adv. (conj., sb.) Forms: α. 13 hwonne, (1 huonne), 3 wonne, 34 whonne, 6 Sc. quhone. β. 13 hwanne, 3 wæne, quanne, (quuanne, ȝwanne, ȝwane), 34 wane, 35 whanne, wanne, quane, 4 huanne, 6 whane, Sc. quhane. γ. 1 hwenne, hwænne, (hoenne), 23 wenne, 3 hwenne, weonne, 35 whenne, 4 quenne, qwenne, quene, Sc. qwene, qwhene, 46 Sc. quhene, 5 whene. δ. 34 hwon, won, (4 wȝon), 45 whon, 5 qwon. ε. 34 hwan, (3 quuan, quæn), 35 wan, quan, 36 whan, (4 van, 5 whann), 56 Sc. quhan. ζ. 3 hwen, 35 wen, 45 quen, (4 qwheyn, 5 qwen, qwhen), 48 Sc. quhen, 4 when. [OE. hwanne, hwǫnne, hwenne, (Nth. hwœnne), late WS. hwænne, corresp. to OFris. wanne, (h)wenne until, if (Fris. wan when, if), OS. hwan when, hwanna at some time, when, (MLG. wan, wen, wanne, wenne, MDu. wan, wen, surviving in Du. wanneer when = OS. hwan êr as soon as), OHG. wanne, wenni, -e (MHG. wanne, wenne, G. wann when, wenn if), Goth. hwan when, how: a derivative of the interrog. stem χwa- WHO, WHAT, as then is of the demonstrative þa-; cf. Avestic kəm how, L. quom, cum when, OPruss. kan if, OIr. can, W. pan.
The formations present points of difficulty; the following related forms have a dental suffix: OFris. hwande, hwante, wande, want, hwende, hwent(e (Fris. want) for, because, as, OS. hwanda, hwand when, for, because (MLG. wande), OHG. (h)wanta why, L. quando when (cf. Skr. kadā when, Lith. kadà where, etc.).]
I. Interrogative uses.
1. In a direct question: At what time? on what occasion? Sometimes passing into the sense: In what case or circumstances? (cf. 8). Also with ellipsis of the remainder of the question (see also b).
c. 1000. Ags. Gosp., Matt. xxv. 37. Hwænne ʓesawe we ðe hingriʓende, & we ðe feddon?
c. 1000. Ags. Ps. (Th.), xl[i]. 5. Hwonne ær he beo dead, oþþe hwænne his nama aspringe?
c. 1175. Lamb. Hom., 65. Wenne scal þos bode us god don?
1382. Wyclif, Ps. xli[i]. 3. Whan I shal comen, and apere befor the face of God?
c. 1412. Hoccleve, De Reg. Princ., 864. Whan schol ye þre to vs be reconsiled?
1540. Palsgr., Acolastus, IV. v. V j b. Thou shalt haue gold tolde out to the. La. Whan, at the Grekish calendes?
1590. Shaks., Com. Err., II. ii. 13. When spake I such a word7
1681. Dryden, Abs. & Achit., I. 387. When should People strive their Bonds to break, If not when Kings are Negligent or Weak?
1742. Young, Nt. Th., III. 537. When shall I die?when shall I live for ever?
1841. Punch, 24 July, 21/2. When is a horse like a herring?When hes hard rode.
1865. Dickens, Mut. Fr., III. xiv. When shall I come to see you, Mr. Boffin?
1867. Tennyson, Holy Grail, 255. Who shall blazon it? when and how?
† b. ellipt. as an exclamation of impatience. Obs.
1592. Kyd, Sp. Trag., III. i. 47. No more, I say: to the tortures, when!
1596. Shaks., Tam. Shr., IV. i. 147. Off with my boots, you rogues: you villaines, when?
1623. Middleton, More Dissemblers, V. i. (1657), 66. Why when? begin Sir: I must stay your leisure.
2. In a dependent question or clause of similar meaning: At what time; on what occasion; in what case or circumstances. Also ellipt.
Say when, colloq. formula used by a person pouring out drink for another, to ask him to say when he shall stop.
c. 1000. Ags. Gosp., Matt. ii. 7. Herodes befran hi ʓeorne, hwænne se steorra hym æteowde.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 5446. Nou rek i neuer quen i dei.
c. 1375. in Horstmann, Altengl. Leg. (1878), 124/1. Alle ȝe haue herd told & rad How & whanne god þis world mad.
1535. Coverdale, Lev. xiv. 57. That it maye be knowne, whan eny thinge is vncleane or cleane.
1676. N. French, Vnkinde Desertor, i. 22. To know when to speake, and when to be silent.
1710. Swift, Jrnl. to Stella, 7 Oct. I wonder when this letter will be finished.
1854. R. S. Surtees, Handley Cr., i. (1901), I. 11. He knew when to lay hold of his hounds, and when to let them alone.
1865. Dickens, Mut. Fr., IV. iii. Say when youve put it safe back, Mr. Venus.
a. 1225. Ancr. R., 144. Deað þet we beoð siker of & unsiker hwonne.
c. 1400. Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1903), 263. Deȝe we ssulin sikerliche; bot god wot wanne & were.
1545. Ascham, Toxoph., II. (Arb.), 125. Whych matter was onse excellentlye disputed vpon, in the Scooles, you knowe when.
1590. Shaks., Com. Err., III. i. 39. Ile tell you when, and youll tell me wherefore.
1667. Milton, P. L., X. 499. I am to bruise his heel; His Seed, when is not set, shall bruise my head.
1779. H. Walpole, Lett. to Selwyn, 5 July. Can you tell me if the Duchess of Leinster still goes to Aubigny; and, if she does, when?
1828. Hazlitt, Self Love & Benev., Sk & Ess. (1872), 104. What might be the consequence to myself the Lord knows when?
1883. Stevenson, Treas. Isl., xi. Well, now, if you want to know, Ill tell you when. The last moment I can manage; and thats when.
1888. J. S. Winter, Bootles Childr., ii. I havent seen such food I dont know when.
1889. Mod. Society, 6 June (Farmers Slang). Say when, said Bonko, taking up a flagon of whiskey and commencing to pour out the spirit into my glass.
3. After a prep. (esp. since, till), in a direct or a dependent question: = What time?
Cf. F. depuis quand, G. seit wann.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 5670. Sin quen was þou vr dempster?
1583. Melbancke, Philotimus, N iv. If any circumstance of where, or when, or whome, may make a probable Argument.
1828. Scott, F. M. Perth, xiv. Since when is it, good Father, that the principal libertine has altered his morals so much?
1861. H. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, xix. Since when have you missed her? Since yesterday afternoon.
II. Relative and conjunctive uses.
Formerly (now arch.) also followed by that (THAT conj. 6).
4. As compound relative (cf. WHAT C.*), or as correlative to then (implied and sometimes expressed): At the (or a) time at which; on the (or an) occasion on which.
Also ellipt. with only the predicate expressed, e.g., when a boy = when he (I, etc.) was a boy; when cold = when it is cold.
a. In reference to a definite actual occurrence or fact, chiefly with verb in past tense: At the time that, on the occasion that; sometimes with verb in present tense = now that (sometimes with mixture of sense 9 a).
a. 1000. Guthlac, 209. Hwonne hy mid menʓu maran cwome, þa þe for his life lyt sorʓedon.
c. 1250. Gen. & Ex., 576. Sexe hundred ȝer noe was hold Quan he dede him in ðe archewold.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 8958. Quen þat sco to þe cite com Sco com in at þat ilk yatte, Þar þis tre lai in hir gatt.
c. 1350. Will. Palerne, 2484. Wan þei þider come, Þei founde al awei fare.
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 1689. Qwhen this Citie was set Then meuyt to his mynde [etc.].
c. 1420. Sir Amadace, xxix. Qwen he was gone on this kin wise, Thenne iche mon sayd thayre deuise.
147085. Malory, Arthur, X. lxx. 536. Whanne he sawe her make suche chere he ferd lyke a lyon that there myghte no man withstande hym.
1533. Bellenden, Livy, V. xxiv. (S.T.S.), II. 230. We suld nocht leif oure ciete now quhen It hes sa mony ruynouss housis.
1577. Hanmer, Anc. Eccl. Hist., 239. When that he was certified that the Ethnicks offred sacrifice in that place he sharply rebuked Eusebius.
1581. Satir. Poems Reform., xliii. 154. Sone efter that the Counsell cround ȝoursell, Quhan godly Murray as a regent rang.
1605. Shaks., Macb., II. ii. 27. Listning their feare, I could not say Amen, When they did say God blesse vs.
1763. J. Brown, Poetry & Music, v. 67. Music had then its greatest Power, when the Melody was most confined in its Compass.
1775. Harris, Philos. Arrangem., Wks. (1841), 339. It was by being attacked when asleep that the gigantic Polypheme fell a sacrifice to Ulysses.
1779. Mirror, No. 23, ¶ 3. He lost his father when an infant.
1848. Thackeray, Van. Fair, liii. It was ten oclock when he woke up.
1863. Dickens, Uncomm. Trav., xxvi. When I was a child I used to think that I should like to play at Chinese Enchanter.
1894. Baring-Gould, Bk. Fairy T., 70. It is not the time for violets, when the snow lies deep?
b. In reference to a future time (whether in the present or the past).
971. Blickl. Hom., 97. He sceal winnan & sorʓian, hwonne se dæʓ cume.
c. 1275. Lay., 643. He þrettede þan castle, and þat folk wið ine, wanne he hit mihte awinne.
c. 1350. Leg. Rood (1871), 21. Vr lord bi-het me þere Wiþ Oyle of Milce smere me whonne hit tyme were.
c. 1420. Avow. Arth., xxiv. Quen thou art armut in thi gere, Take thi schild and thi spere.
1560. Bible (Geneva), 1 Sam. iii. 12. When I begin, I wil also make an end.
1588. Shaks., L. L. L., IV. iii. 145. What will Berowne say when that he shall heare Faith infringed?
1646. in Row, Hist. Kirk (Wodrow Soc.), p. xxxi. I desyrit our people to convein quhen the bellis suld be rung.
1769. Mrs. Raffald, Eng. Housekpr. (1805), 109. When your head is boiled, rub it over with the yolk of an egg.
a. 1814. [see THAT conj. 6].
1855. Kingsley, Herew., xxxi. Pray St. Etheldreda to be with us when the day shall come.
1889. Tennyson, Crossing the Bar, 16. I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have crost the bar.
1915. Ian Hay, First Hundred Thou., II. xx. 303. The Oxford Dictionary of the English Language will have to be revised and enlarged when this war is over.
c. Indefinitely or generally: At any time, or at the several times, at which; on any occasion that: most commonly with vb. in pres. tense.
c. 1200. Trin. Coll. Hom., 147. Wanne hie seȝen men wanred þolien oðer on sinne bifallen þer-of hie hadden reuðe.
c. 1220. Bestiary, 16, in O. E. Misc., 1. Wanne he is ikindled Stille lið ðe leun.
a. 1250. Owl & Night., 324. Ich singe an eue a riȝte time & soþþe won hit is bedtime.
1340. Ayenb., 27. Huanne he yziȝþ oþer yherþ þe guod of oþren þanne him comþ a zorȝe to þe herte.
1461. Paston, Lett., I. 541. To see that the contre be allweys redy to coine bothe fote men and hors men, qwen they be sent for.
1553. Respublica, 894. Solace we muste nedes have whan that we are werie.
15915. Spenser, Astrophel, 29. There was no pleasure nor delightfull play, When Astrophel so euer was away.
1639. J. Clarke, Parœm., 87. When God will, all winds bring raine.
1711. Addison, Spect., No. 26, ¶ 7. When I look upon the tombs of the great, every emotion of envy dies in me.
a. 1774. Goldsm., Elegy Mrs. Mary Blaize, 16. She never slumbered in her pew,But when she shut her eyes.
1827. Scott, Highl. Widow, v. The answers which he received from him, when conversing on religious topics.
1860. Dickens, Uncomm. Trav., ii. I am overpowered when I think of you and your hospitable home.
5. Introducing a clause as the object of a verb, or (later) governed by a preposition: = The or a time at which; † a case in which (cf. 8).
This use arises from the dependent interrog. use (sense 2), and the OE. examples are only particular cases of this.
971. Blickl. Hom., 227. Hine ðæs heardost langode hwanne he of ðisse worulde moste.
a. 1000. Cædmons Gen., 1433. Hæleð langode hwonne hie of nearwe stæppan mosten.
c. 1375. Cursor M., 5939 (Fairf.). Sette us terme & quenne [Cott. term wen] we salle pray for þe & þi men.
c. 1412. Hoccleve, De Reg. Princ., 113. Passe ouer whanne þis stormy nyght was gon, And day gan at my wyndowe in to prye.
1487. Cely Papers (Camden), 166. They loke euery owre when the comens of the town schall ryse.
1568. [see LOOK v. 3 c].
1603. Shaks., Meas. for M., II. ii. 11. I haue seene When after execution, Iudgement hath Repented ore his doome.
1648. Herrick, Hesper., To the Lark. And know thy when To say, Amen.
1689. Milward, Seldens Table-t., Ded. In your Fancy carry along with you, the When and the Why many of these things were spoken.
1838. S. Sharpe, Hist. Egypt under Ptol., 186. As to the when, the why, or by whom the pyramids were built, they had as little to guide their guesses as we have.
1867. Morris, Jason, XVII. 100. Since when I am dead, By none but him the people shall be led. Ibid. (1868), Earthly Par., Prol. 202. Expecting when our turn shall come to die.
1884. Dailys of Sodden Fen, x. I was a grown young man of twenty by when it happened.
6. As simple relative (cf. WHAT C.**): At which time, on which occasion; and then. Sometimes implying suddenness: = and just then, and at that moment.
a. 1000. Cædmons Gen., 1265. Siððan hundtwelftiʓ ʓeteled rime wintra on worulde wræce bisʓedon fæʓe þeoda; hwonne frea wolde on wærloʓan wite settan.
1461. Paston, Lett., I. 541. Wrytyn the xxiij. day of Janware in haste, wan I was not well at hesse.
1562. Winȝet, Cert. Tractates, Wks. (S.T.S.), I. 2. Haistelie maid one Pasche twisday, 1562, quhen thair apperit ane daingerous seditioun in Edinburgh.
1592. Shaks., Ven. & Ad., 320. His testie maister goeth about to take him, When lo the vnbackt breeder full of feare, swiftly doth forsake him.
1634. Ford, Perkin Warbeck, II. E 2 b. There haue beene Irish-Hubbubs, when I haue made one too.
1711. Budgell, Spect., No. 77, ¶ 1. We took a turn or two more, when, to my great Surprize, I saw him squirr away his Watch a considerable way into the Thames.
1780. Mirror, No. 78, ¶ 3. I had not been above three years at college, when the death of an uncle put me in possession of a very considerable estate.
1820. Keats, Lamia, II. 26. There they reposed, When from the slope side of a suburb hill, came a thrill Of trumpets.
1893. Law Times, XCV. 62/2. An inspector tested the drain, when he found that the joints of the pipes were not properly cemented.
1894. Baring-Gould, Bk. Fairy T., 58. Scarcely had she touched the spindle when she pierced her hand with it.
b. As quasi-pronoun after a preposition (esp. since or till): = which time.
13[?]. Cursor M., 20180 (B. M. Add. MS.). Haueþ he me sette any day Aȝens when I me greithe may?
1581. A. Hall, Iliad, I. 12. But then a suter will I be, til when I wish (my child) You from the battayle do absteine.
1593. Shaks., 3 Hen. VI., II. ii. 89. Ed. I was adopted Heire by his consent. Cla. Since when, his Oath is broke.
1634. Sir T. Herbert, Trav., 145. Since when it [sc. Persia] was vanquished by Tangrolipix the Turke, an. 1030.
1712. Mrs. Centlivre, Perplexd Lovers, III. i. Till when, thou Charmer of my Soul, Farewel.
1820. Shelley, Prometh. Unb., III. ii. 40. Thy steeds will pause at even, till when farewell.
7. With time, day, etc., as antecedent: = at or on which.
The following OE. quot. exemplifies the kind of context out of which this constr. might arise:Guthlac 82 Fyrst was on godes dome, hwonne Guðlace on his ondʓietan engel sealde þæt [etc.].
c. 1200. Ormin, 133. Att ænne time whanne hiss lott Wass cumenn upp to þeowwtenn.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 19716. To wait þe time Quen þai moght cum to murther him.
1362. Langl., P. Pl., A. Prol. 1. In A somer sesun whon softe was þe sonne.
1406. Hoccleve, La Male Regle, 326. Nat tell I can the tyme Whan they to bedde goon, it is so late.
c. 1440. Gesta Rom., xii. 38 (Harl. MS.). A day was set whanne the king shuld come and see hire.
1596. Spenser, F. Q., VI. vii. 32. On a day when Cupid kept his court.
1697. Dryden, Virg. Georg., III. 79. A time will come, when my maturer Muse, In Cæsars Wars, a Nobler Theme shall chuse.
1788. Cowper, Lett. to S. Rose, 29 March. At all times, when it shall suit you to give us your company.
1845. M. Pattison, Ess. (1889), I. 9. The ages of faith, the ages when the Church bore sway over every action of life.
1865. Newman, Hist. Relig. Opin., iv. 201. Charges which I fully believed at the time when I made them.
1876. Swinburne, Note Engl. Repub., 16. Time was when England herself might have claimed this noblest of human rights.
1876. Meredith, Beauch. Career, iv. There are times when an example is needed.
8. With the notion of time modified by or merged in that of mere connection: In the, or any, case or circumstances in which; sometimes nearly = if. Often ellipt. with only the predicate expressed.
The clause with when is often equivalent to a phrase with preposition and gerund (when he sees or saw = on seeing; when he says or said = in saying).
c. 1175. Lamb. Hom., 153. Mildheortnesse me kuð him soluen, h[w]enne he him biþengð þet he isuneȝed haueð and þet sare bimurneð.
c. 1220. Bestiary, 502, in O. E. Misc., 16. Ȝef ðu it soȝe wan it flet.
1357. Lay Folks Catech. (T.), 518. That is when we will noght do to god almighten, That us augh for to do.
137080. Visions St. Paul, 198, in O. E. Misc., 228. He opened þe Mouþ of þat put, Hit stonk foule wȝon hit was vn-schut.
c. 1400. trans. Secr. Secr., Gov. Lordsh., 63. Ȝers and reals dedys shal bettir come to a kynges mynde whon enhyed.
c. 1460. Fortescue, Abs. & Lim. Mon., iv. (1885), 117. Whan a kynge rulith his reaume only to his owne profite he is a tyrant.
1588. A. King, trans. Canisius Catech., 181. The quhilk thing the scriptur meanes quhen it sayis [etc.].
1591. Shaks., Two Gent., V. iv. 44. Oh tis the curse in Loue When women cannot loue, where theyre beloud.
1643. Trapp, Comm. Gen. xxxv. 1. God takes his opportunity, (for we are best, when at worst).
1724. De Foe, Tour Gt. Brit., 15. When I have said this, I think I have done Malden Justice.
1781. Cowper, Table-T., 148. Most confident, when palpably most wrong.
1859. Ruskin, Two Paths, i. § 42. A painter designs when he chooses some things, refuses others, and arranges all.
1890. J. Chamberlain, Sp., 7 May, in W. S. Lilly, 1st Princ. Pol., 161, note. When great national interests are at stake, the party system breaks down.
b. As simple relative (cf. 6): † (a) with case as antecedent: = in which: (b) in which case; whereupon; and then.
1526. Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W., 1531), 2. Except in case whan you vnderstande not yt ye rede therin.
1803. Med. Jrnl., X. 564. It may be opened with a lancet or a needle, when the fluid will run out.
1880. Encycl. Brit., XI. 695/1. The ribbon is sometimes couped or cut short, when it becomes a bâton.
9. With the notion of time passing into that of cause or contrast. a. It being the case that, seeing that, considering that, inasmuch as, since. (Often, and now only, with implication of opposition or contrast, thus approaching b.)
c. 1230. Hali Meid., 9. Hwen þus is of þe riche, hwat wenes tu of the poure?
1297. R. Glouc. (Rolls), 2215. Wanne ȝe abbeþ fourme of men, beþ men an alle wise.
a. 1330. Otuel, 1272. Otuwel, whan it is so, Tak þe bataille a godes name.
c. 1420. Sir Amadace, xxviii. Quat wundur were hit, thaȝhe him were wo, Quen alle his godus were spendutte him fro.
1591. Shaks., 1 Hen. VI., IV. i. 112. What madnesse rules in braine-sicke men, When for so slight a cause, Such factious æmulations shall arise?
a. 1637. B. Jonson, Timber, Wks. (1641), 118. And indeed when the attaining of them [sc. all knowledges] is possible, it were a sluggish and base thing to despaire.
1764. Goldsm., Trav., 64. But where to find that happiest spot below, Who can direct, when all pretend to know?
1865. Dickens, Mut. Fr., IV. iii. Whats the good of my pretending to stand out, when I cant help myself?
1886. [E. H. Dering], In Light of 20th Cent., iv. 85. If you would only look at the question without prejudice Prejudice! I like that, when you are full of prejudices about it.
b. In adversative sense: While on the other hand, while on the contrary, whereas.
† In quot. c. 1489 = although.
1297. R. Glouc. (Rolls), 7770. Hii wolde euere abbe ynou, wanne þe pouere adde wo.
c. 1489. Caxton, Sonnes of Aymon, vi. 153. And whan the kyng gaaff you not his suster but a simple damoysell, yet oughte you to beleve hym.
a. 1568. Ascham, Scholem., II. (Arb.), 145. To follow rather the Gothes in Ryming, than the Greekes in trew versifiyng, were euen to eate ackornes with swyne, when we may freely eate wheate bread emonges men.
1610. Shaks., Temp., II. i. 139. You rub the sore, When you should bring the plaister.
a. 1654. Selden, Table-T. (1689), 26. Little things do great works, when great things will not.
1725. Ramsay, Gentle Sheph., IV. ii. An estate like yours yields braw content, When we but pike it scantly on the bent.
1836. Marryat, Japhet, lvii. I received fifty shillings, when I ought to have received, at least, ten pounds.
1888. F. Harrison, Cromwell, vi. 118. He was solemnly debating a treaty, when he never intended to keep any treaty at all.
III. Indefinite and substantival uses.
† 10. adv. At some time (only OE. with nú, seld(um); when and when, at one time and another, now and then. Obs. rare.
c. 900. trans. Bædas Hist., II. i. (1890), 94. He nu hwonne on þam ilcan bið on wuldre arisende mid oþrum hyrdum þære halʓan cyricean.
c. 1470. Harding, Chron. CXXI. iv. And Scottes also that false wer when and when.
b. As the second element of a compound: see ANYWHEN, AYWHEN, ELSEWHEN, EVERYWHEN, NOWHEN, SELD-when, SOMEWHEN.
11. as sb. The time at which something happens (or did or will happen): = time when (see 7); also vaguely, Time, duration.
Often conjoined with where or how similarly used.
1616. B. Jonson, Epigr., xxxiii. Wks. 777. Thou art but gone before, Whither the world must follow. And I, now, Breathe to expect my when, and make my how.
1765. Sterne, Tr. Shandy, VII. xxi. The gardener troubled his head very little with the hows and whens of life.
1819. Shelley, Ode to Heaven, 6. Deep, immeasurable vast, Which art now, and which wert then Of the Present and the Past, Of the eternal Where and When.
1864. Newman, Apol., VI. 362. I have very little reason to doubt about the issue of things, but the when and the how are known to Him.
1867. Carlyle, E. Irving, in Remin. (1881), 101. The when of my first call there I do not now remember.
1885. Tennyson, Anc. Sage, 104. Thin minds, who creep from thought to thought, Break into Thens and Whens the Eternal Now.