when
/ˈwɛn/ adverb, conjunction, pronoun, noun, interjection
Forms whens wen
- adverb (interrogative) At what time? At which time? Upon which occasion or circumstance? Used to introduce direct or indirect questions about time. “When will they arrive?”
- adverb (interrogative, Internet slang, often humorous) Used after a noun or noun phrase in isolation to express impatience with an anticipated future event. “The site's all bugged. Fix when?”
- adverb At an earlier time and under different, usually less favorable, circumstances. “He's mister high and mighty now, but I remember him when.”
- adverb (relative) At which, on which, during which: often omitted or replaced with that. “That was the day when the Twin Towers fell.”
- adverb (fused relative) The time at, on or during which. “I recall when they were called the Greys.”
- adverb (informal, in definitions or explanations) A circumstance or situation in which. “Love is when you can't get enough of someone.”
- conjunction At (or as soon as) that time that; at the (or any and every) time that; if. “Pavlov's dogs salivate when [i.e. at any and every time that] they hear a bell.”
- conjunction During the time that; at the time of the action of the following clause or participle phrase. “They dream when [i.e. during the time that] they sleep.”
- conjunction At what time; at which time. “I am here till Friday, when [i.e. at which time] I leave for Senegal.”
- conjunction Since; given the fact that; considering that. “I don't see the point of putting up Christmas decorations when I am the only person who is going to see them.”
- conjunction Whereas; although; at the same time as; in spite of the fact that. “You're picking at your scabs when you should be letting them heal.”
- pronoun (interrogative) What time; which time. “Since when do I need your permission?”
- noun The time at which something happens. “A good article will cover the who, the what, the when, the where, the why and the how.”
- interjection (often humorous) That's enough: a command asking someone to stop adding something, especially an ingredient or portion of food or drink; used in, or as if in, literal response to ‘Say when’.
- interjection (obsolete) Expressing impatience.
Synonyms
as soon as immediately once whenever while given that but where whereas whilst seeing that
Etymology
From Middle English when(ne), whan(ne), from Old English hwonne, from Proto-West Germanic *hwannē, from Proto-West Germanic *hwan, from Proto-Germanic *hwan (“at what time, when”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷís (interrogative base).
Cognate with Scots whan (“when”), Dutch wanneer (“when”), wan (“when”) and wen (“when, if”), Low German wannehr (“when”), wann (“when”) and wenn (“if, when”), German wann (“when”) and wenn (“when, if”), Gothic 𐍈𐌰𐌽 (ƕan, “when, how”), Latin quandō (“when”). More at who.
Interjection sense: a playful misunderstanding of "say when" (i.e. say something / speak up when you want me to stop) as "say [the word] when".
Webster’s 1913
- adverb At what time; --used interrogatively.
- adverb At what time; at, during, or after the time that; at or just after, the moment that; --used relatively.
Etymology [OE. when, whan, whenne, whanne, AS. hwænne, hwanne, hwonne; akin to OS. hwan, OD. wan, OHG. wanne, G. wann when, wenn if, when, Goth. hwan when, and to E. who. Who.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “when”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details