer be so desirous of reuenge. 1611 Bible Luke vi. 42 Either [1881 Revised, Or] how canst thou say to thy brother. |
5. a. As an alternative, ‘which way you please’. b. In negative or interrogative sentences: Any more than the other.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 1479 Or Alisaunder ewther was his other name. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. ii. v. 206 To. Wilt thou set thy foote o' my necke? An. Or o' mine either? 1828 Scott F.M. Perth xxxii, Thy sex cannot help that either. Mod. If you do not go I will not go either. If John had said so, or William either, I could believe it. |