When. World English Historical Dictionary

When. World English Historical Dictionary Dictionary Biographies Literary Criticism Welcome Terms of Service ⧏ Previous Next ⧐ Contents Slice Contents Key Bibliographic Record Murray’s New English Dictionary. 1928, rev. 2024. When adv. (conj., sb.) Forms: α. 1–3 hwonne, (1 huonne), 3 wonne, 3–4 whonne, 6 Sc. quhone. β. 1–3 hwanne, 3 wæne, quanne, (quuanne, ȝwanne, ȝwane), 3–4 wane, 3–5 whanne, wanne, quane, 4 huanne, 6 whane, Sc. quhane. γ. 1 hwenne, hwænne, (hoenne), 2–3 wenne, 3 hwenne, weonne, 3–5 whenne, 4 quenne, qwenne, quene, Sc. qwene, qwhene, 4–6 Sc. quhene, 5 whene. δ. 3–4 hwon, won, (4 wȝon), 4–5 whon, 5 qwon. ε. 3–4 hwan, (3 quuan, quæn), 3–5 wan, quan, 3–6 whan, (4 van, 5 whann), 5–6 Sc. quhan. ζ. 3 hwen, 3–5 wen, 4–5 quen, (4 qwheyn, 5 qwen, qwhen), 4–8 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.

1   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.).]

2   I.  Interrogative uses.

3   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).

4 c. 1000.  Ags. Gosp., Matt. xxv. 37. Hwænne ʓesawe we ðe hingriʓende, & we ðe feddon?

5 c. 1000.  Ags. Ps. (Th.), xl[i]. 5. Hwonne ær he beo dead, oþþe hwænne his nama aspringe?

6 c. 1175.  Lamb. Hom., 65. Wenne scal þos bode us god don?

7 1382.  Wyclif, Ps. xli[i]. 3. Whan I shal comen, and apere befor the face of God?

8 c. 1412.  Hoccleve, De Reg. Princ., 864. Whan schol ye þre to vs be reconsiled?

9 1540.  Palsgr., Acolastus, IV. v. V j b. Thou shalt haue gold tolde out to the. La. Whan, at the Grekish calendes?

10 1590.  Shaks., Com. Err., II. ii. 13. When spake I such a word?

11 1681.  Dryden, Abs. & Achit., I. 387. When should People strive their Bonds to break, If not when Kings are Negligent or Weak?

12 1742.  Young, Nt. Th., III. 537. When shall I die?—when shall I live for ever?

13 1841.  Punch, 24 July, 21/2. When is a horse like a herring?—When he’s hard rode.

14 1865.  Dickens, Mut. Fr., III. xiv. When shall I come to see you, Mr. Boffin?

15 1867.  Tennyson, Holy Grail, 255. Who shall blazon it? when and how?

16   † b.  ellipt. as an exclamation of impatience. Obs.

17 1592.  Kyd, Sp. Trag., III. i. 47. No more, I say: to the tortures, when!

18 1596.  Shaks., Tam. Shr., IV. i. 147. Off with my boots, you rogues: you villaines, when?

19 1623.  Middleton, More Dissemblers, V. i. (1657), 66. Why when? begin Sir: I must stay your leisure.

20   2.  In a dependent question or clause of similar meaning: At what time; on what occasion; in what case or circumstances. Also ellipt.

21   Say when, colloq. formula used by a person pouring out drink for another, to ask him to say when he shall stop.

22 c. 1000.  Ags. Gosp., Matt. ii. 7. Herodes … befran hi ʓeorne, hwænne se steorra hym æteowde.

23 a. 1300.  Cursor M., 5446. Nou rek i neuer quen i dei.

24 c. 1375.  in Horstmann, Altengl. Leg. (1878), 124/1. Alle ȝe haue herd told & rad How & whanne god þis world mad.

25 1535.  Coverdale, Lev. xiv. 57. That it maye be knowne, whan eny thinge is vncleane or cleane.

26 1676.  N. French, Vnkinde Desertor, i. 22. To know when to speake, and when to be silent.

27 1710.  Swift, Jrnl. to Stella, 7 Oct. I wonder when this letter will be finished.

28 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.

29 1865.  Dickens, Mut. Fr., IV. iii. Say when you’ve put it safe back, Mr. Venus.

30 a. 1225.  Ancr. R., 144. Deað þet we beoð siker of & unsiker hwonne.

31 c. 1400.  Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1903), 263. Deȝe we ssulin sikerliche; bot god wot wanne & were.

32 1545.  Ascham, Toxoph., II. (Arb.), 125. Whych matter was onse excellentlye disputed vpon, in the Scooles, you knowe when.

33 1590.  Shaks., Com. Err., III. i. 39. Ile tell you when, and you’ll tell me wherefore.

34 1667.  Milton, P. L., X. 499. I am to bruise his heel; His Seed, when is not set, shall bruise my head.

35 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?

36 1828.  Hazlitt, Self Love & Benev., Sk & Ess. (1872), 104. What might be the consequence to myself the Lord knows when?

37 1883.  Stevenson, Treas. Isl., xi. Well, now, if you want to know, I’ll tell you when. The last moment I can manage; and that’s when.

38 1888.  ‘J. S. Winter,’ Bootle’s Childr., ii. I haven’t seen such food I don’t know when.

39 1889.  Mod. Society, 6 June (Farmer’s Slang). ‘Say when,’ said Bonko, taking up a flagon of whiskey and commencing to pour out the spirit into my glass.

40   3.  After a prep. (esp. since, till), in a direct or a dependent question: = What time?

41   Cf. F. depuis quand, G. seit wann.

42 a. 1300.  Cursor M., 5670. Sin quen was þou vr dempster?

43 1583.  Melbancke, Philotimus, N iv. If any circumstance of where, or when, or whome, may make a probable Argument.

44 1828.  Scott, F. M. Perth, xiv. Since when is it, good Father, that the principal libertine has altered his morals so much?

45 1861.  H. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, xix. ‘Since when have you missed her?’ ‘Since yesterday afternoon.’

46   II.  Relative and conjunctive uses.

47   Formerly (now arch.) also followed by that (THAT conj. 6).

48   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.

49   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.

50   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).

51 a. 1000.  Guthlac, 209. Hwonne hy mid menʓu maran cwome, þa þe for his life lyt sorʓedon.

52 c. 1250.  Gen. & Ex., 576. Sexe hundred ȝer noe was hold Quan he dede him in ðe archewold.

53 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.

54 c. 1350.  Will. Palerne, 2484. Wan þei þider come, Þei founde al awei fare.

55 c. 1400.  Destr. Troy, 1689. Qwhen this Citie was set … Then meuyt to his mynde [etc.].

56 c. 1420.  Sir Amadace, xxix. Qwen he was gone on this kin wise, Thenne iche mon sayd thayre deuise.

57 1470–85.  Malory, Arthur, X. lxx. 536. Whanne he sawe her make suche chere he ferd lyke a lyon that there myghte no man withstande hym.

58 1533.  Bellenden, Livy, V. xxiv. (S.T.S.), II. 230. We suld nocht leif oure ciete now quhen It hes sa mony ruynouss housis.

59 1577.  Hanmer, Anc. Eccl. Hist., 239. When that he was certified … that the Ethnicks offred sacrifice … in that place … he sharply rebuked Eusebius.

60 1581.  Satir. Poems Reform., xliii. 154. Sone efter that the Counsell cround ȝoursell, Quhan godly Murray as a regent rang.

61 1605.  Shaks., Macb., II. ii. 27. Listning their feare, I could not say Amen, When they did say God blesse vs.

62 1763.  J. Brown, Poetry & Music, v. 67. Music had then its greatest Power, when the Melody was most confined in its Compass.

63 1775.  Harris, Philos. Arrangem., Wks. (1841), 339. It was by being attacked when asleep … that the gigantic Polypheme fell a sacrifice to Ulysses.

64 1779.  Mirror, No. 23, ¶ 3. He lost his father when an infant.

65 1848.  Thackeray, Van. Fair, liii. It was ten o’clock when he woke up.

66 1863.  Dickens, Uncomm. Trav., xxvi. When I was a child … I used to think that I should like to play at Chinese Enchanter.

67 1894.  Baring-Gould, Bk. Fairy T., 70. It is not the time for violets, when the snow lies deep?

68   b.  In reference to a future time (whether in the present or the past).

69 971.  Blickl. Hom., 97. He sceal winnan & sorʓian, hwonne se dæʓ cume.

70 c. 1275.  Lay., 643. He … þrettede þan castle, and þat folk wið ine, wanne he hit mihte awinne.

71 c. 1350.  Leg. Rood (1871), 21. Vr lord bi-het me þere Wiþ Oyle of Milce smere me whonne hit tyme were.

72 c. 1420.  Avow. Arth., xxiv. Quen thou art armut in thi gere, Take thi schild and thi spere.

73 1560.  Bible (Geneva), 1 Sam. iii. 12. When I begin, I wil also make an end.

74 1588.  Shaks., L. L. L., IV. iii. 145. What will Berowne say when that he shall heare Faith infringed?

75 1646.  in Row, Hist. Kirk (Wodrow Soc.), p. xxxi. I desyrit our people to convein quhen the bellis suld be rung.

76 1769.  Mrs. Raffald, Eng. Housekpr. (1805), 109. When your head is boiled, rub it over with the yolk of an egg.

77 a. 1814.  [see THAT conj. 6].

78 1855.  Kingsley, Herew., xxxi. Pray St. Etheldreda to be with us when the day shall come.

79 1889.  Tennyson, Crossing the Bar, 16. I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have crost the bar.

80 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.

81   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.

82 c. 1200.  Trin. Coll. Hom., 147. Wanne hie seȝen men wanred þolien oðer on sinne bifallen … þer-of hie hadden reuðe.

83 c. 1220.  Bestiary, 16, in O. E. Misc., 1. Wanne he is ikindled Stille lið ðe leun.

84 a. 1250.  Owl & Night., 324. Ich singe an eue a riȝte time & soþþe won hit is bedtime.

85 1340.  Ayenb., 27. Huanne he yziȝþ oþer yherþ þe guod of oþren … þanne him comþ a zorȝe to þe herte.

86 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.

87 1553.  Respublica, 894. Solace we muste nedes have whan that we are werie.

88 1591–5.  Spenser, Astrophel, 29. There was no pleasure nor delightfull play, When Astrophel so euer was away.

89 1639.  J. Clarke, Parœm., 87. When God will, all winds bring raine.

90 1711.  Addison, Spect., No. 26, ¶ 7. When I look upon the tombs of the great, every emotion of envy dies in me.

91 a. 1774.  Goldsm., Elegy Mrs. Mary Blaize, 16. She never slumbered in her pew,—But when she shut her eyes.

92 1827.  Scott, Highl. Widow, v. The answers which he received from him, when conversing on religious topics.

93 1860.  Dickens, Uncomm. Trav., ii. I am overpowered when I think of you and your hospitable home.

94   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).

95   This use arises from the dependent interrog. use (sense 2), and the OE. examples are only particular cases of this.

96 971.  Blickl. Hom., 227. Hine ðæs heardost langode hwanne he of ðisse worulde moste.

97 a. 1000.  Cædmon’s Gen., 1433. Hæleð langode … hwonne hie of nearwe … stæppan mosten.

98 c. 1375.  Cursor M., 5939 (Fairf.). Sette us terme & quenne [Cott. term wen] we salle pray for þe & þi men.

99 c. 1412.  Hoccleve, De Reg. Princ., 113. Passe ouer whanne þis stormy nyght was gon, And day gan at my wyndowe in to prye.

100 1487.  Cely Papers (Camden), 166. They loke euery owre when the comens of the town schall ryse.

101 1568.  [see LOOK v. 3 c].

102 1603.  Shaks., Meas. for M., II. ii. 11. I haue seene When after execution, Iudgement hath Repented ore his doome.

103 1648.  Herrick, Hesper., To the Lark. And know thy when To say, Amen.

104 1689.  Milward, Selden’s Table-t., Ded. In your Fancy carry along with you, the When and the Why many of these things were spoken.

105 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.

106 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.

107 1884.  Dailys of Sodden Fen, x. I was a grown young man of twenty by when it happened.

108   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.

109 a. 1000.  Cædmon’s Gen., 1265. Siððan hundtwelftiʓ ʓeteled rime wintra on worulde wræce bisʓedon fæʓe þeoda; hwonne frea wolde on wærloʓan wite settan.

110 1461.  Paston, Lett., I. 541. Wrytyn the xxiij. day of Janware in haste, wan I was not well at hesse.

111 1562.  Winȝet, Cert. Tractates, Wks. (S.T.S.), I. 2. Haistelie maid one Pasche twisday,… 1562, quhen thair apperit ane daingerous seditioun in Edinburgh.

112 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.

113 1634.  Ford, Perkin Warbeck, II. E 2 b. There haue beene Irish-Hubbubs, when I haue made one too.

114 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.

115 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.

116 1820.  Keats, Lamia, II. 26. There they reposed,… When from the slope side of a suburb hill,… came a thrill Of trumpets.

117 1893.  Law Times, XCV. 62/2. An inspector … tested the drain, when he found that the joints of the pipes were not properly cemented.

118 1894.  Baring-Gould, Bk. Fairy T., 58. Scarcely had she touched the spindle when she pierced her hand with it.

119   b.  As quasi-pronoun after a preposition (esp. since or till): = which time.

120 13[?].  Cursor M., 20180 (B. M. Add. MS.). Haueþ he me sette any day Aȝens when I me greithe may?

121 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.

122 1593.  Shaks., 3 Hen. VI., II. ii. 89. Ed. I was adopted Heire by his consent. Cla. Since when, his Oath is broke.

123 1634.  Sir T. Herbert, Trav., 145. Since when it [sc. Persia] was vanquished by Tangrolipix the Turke, an. 1030.

124 1712.  Mrs. Centlivre, Perplex’d Lovers, III. i. Till when, thou Charmer of my Soul, Farewel.

125 1820.  Shelley, Prometh. Unb., III. ii. 40. Thy steeds will pause at even, till when farewell.

126   7.  With time, day, etc., as antecedent: = at or on which.

127   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.].

128 c. 1200.  Ormin, 133. Att ænne time whanne hiss lott Wass cumenn upp to þeowwtenn.

129 a. 1300.  Cursor M., 19716. To wait þe time Quen þai moght cum to murther him.

130 1362.  Langl., P. Pl., A. Prol. 1. In A somer sesun whon softe was þe sonne.

131 1406.  Hoccleve, La Male Regle, 326. Nat tell I can the tyme Whan they to bedde goon, it is so late.

132 c. 1440.  Gesta Rom., xii. 38 (Harl. MS.). A day was set whanne the king shuld come and see hire.

133 1596.  Spenser, F. Q., VI. vii. 32. On a day when Cupid kept his court.

134 1697.  Dryden, Virg. Georg., III. 79. A time will come, when my maturer Muse, In Cæsar’s Wars, a Nobler Theme shall chuse.

135 1788.  Cowper, Lett. to S. Rose, 29 March. At all times, when it shall suit you to give us your company.

136 1845.  M. Pattison, Ess. (1889), I. 9. The ages of faith, the ages when the Church bore sway over every action of life.

137 1865.  Newman, Hist. Relig. Opin., iv. 201. Charges … which … I fully believed at the time when I made them.

138 1876.  Swinburne, Note Engl. Repub., 16. Time was when England herself might have claimed … this noblest of human rights.

139 1876.  Meredith, Beauch. Career, iv. There are times when an example is needed.

140   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.

141   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’).

142 c. 1175.  Lamb. Hom., 153. Mildheortnesse me kuð him soluen, h[w]enne he him biþengð þet he isuneȝed haueð and þet sare bimurneð.

143 c. 1220.  Bestiary, 502, in O. E. Misc., 16. Ȝef ðu it soȝe wan it flet.

144 1357.  Lay Folk’s Catech. (T.), 518. That is when we will noght do to god almighten,… That us augh for to do.

145 1370–80.  Visions St. Paul, 198, in O. E. Misc., 228. He opened þe Mouþ of þat put, Hit stonk foule wȝon hit was vn-schut.

146 c. 1400.  trans. Secr. Secr., Gov. Lordsh., 63. Ȝers and reals dedys shal bettir come to a kynges mynde whon enhyed.

147 c. 1460.  Fortescue, Abs. & Lim. Mon., iv. (1885), 117. Whan a kynge rulith his reaume only to his owne profite … he is a tyrant.

148 1588.  A. King, trans. Canisius’ Catech., 181. The quhilk thing the scriptur meanes quhen it sayis [etc.].

149 1591.  Shaks., Two Gent., V. iv. 44. Oh tis the curse in Loue … When women cannot loue, where they’re belou’d.

150 1643.  Trapp, Comm. Gen. xxxv. 1. God … takes his opportunity, (for we are best, when at worst).

151 1724.  De Foe, Tour Gt. Brit., 15. When I have said this, I think I have done Malden Justice.

152 1781.  Cowper, Table-T., 148. Most confident, when palpably most wrong.

153 1859.  Ruskin, Two Paths, i. § 42. A painter designs when he chooses some things, refuses others, and arranges all.

154 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.

155   b.  As simple relative (cf. 6): † (a) with case as antecedent: = in which: (b) in which case; whereupon; and then.

156 1526.  Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W., 1531), 2. Except in case whan you vnderstande not yt ye rede therin.

157 1803.  Med. Jrnl., X. 564. It may be opened with a lancet or a needle, when the fluid will run out.

158 1880.  Encycl. Brit., XI. 695/1. The ribbon … is sometimes couped or cut short, when it becomes a bâton.

159   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.)

160 c. 1230.  Hali Meid., 9. Hwen þus is of þe riche, hwat wenes tu of the poure?

161 1297.  R. Glouc. (Rolls), 2215. Wanne ȝe abbeþ fourme of men, beþ men an alle wise.

162 a. 1330.  Otuel, 1272. Otuwel, whan it is so, Tak þe bataille a godes name.

163 c. 1420.  Sir Amadace, xxviii. Quat wundur were hit, thaȝhe him were wo, Quen alle his godus were spendutte him fro.

164 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?

165 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.

166 1764.  Goldsm., Trav., 64. But where to find that happiest spot below, Who can direct, when all pretend to know?

167 1865.  Dickens, Mut. Fr., IV. iii. What’s the good of my pretending to stand out, when I can’t help myself?

168 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.

169   b.  In adversative sense: While on the other hand, while on the contrary, whereas.

170   † In quot. c. 1489 = although.

171 1297.  R. Glouc. (Rolls), 7770. Hii wolde euere abbe ynou, wanne þe pouere adde wo.

172 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.

173 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.

174 1610.  Shaks., Temp., II. i. 139. You rub the sore, When you should bring the plaister.

175 a. 1654.  Selden, Table-T. (1689), 26. Little things do great works, when great things will not.

176 1725.  Ramsay, Gentle Sheph., IV. ii. An estate like yours yields braw content, When we but pike it scantly on the bent.

177 1836.  Marryat, Japhet, lvii. I … received fifty shillings, when I ought to have received, at least, ten pounds.

178 1888.  F. Harrison, Cromwell, vi. 118. He was solemnly debating a treaty, when he never intended to keep any treaty at all.

179   III.  Indefinite and substantival uses.

180   † 10.  adv. At some time (only OE. with nú, seld(um); when and when, at one time and another, now and then. Obs. rare.

181 c. 900.  trans. Bæda’s Hist., II. i. (1890), 94. He nu hwonne on þam ilcan bið on wuldre arisende mid oþrum hyrdum þære halʓan cyricean.

182 c. 1470.  Harding, Chron. CXXI. iv. And Scottes also that false wer when and when.

183   b.  As the second element of a compound: see ANYWHEN, AYWHEN, ELSEWHEN, EVERYWHEN, NOWHEN, SELD-when, SOMEWHEN.

184   11.  as sb. The time at which something happens (or did or will happen): = time when (see 7); also vaguely, Time, duration.

185   Often conjoined with where or how similarly used.

186 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.

187 1765.  Sterne, Tr. Shandy, VII. xxi. The gardener … troubled his head very little with the hows and whens of life.

188 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.

189 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.

190 1867.  Carlyle, E. Irving, in Remin. (1881), 101. The when of my first call there I do not now remember.

191 1885.  Tennyson, Anc. Sage, 104. Thin minds, who creep from thought to thought, Break into ‘Thens’ and ‘Whens’ the Eternal Now.

192 © 2024 WEHD.com