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Origin and history of either

either

Old English ægðer, contraction of æghwæðer (pron., adv., conj.) "each of two, both," from a "always" (see aye (adv.)) + ge- collective prefix + hwæðer "which of two, whether" (see whether). Cognate with Old Frisian eider, Dutch ieder, Old High German eogiwedar, German jeder "either, each, every").

Modern sense of "one or the other of two" is late 13c. Adverbially, for emphasis, "in any case, at all," especially when expressing negation, by 1828. Use of either-or to suggest an unavoidable choice between alternatives (1931) in some cases reflects Danish enten-eller, title of an 1843 book by Kierkegaard.

Entries linking to either

aye(adv.)

"always, ever," c. 1200, from Old Norse ei "ever" (cognate with Old English a "always, ever"), from Proto-Germanic *aiwi-, extended form of PIE root *aiw- "vital force, life; long life, eternity" (source also of Greek aiōn "age, eternity," Latin aevum "space of time").

whether(conj., adv.)

"which, of two; which one," Old English hwæðer, hweðer "which of two; whichever," implying choice of alternatives, from Proto-Germanic *gihwatharaz. This is reconstructed to be from the interrogative base *khwa- "who" (from PIE root *kwo-, stem of relative and interrogative pronouns) + comparative suffix *-theraz.

Its comparative form is either. Also in Old English as a pronoun and adjective. Phrase whether or not (also whether or no) recorded from 1650s.

There are cognate compounds in Old Saxon hwedar, Old Norse hvarr, Gothic huaþar, Old High German hwedar "which of the two," German weder "neither;" and beyond Germanic in Sanskrit katarah, Avestan katara-, Greek poteros, Latin uter "which of the two, either of two," Lithuanian katras "which of the two," Old Church Slavonic koteru "which."

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or
c. 1200, "either, else, otherwise, as an alternative or substitute," from Old English conjunction oþþe "either, or," which is related to Old Frisian ieftha, Middle Dutch ofte, Old Norse eða, Old High German odar, German oder, Gothic aiþþau "or." This word was extended in early Mi
sark
"shirt, chemise, body garment of linen or cotton for either sex," Middle English serk, late Old English serc "shirt, corselet...It is either the Old English word influenced in pronunciation and spelling by its Old Norse cognate serkr, or that word in...
neither
Spelling altered c. 1200 by association with either. Paired with nor from c. 1300; earlier with ne....As an adjective, "not either," mid-14c....
Rosicrucian
a supposed secret society possessing ancient occult wisdom, 1620s, from Modern Latin rosa crucis (DuCange) or crux, in either...case a Latinization of German Rosenkreuz, French rosecroix, in either case from the name of the society's reputed founder...
apparel
This is either from Latin apparare "prepare, make ready" (see apparatus), or from Vulgar Latin *ad-particulare "to put things...By either derivation the sense is etymologically "to join like to like, to fit, to suit."...
inimical
expresses both feeling and action, but applies especially to public affairs: where it applies to private matters, it expresses either...
constrain
"to exert force, physical or moral, upon, either in urging to action or restraining from it," early 14c., constreyen, from...
power
c. 1300, pouer, "ability; ability to act or do; strength, vigor, might," especially in battle; "efficacy; control, mastery, lordship, dominion, ability or right to command or control; legal power or authority; authorization; military force, an army," from Anglo-French pouair, Old
gentleman
c. 1200, perhaps mid-12c., "well-born man, man of good family or birth," also extended to Roman patricians and ancient Greek aristocrats, from gentle + man (n.); the compound probably is modeled on Old French gentilhomme (the English gentleman itself was borrowed into French in 1
nuance
"slight or delicate degree of difference in expression, feeling, opinion, etc.," 1781, from French nuance "slight difference, shade of color" (17c.), from nuer "to shade," from nue "cloud," from Gallo-Roman *nuba, from Latin nubes "a cloud, mist, vapor," from PIE *sneudh- "fog" (

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