different between either vs another

English

Etymology

From Middle English either, from Old English ??hwæþer, from Proto-Germanic, ultimately corresponding to ay (“always, ever”) + whether. Akin to Old Saxon eogihwethar, iahwethar (Low German jeed); Old Dutch *iogewether, *iowether, *iother (Dutch ieder); Old High German eogihwedar, iegihweder, ieweder (German jeder).

Pronunciation

• enPR: ?th??(r), ?th??(r), IPA^(key): /?a?ð.?(?)/, /?i?ð.?(?)/
• Rhymes: -a?ð?(?), -i?ð?(?)
  • ,
• In the UK, /a?/ is used more in Southern England, and /i?/ is more usual in Northern England. In North America, /i?/ is the most common, but /a?/ is predominant in some regions. Note that even if one pronunciation is more common in a region, the pronunciation used varies by individual speaker and sometimes by situation.

Determiner

either

1. Any one (of two).

2. Each of two; both. [from 9th c.]

   There is a locomotive at either end of the train, one pulling and the other pushing.

   • 1936, Djuna Barnes, Nightwood, Faber & Faber 2007, page 31:

     Her hands, long and beautiful, lay on either side of her face.

3. (now rare) Any one (of more than two).
   • 1748, Samuel Richardson, Clarissa, Letter 51:

     They entreat, they pray, they beg, they supplicate (will either of these do, Miss Clary?) that you will make no scruple to go to your uncle Antony's […].

Usage notes

• When there are more than two alternatives, in the sense of “one of many”, any is now generally used instead.

Synonyms

• (each of two): both, each

Translations

Pronoun

either

1. One or the other of two people or things.

   He made me two offers, but I did not accept either.

   • 2013, Daniel Taylor, Danny Welbeck leads England's rout of Moldova but hit by Ukraine ban, The Guardian, 6 September:

     Hodgson may now have to bring in James Milner on the left and, on that basis, a certain amount of gloss was taken off a night on which Welbeck scored twice but barely celebrated either before leaving the pitch angrily complaining to the Slovakian referee.

2. (obsolete) Both, each of two or more.
   • 1623, Francis Bacon, A Discourse of a War with Spain

     Scarce a palm of ground could be gotten by either of the three.

   • 1872, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., The Poet at the Breakfast-Table

     There have been three famous talkers in Great British, either of whom would illustrate what I say about dogmatists.

Adverb

either (not comparable)

1. (conjunctive, after a negative) As well.

Usage notes

After a positive statement, too is commonly used: “I like him, and I like her too.”

Either is sometimes used, especially in North American English, where neither would be more traditionally accurate: “I’m not hungry.” “Me either.”

Translations

Conjunction

either

1. Introduces the first of two (or occasionally more) options or possibilities, the second (or last) of which is introduced by “or”.

   Either you eat your dinner or you go to your room.

   You can have either potatoes or rice with that, but not both.

Translations

See also

• neither
• nor
• or

References

• “either”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.

Anagrams

• Ethier, theire

Middle English

Alternative forms

• æ?þer, ethir, eiþer, outher

Etymology

From Old English ??þer, a contraction of ??hwæþer.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??ið?r/

Determiner

either

1. Both of two.
2. Each of two.
3. Either of two.

Descendants

• Scots: aither
• English: either

Pronoun

either

1. Both of two members of a group.
2. Each of two members of a group.
3. Either of two members of a group.

Descendants

• Scots: aither
• English: either

Adjective

either

1. Both, all, or any of a set.
2. Each of a group.

See also

• ayther

References

• “either, pron.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-02-20.

English

Alternative forms

• anoda (Jamaican English)
• anotha, anotha' (AAVE- eye dialect)
• nother (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English another, equivalent to an +? other.

Pronunciation

• (UK, unstressed) IPA^(key): /??n?ð.?(?)/
• (UK, stressed) IPA^(key): /æ?n?ð.?(?)/
• (US, unstressed) IPA^(key): /??n?ð.?/
• (US, stressed) IPA^(key): /æ?n?ð.?/
• Rhymes: -?ð?(r)
• Hyphenation: an?oth?er

Determiner

another

1. One more/further, in addition to a former number; a second or additional one, similar in likeness or in effect.

   • Thus the red damask curtains which now shut out the fog-laden, drizzling atmosphere of the Marylebone Road, had cost a mere song, and yet they might have been warranted to last another thirty years. A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor; […].
2. Not the same; different.
3. Any or some; any different person, indefinitely; anyone else; someone else.

Usage notes

• As a fused head construction another may have a possessive another's (plural: others, or possessive plural other). It is much used in opposition to one; as, one went one way, another went another. It is also used with one in a reciprocal sense; as, "love one another," that is, let each love the other or others.
  • John Milton

• Another is usually used with a singular noun, but constructions such as "another five days", "another twenty miles", "another few people", "another fifty dollars" are valid too.
• Sometimes, the word whole is inserted into another by the common process of tmesis, giving: "a whole nother." This is a colloquialism that some recommend avoiding in formal writing. The prescribed alternatives are "a whole other" or "another whole".
• There may be ambiguity: "another" may or may not imply "replacement", e.g. "I need another chair." may mean "My chair needs to be replaced." or "I need an additional chair [and I need to keep my existing chair]."

Derived terms

Related terms

• other

Descendants

• Jamaican Creole: anedda

Translations

Pronoun

another

1. An additional one of the same kind.

2. One that is different from the current one.

3. One of a group of things of the same kind.

References

• another in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Anagrams

• on Earth, on earth

Middle English

Alternative forms

• anoþer, a noþer

Etymology

From an other, appearing as a single word starting from the 13th or 14th century.

Pronoun

another

1. another

Descendants

• English: another
  • Jamaican Creole: anedda
• Yola: anoor