hwær

Old English

Alternative forms

• hwār — Late West Saxon
• hwēr — Anglian, Late Kentish
• hwœ̄r — Late Northumbrian
• hwīer, wēr, wār

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-West Germanic *hwār, from Proto-Germanic *hwar.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xwæːr/, [ʍæːr]
• Rhymes: -æːr

Adverb

hwǣr (West Saxon, early Kentish)

1. where

   Hwǣr eart þū?

   Where are you?

   Hwǣr wunast þū?

   Where do you live?

   Hwǣr sind þā cȳ? Iċ hīe sēċe.

   Where are the cows? I'm looking for them.

   • c. 900, the Old English Boethius

     Hwǣr sind nū þæs Wēlandes bān, oþþe hwā wāt nū hwǣr hīe wǣron?

     Where are Wayland's bones now, and who knows where they were anymore?

2. anywhere, somewhere

Derived terms

• āhwǣr
• ǣġhwǣr
• hwǣrhwugu
• nāhwǣr
• nāthwǣr

Related terms

• hwanon
• hwæder
• þǣr

Descendants

• Middle English: wher, where, wheir, whare, were, qwere
  • English: where, quhair, quhar, quher, quhere (all obsolete)
  • Scots: whaur