Etymograph

English

either

Either comes from Middle English either, from Old English ǣġhwæþer ‘each’, a compound of Proto-West Germanic *aiw + *gahwaþar.

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150ǣġhwæþer1‘each’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500either1‘both of two; each of two’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1590either1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English either
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book III, Canto I: “And either vowd with all their power and wit,…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150ǣġhwæþerWiktionary, English either‘each’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500eitherWiktionary, English either‘both of two; each of two’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1590eitherWiktionary, English either. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book III, Canto I: “And either vowd with all their power and wit,…”

The story

The pronunciations with /iː/ and /eɪ/ respectively reflect Middle English forms in /ɛː/ and /æi/; the origin of that with /aɪ/ is less clear, but it may reflect a Middle English form with /iː/; see Middle English either for more discussion.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Every English word from Old English ǣġhwæþer

Today it means

det Any one (of two).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “either”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Old English ǣġhwæþer / either

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