where

A1 Topic:Grammar & Function Words

Also spelled Whar, Whear, Wher, whah, and wheare

US /wɛə(ɹ)/ UK /ˈwɛə/ See IPA manual

Homophones

wear /wɛ(ə)ɹ/

Freq #82

Meanings

1

adv
In, at, or to what place.

Where do you live?
2

adv
In, at, or to the place that.

Please stay where you are.
3

adv
In, at, or to which.

This is the restaurant where we first met.
4

adv
In what situation or position.

Where would we be without our friends?

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms wheres

Appears in

Idioms (2)

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Tongue twisters (3)

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Billy Button
Billy Button bought a buttered biscuit. Did Billy Button buy a buttered biscuit? If Billy Button bought a buttered biscuit, Where's the buttered biscuit Billy Button bought?

Keep the repeated /b/ clear without adding a vowel before it. Bought and buy change between lines, so follow the wording as well as the r...
Peter Piper
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers? If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

Close both lips for each /p/, and keep the end of picked distinct from pick. Start one line at a time before joining the four lines.
Walter Waddle
Walter Waddle won a walking wager. Did Walter Waddle win a walking wager? If Walter Waddle won a walking wager, Where's the walking wager Walter Waddle won?

Round the lips briefly for /w/, then move into each vowel. Notice the change from won to win in the question.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kʷ- Proto-Indo-European *kʷís Proto-Germanic *hwaz Proto-Indo-European *-r Proto-Germanic *-r Proto-Germanic *hwar Proto-West Germanic *hwār Old English hwǣr Middle English wher English where From Middle English wher, from Old English hwǣr (“where”, literally “at what place”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwār, from Proto-Germanic *hwar (“where”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷo- (interrogative pronoun).

*kʷ- Proto-Indo-European wher Middle English hwǣr Old English *hwār Proto-West Germanic *hwar Proto-Germanic *kʷo- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Grammar & Function Words

External links

# where

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** adv
**IPA (US):** /wɛə(ɹ)/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈwɛə/
**Frequency rank:** 82

## Meanings
1. In, at, or to what place.
2. In, at, or to the place that.
3. In, at, or to which.
4. In what situation or position.

## Examples
- Where do you live?
- Please stay where you are.
- This is the restaurant where we first met.
- Where would we be without our friends?

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *kʷ-
- Root: wher
- Root: hwǣr
- Root: *hwār
- Root: *hwar
- Root: *kʷo-

## Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kʷ- Proto-Indo-European *kʷís Proto-Germanic *hwaz Proto-Indo-European *-r Proto-Germanic *-r Proto-Germanic *hwar Proto-West Germanic *hwār Old English hwǣr Middle English wher English where From Middle English wher, from Old English hwǣr (“where”, literally “at what place”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwār, from Proto-Germanic *hwar (“where”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷo- (interrogative pronoun).

## AI Etymology
Where: The etymological chain runs Proto-Indo-European *kʷ- -> Proto-Indo-European *kʷís -> Proto-Germanic *hwaz -> Proto-Indo-European *-r -> Proto-Germanic *-r -> Proto-Germanic *hwar -> Proto-West Germanic *hwār -> Old English hwǣr -> Middle English wher -> English where. From Middle English wher, from Old English hwǣr (“where”, literally “at what place”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwār, from Proto-Germanic *hwar (“where”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷo- (interrogative pronoun). In present-day use, it can mean in, at, or to what place, or in, at, or to the place that.

## Topics
- Grammar & Function Words

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