when

Meanings

Adverb

• At what time? At which time? Upon which occasion or circumstance?
• At an earlier time and under different, usually less favorable, circumstances.
• At which, on which, during which:
• The time at, on or during which.
• A circumstance or situation in which.

Pronoun

• What time; which time.

Noun

• The time at which something happens.

Interjection

• That's enough:

Related

Similar words

• as soon as, immediately, once
• whenever
• but, where, whereas

Origin

• From Middle English when, whanne, from Old English hwenne, hwænne, hwonne, from Proto-West Germanic *hwannē, from Proto-West Germanic *hwan, from Proto-Germanic *hwan ("at what time, when"), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷis ("interrogative base").
• Cognate with Dutch wanneer ("when") and wen, Low German wannehr ("when"), wann and wenn, German wann ("when") and wenn, Gothic 𐍈𐌰𐌽 ("when, how"), Latin quandō ("when"). More at who.
• Interjection sense: a playful misunderstanding of "say when" (i.e. say something / speak up when you want me to stop) as "say [the word] when".