either

English

Etymology

Old English ǣġhwæþer, from Proto-Germanic, ultimately corresponding to ay + whether. Akin to Old Saxon eogihwethar, iahwethar; Old Dutch *iogewether, *iowether, *iother (Dutch ieder); Old High German eogihwedar, iegihweder, ieweder (German jeder).

Pronunciation

• enPR: ēth'ə(r), IPA: /ˈiːð.ə(ɹ)/, X-SAMPA: /"i:D.@(r\)/
  • Rhymes: -iːðə(ɹ)

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• enPR: īth'ə(r), IPA: /ˈaɪð.ə(ɹ)/, X-SAMPA: /"aID.@(r\)/
  • Rhymes: -aɪðə(ɹ)

Usage notes

In the UK the first pronunciation is generally used more in southern England, while the latter is more usual in northern England. However, this is an oversimplification, and the pronunciation used varies by individual speaker and sometimes by situation. The first pronunciation is the most common in the United States.

Determiner

either

1. Each of two. [from 9th c.]
   • 1936, Djuna Barnes, Nightwood, Faber & Faber 2007, p. 31:

     Her hands, long and beautiful, lay on either side of her face.

2. One or the other of two. [from 14th c.]
   • 2006 December 5, Jackie Mason, quoted in “Mason drops lawsuit vs. Jews for Jesus”, USA Today:

     You can't be a table and a chair. You're either a Jew or a gentile.

Synonyms

• (one or the other):
• (each of two): both, each

Translations

each of two

• Bulgarian: всеки (bg) m (vseki)
• Dutch: beide (nl)
• Estonian: mõlemad (et)
• Finnish: kumpikin (fi), molemmat (fi)
• French: chaque (fr)
• Italian: ciascuno (it)

• Pashto: دواړه (ps) (dwâṛa)
• Polish: oba (pl)
• Romanian: fiecare (ro), amândoi (ro)
• Russian: каждый (ru) (káždyj) m 
• Swedish: vardera (sv), båda (sv)

one or the other

• Arabic: أي (ar) ('ay) m, واحد من إثنين (ar) (waaHid min 'ithnáyn)
• Bulgarian: или (bg) (ili), един или друг (bg) m (edin ili drug)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 兩者之一 (cmn), 两者之一 (cmn) (liǎng zhě zhī yī)

• Dutch: of (nl)
• Estonian: kumb (et)
• Finnish: jompikumpi (fi)
• French: l'un ou l'autre m, l'une ou l'autre f (for two feminine nouns)
• Italian: l'uno o l'altro m, l'una o l'altra f (for two feminine nouns)

• Japanese: どちらか (ja) (dochiraka)
• Lojban: (forethought) gonai (jbo), (afterthought) .ijonai (jbo)
• Pashto: لا (ps) (lâ), يا (ps) (yâ)
• Polish: obojętnie który (pl) m, którykolwiek (pl) m
• Romanian: oricare (ro)
• Russian: любой (ru) (ljubój) m , один из двух (ru) (odín iz dvux) 
• Scots: ither
• Spanish: cualquiera de los dos (es)
• Swedish: endera (sv), vilken som (sv)

Pronoun

either

1. (obsolete) Both, each of two (people or things).
   • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book VII:

     Than ayther departed to theire tentis and made hem redy to horsebacke as they thought beste.

   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.i:

     And either vowd with all their power and wit, / To let not others honour be defaste [...].

2. One or other of two people or things.

Adverb

either (not comparable)

1. (conjunctive, after a negative) as well

   I don't like him and I don't like her either.

Usage notes

either is sometimes used, especially in North American English, where neither would be more traditionally accurate: "I'm not hungry." "Me either."

Synonyms

• neither
• too

Translations

(after a negative) as well

• Arabic: أيضًا (ar) ('áyDan), كذلك (ar) (ka-dhaalik(a))
• Bulgarian: също (bg) (sǎšto)
• Dutch: ook (nl)
• Estonian: samuti (et)
• Finnish: myöskään (fi), -kaan (fi), -kään (fi)
• French: non plus (fr)
• German: auch (de)
• Irish: ach oiread (ga)

• Italian: neanche (it), nemmeno (it), neppure (it)
• Polish: też nie (pl)
• Portuguese: também não (pt)
• Romanian: nici (ro)
• Russian: также не (ru) (tákže ne) 
• Spanish: tampoco (es)
• Swedish: heller (sv)

Conjunction

either

1. Introduces the first of two options, the second of which is introduced by "or".

   Either you eat your dinner or you go to your room.

Translations

Introduces the first of two options

• Arabic: إما...أو... (ar) ('ima...'aw...)
• Bulgarian: или...или (bg) (ili)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 或者……或者…… (huòzhě...huòzhě...), 要麼……要麼……, 要么……要么…… (yàome...yàome...)

• Czech: buď (cs)
• Dutch: of (nl), ofwel (nl), hetzij (nl)
• Estonian: kas (et)
• Faroese: antin ... ella (fo)
• Finnish: joko (fi)
• French: ou (fr), soit (fr)

• German: entweder (de)...oder
• Hungarian: vagy (hu)...vagy (hu)...
• Italian: o (it), oppure (it)
• Polish: albo (pl)... albo (pl)..., (with negative) ani... ani (pl)...
• Portuguese: ou...ou (pt)
• Russian: или...или (ru) (íli...íli) , либо...либо (ru) (líbo...líbo) 
• Scots: ither
• Scottish Gaelic: aon chuid (gd), an dara cuid (gd)
• Spanish: o (es)
• Swedish: antingen (sv)...eller (sv)

Usage notes

• When there are more than two alternatives, "any" is used instead.

See also

• neither
• nor
• or

Statistics

• Most common English words before 1923: girl · during · several · #333: either · whether · city · held

Anagrams

• theire