wheme 
whemeti *7. and r. An obsolete variant of queme. 
whemmel, whemmle (hwem'l), r. t [Also 
tvhammcl, Scquhem/Cf whamle, ivhommel, eLireq. 
(or perhaps orig. transposed) form of wheltn.^ 
To whelm. [Prov. Eng. and Scotch.] 
whemmel, Whezmnle (hwem'l), ». An over- 
turn; an overthrow. [Scotch.] 
Nae doubt — ay, ay — it's an awfu' ivhummle — and for 
ane that held his head sae high, too. Scott, Rob Roy, xxii. 
when (hwen), adv. and couj. [< ME. wheny whwt, 
wfioiiy qvauy qveuy qwan^ watiy woHj hworij ichenne, 
whannCj hicenne, hwaune, hiconney ivenue, wmine, 
wonne, wanCy woney < AS. hicsenne, lnvo)tnc, when, 
= OS. hican = OFries. hicenne = MD. wan = 
OHG. MHG. icatuie, hwanne, G. wanu, when, 
wenriy when, if, = Goth, hwaa, when; orig. a 
case of the interrog. pron. (cf. Goth, hwaua, 
ace. masc), Goth, hwas = AS. hied, etc., who? 
see who, Cf. L. quumy qxiomy when, as related 
to L. quis, who ? Gr. Trore, when ? from same 
pron. base. Hence ult. whenne^y tL'hence.'\ I, 
interroff. adv. At what time ? at which time ? 
When shall these things be ? and what shall be the sign 
of thy coming ? Mat. xxiv. a. 
One [window! to the west, and counter to it, 
And blank; and who shall blazon It? when and how? 
Tenni/Kon, Holy Grail. 
When was formerly used exclamatorily, like what, to ex- 
press impatience. 
Why, when, I say? . . . 
Oflf with my t>oots, you i"Ogues ! you villains, when? . . . 
Out, you rogue I you pluck my foot awry. 
Shak., T. of the S., iv. 1. 146. 
Why, when? begin, sir: I must stay your leisure. 
iiiddleton. More Dissemblers besides \\omen, v. 1. 
Set, parson, set ; the dice die in my hand. 
When, parson, when ! what, can you find no more? 
Munday {and other*), Sir John Oldcastle, iv. 1. 
II, rel. coiij. 1. At the or anytime that; at 
or ju.st after the moment that; as soon as. 
Whan Gawein saugh hem come, he seide now may we 
a-bide to longe. Merlin (E. E. T. 8.), iii. .587. 
When the broken arches are black in night, 
And each shafted oriel glimmers white, . . . 
Then view St. David's ruin'd pile. 
Scott, L. of L. M., it 1. 
2. At which time. 
I am at London only to provide for Monday, when I 
shall use that favour which my Lady Bedford hath afforded 
me, of giving her name to my daughter. 
Donne, Letters, xiii. 
The Moors fought valiantly for a short time, until the 
alcaydes of Marabella and Casares were slain, when they 
gave way and fled for the rear-guard. 
Irving, Granada, p. 71*. 
A time when the idols of the market-place are more de- 
voutly worshipped than ever Diana of the F.pliesian.s was. 
Lowell, Harvard Anniversarj'. 
When in this sense is sometimes used with ellipsis of the 
time preceding. 
I knew irAe» seven justices could not take up a quarrel. 
Shak., As you Like it, v. 4. 10:i. 
They were apprehended, and expected euer u'fien to be 
put to death. Quoted in Capt, John Svtith's Works, J. 213. 
3. At the same time that; whereas; wliile on 
the contrary: used adversatively, to denote 
contrast or incompatibility. 
You rub the sore, 
When you should brini? the plasttr. 
Shak., Tempest, ii. 1. 139. 
How shall I please thee, how deserve thy smiles, 
When I am only rich in misery? 
Beau, and FL, Knight of Buniing Pestle, ii. 2. 
How then can any man be as a Witness, when every 
man is made the Accuser? Selden, Tablc-Talk, p. 38. 
When was formerly foUowtMi !>y a* and that used redun- 
dantly. See whenas. 
Whan that Aprille with his shoures srxjte 
The droghte of Marche hath perced to the r(H)te. 
Chaucer, Gen. Prol. to C. T., L 1. 
Qteene that the kynge Arthur by conqueste hade wonnyne 
Castelles and kyngdoms, and cdiitreez many. 
3/ort-; Arthnre (K E. T. S.), 1. 2(5. 
When is often used as a quasi-pronoun, meaning ' which 
time,' introducing a dependent clause after gince, till, or 
similar connective denoting time. 
Shortly . , . I'll resolve you. . . . 
These happen'd accidents; till iphen, be cheerfuL 
Shak., Tempest, v. 1. 2.M). 
Since trhen. Ills brain that had before l)een diy, 
became the well-spring of all poetry. 
Sir J. Davieg, Dancing. 
Thy steeds will pause at even — till when, farewell. 
Shelley, I'rometheus Inbound, iii. 2. 
When all comes to alL Hee all. 
whenas (liwcii-az')i '*''"./• [^ tvhen + (/.v^.] 1. 
When. [Arcliaic.J 
Come, give me now a bag for my bread, . . . 
And one f<ir a peny, irhenatt I get any. 
LUtie John and the Fmtr Ik'juara (< 'hibi's Ballads, V. 326). 
Whenai* in silks my Julia goes. 
Till then, methlnks, how sweetly flows 
That liquefaction of Iier clothes ! 
Ilerrick, I'poti Julia's Clothes. 
433 
6893 
2. Whereas; while. [Rare.] 
Whenas, if they would enquire into themselves, they 
would find no such matter. Barrow. 
Fit professors indeed are they like to be to teach others 
that godlinesse with content is great gaine, whenas their 
godlinesse of teaching had not been but for worldly gaine. 
Milton, On Def. of Humb. Remonst. 
whence (hwens), adv. and coiij. [< ME. whens, 
ichennes, ichanneSy huanneSy with adv. gen. -es, 
< whennCy whence: see whenne'^.'] I. interrog, 
adv. From what place ? from what source, ori- 
gin, or antecedents? 
First Outlaw. Whence came you ? 
Vol. From Milan. Shak., T. G. of V., iv. 1. 18. 
II. rcl. conj. From what place ; from which 
place or source. 
Thes goat [spirit] him sseweth huet he is, . . . and 
huannes he comth, and huyder he geth. 
Ayenbite of Inwyt (E. E. T. S.), p. 115. 
I wot wel what ge ar & ichennes ^e come. 
WUliam- of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), 1. 3122. 
Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole 
of the pit whence ye are digged. Isa. Ii. 1. 
Now wee may perceave the root of his hatred ivhence it 
springs. Milton, Eikonoklastes, iv. 
We know not whence we live, 
Or why, or how. Shelley, Revolt of Islam, ix. S3. 
Here was square keep, there turret high, . . . 
Whence oft the Warder could descry 
The gathering ocean-storm. 
Scott, Marmion, v. 33. 
From whence, whence : a common pleonasm. 
From whence come wars ami fightings among ye? 
Jas. iv. 1. 
A place 
From whence himself does tiv. 
Shak., Macbeth, iv. 2. 8. 
O, how unlike the place frmn whence they fell. 
Milton, P. L., i. 75. 
Of whence* whence : a pleonasm. [Rare.] 
He asked his airy guide. 
What and o/ whence was he, who pressed the hero's side. 
Dryden, Mwexd, vi. 1193. 
whence-ever (hwens-ev'er), covj. [< whence 
+ ever.'] Whencesoever. Prior. {Worcester.) 
[Rare.] 
Whencefortht (hwens-forth'), conj. [< whence 
+ forth^.'] Forth from which place; whence. 
[Rare.] 
Before them stands the God of Seas in place, . . . 
And strikes the rockes with his three-forked mace ; 
Whenceforth issues a warlike steed in sight. 
Spenser, Muiopotmos. 1. 316. 
whencesoever (hwens-so-ev'er), conj. [Early 
mod. E. irhens-soet'er ; < whence + so^ + ever.'] 
From what place soever ; from what cause or 
source soever. 
This Cytie of Jherusaleni is in a fayre emynent place, 
for it stondeth vpon suche a grounde that from wftens 
soever A man commyth thede he must nede aacende. 
Sir It. Guylforde, Pylgrymage, p. 22. 
Any idea, whencesoever we have it. Locke. 
whene'er (hweu-ar'), conj, A contracted form 
of irhenerer. 
whenever (hwen-ev'er), conj. [< ME. when 
ever; < when 4- cver.^ At whatever time; at 
what time soever. 
Rer, on to hir loggyng, 
When euer it please yow, I shall he your gyde ; 
ffor she is liere l)y vppon the Ryuerez side. 
Generydes {Yl. E. T. S.), 1. 1245, 
Whnitcer you have need, 
You may be armed and appointed well. 
Shak., Tit. And., iv. 2. 15. 
whenneH, ode An obsolete form of when. 
whenne'-t, odv. and couj. [< ME. whcnncy hwenncy 
hwanenCy whanene, wonene, wanenCy hwenenCy 
etc., < AS. hwanan, hwanoHy hwonan (= OS. 
hvanen, hranan = OHG. wananOy xcannan, MHG. 
G. (tvn(«c«, whence); with adv. formative -an, < 
hwtPnne, etc., when : see trhen. Cf. hence, thence, 
similarly formed.] 1. interrog. adv. Whence? 
II, rcl. conj. Whence. 
Sei me hwet art thu ant kweonne ant hwa the hider 
sende. St. Juliana (E. E. T. S.), p. 38, 
whennest, adv. and conj, A Middle English form 
of whence. 
Whenso (h wen-s6'), adv. [< ME. whcnso, hwense; 
< when + ,sv>l.] When; whenever. Old Eng. 
Homilies (ed. Mon-is), I. 8o, [Archaic] 
In a Tar-off land is their dwelling, whenso they sit at home, 
W. Morris, quoted in The Academy, Feb. 9, 1889, p. ha. 
whensoever (hwen-so-ev'er), conj. [< when + 
A'yi + erer.'\ At what time soever; at what- 
ever time. 
Mercifnlly assist our prayers which we make before 
thee in all our troubles and adversities, whensoever they 
oppress us. Hook <>/ Common Prayer, Lesser Litany. 
Wher't, odv. and C'>nj. Se<* wherr^. 
wher'-f, f'">U. S*'C where^. 
Where^ (hwar), adv. and conj. [< ME. wher, 
wh(u\ whspr, warCy war, war, hwerCy hware^ hwar, 
whereabout 
hwser, < AS. hw^r, hwar = OS. hwar, hudr = 
OFries. hwer = I), waar = MLG. war, woVy LG. 
waar, woor = OHG. war, hwar, MHG. wdr-y G. 
war- (in comp., as in war-ion, wor-in), also re- 
duced, OHG. MHG. wdy G. wo = Icel. Sw. hvar 
= Dan. hvor = Goth. hwaVy where ? ; cf . Lith. 
kury where? L. cur, OL. qnor, sometimes cor 
(usually explained as a contraction of qua re), 
why? Skt. karhiy at what time? when?; from 
the pronominal base represented hy whOy what: 
see who, what^. Cf, there, as related to thCy 
that.'] I. interrog. adv. 1. At or in what place? 
in what position, situation, or circumstances? 
Htver scule [shall] we win [wine] flnden? 
Old Eng. Hmn. (ed. Morris), I. 241. 
If there were no opposition, where were the triall of an 
unfained goodnesse and magnanimity? 
Milton, Church-Government, i. 7. 
Where sooner than here, where louder than here, may 
we expect a patriotic voice to be raised ? 
D. Webiiter, Speech, New York, ilarch 10, 1831. 
2. To which place? whither? 
Where is bicome Cesar, that lorde was of al ; 
Or tlie riche man clothid in purpur & in pal? 
Hymns to Virgin, etc. (E. E. T. S.X p. 86. 
Where runn'st thou so fast? Shak., C. of E., iii. 2. 71. 
3. From what source? whence f 
Where have they this mettle ? 
Is not their climate foggy, raw and dull? 
Shak., Hen. V., iii. .^ 15. 
Where away? {nant.), aquei-y from the officer of the deck 
as to the direction of any object reported by the lookout. 
II. rel. conj. 1. At or in which place, or the 
place in which; in which case, position, cir- 
cumstances, etc. 
Asketh him Hwat beo ordre, and hwar he iflnde in hoU 
write religiun openluker descriued. Ancrcn liiwle, p. 8. 
He enforces hym to seke Ihesu in the joy of the worlde, 
whare neuer he sail be fundene. 
Hampole, Prose Treatises (E. E. T. S.), p. 5. 
Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang. 
Shak., Sonnets, Ixxiii. 
2. To which place; whither; to a place such 
that. 
Oh, cousin ! thou hast led me ivhere I never 
Shall see day more. Shirley, The Wedding, ii. 2. 
3. W'herever. 
Where the lordea and cheif men wax soe barbarous and 
bastardlike, what shall be hoped of the pesantes? 
Spenser, State of Ireland, 
Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 
Mat. vi. 21. 
Now where nothing is, there nothing can come to be. 
J. Dehme, Aurora, xix. 438. 
4. Whereas. 
His [Armagnac'a] wealth doth warrant a liberal dower, 
Where Reignier sooner will receive than give. 
Shak., 1 Hen. VI., v. .'). 47. 
It was observed that those who were born after the 
Beginning of this Mortality [the plague] had but twenty- 
eight Teeth, where before they liad two and tliirty. 
Baker, Clironicles, p. 131. 
Where, frequently having the force or function of a rela- 
tive or other pronoun (which, what, etc.). is often used in 
composition with a following preposition: ns, whereby, 
'by what,' 'by which'; wherewith, *with what,' 'with 
which.' It was also formerly used after certain adverbs 
or adjectives in a general sense, as it still is in everywhere, 
someivhere (which see), Middle English widenivher (astTny, 
at random), in forms corresponding to similar compounds 
of there (see there). 
Thus I wente wyden-wher. Dowel to seche. 
Piers Plowman (A), ix. 53. 
whereat (hwar), n. [Formerly also whcare; 
< whereby adv.y as used in ererf/whcre, some- 
where.] Whereabout; situation; place. 
Finding the Nymph asleepe in secret wheare. 
Spemer, F. Q., III. iv. 19. 
Bid them farewell, Cordelia, though unkind: 
Thou losest here, a better tvhcre to find. 
Shak., Lear. i. 1. 2G4. 
where-t, conj, [< ME. whery where, contraction 
of ivhcder, E. whether'^.] A contracted form of 
ivhether'^. 
Wher he [the cat] ryt other rest other romyth to playe. 
Piers Plowman (C), i. 186. 
Off hir linage enquered I no-thing ; 
Where she be of duk or of niarkois hy, 
Forsoth I wyll hyr liaue, she is me pleasyng. 
limn. 0/ Part€nay(E. E. T. H.), 1.850. 
I know not wfi^r I am or no ; or speak, 
Or wlietber thou dost hear me. 
Ii. Jonson, Sew Inn, v. 1. 
whereabout (hwar'a-bouf), adv. and conj. [< 
where'^ -^ ahouf.] 1,' interrog. adv. About what? 
concernin^^ what? near what or which place? 
as, ivhcveaf)OHt did you drop the coin? 
II. ?>■/. ro/y/. About wliioh; ^•oncerniug which; 
on what puri)ose. 
Let no man know anything of the business whereabout 
I send thee. 1 Sam. xxi. 2. 
I must not have you henceforth ([ueation me 
Wliither I go, nor reasoTi irhereabmit. 
Shak., 1 Hen. IV., ii. 3. 107. 
I 
