Weather vs Whether
Though weather and whether may appear similar in their pronunciation in the English language, there are many a difference between weather and whether in terms of usage and connotation. Such words that have similar pronunciation in a language but difference spellings and meanings are called homonyms. Before delving into the difference between weather and whether let us first have a look at these two words. Weather and whether both have their origin in Old English. Weather is used as a noun and a verb while whether is used as a conjunction. Also, there are several phrases that use weather and whether.
What does Weather mean?
According to the Oxford English dictionary weather is “the state of the atmosphere at a particular place and time as regards heat, cloudiness, dryness, sunshine, wind, rain, etc.” In other words, weather is the word used in the description of the temperature of a given area or region along with the probability of the occurrence of rain and such other natural phenomena. The terms used in the description of the weather of a place or region are words such as rain, wind, breeze, sea, temperature, Celsius, earthquake, flood, cloud and the like.
It is interesting to note that the word weather is preceded by several adjectives such as gloomy, rough, hot, cold and the like as in the expressions, ‘gloomy weather’, ‘rough weather’, ‘hot weather’ and ‘cold weather’. In the various expressions mentioned above, the expression ‘rough weather’ has a special meaning as a difficult situation/undesirable situation. Thus, the word ‘weather’ is sometimes used in idiomatic expressions as well.
What does Whether mean?
According to the Oxford English dictionary, whether is used as a conjunction ” expressing a doubt or choice between alternatives.” To explain better, whether is a word that is used to suggest probability or possibility or doubt in some cases. Observe the use of the word ‘whether’ in the sentences that are given below:
I want to know whether you are interested in the project or not.
I have a doubt whether he is alive or dead.
In both the sentences given above the word whether is used differently. In the first sentence, it is used to suggest a sense of possibility. In the second sentence, the word whether is used to suggest a sense of doubt.
Unlike weather, the word whether is not very much used in idiomatic expressions. It is generally used along with opposites as in ‘whether good or bad’, ‘whether east or west’, ‘whether profit or loss’ and such other expressions.
What is the difference between Weather and Whether?
• Weather and whether are homonyms.
• Weather is the word used in the description of the temperature of a given area or region along with the probability of the occurrence of rain and such other natural phenomena.
• Whether is a word, on the other hand, that is used to suggest probability or possibility or doubt in some cases.
• The word weather is used in idiomatic expressions. The word whether, on the other hand, is not used in idiomatic expressions.