\Wheth"er\, pron. [OE. whether, AS. hw[ae]?er; akin to
OS. hwe?ar, OFries. hweder, OHG. hwedar, wedar, G. weder,
conj., neither, Icel. hv[=a]rr whether, Goth. hwa?ar, Lith.
katras, L. uter, Gr. ?, ?, Skr. katara, from the
interrogatively pronoun, in AS. hw[=a] 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.

\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.