neither
/ˈnaɪ.ðɚ/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.77 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
det
Not one of two; not either; not one or the other.
pron
Not either one of two.
adv
Similarly not.
conj
Nor.
Archaic
Example Sentences
- "Neither definition seems correct."
- "with the help of neither you nor either of our sons."
- "She was neither learned nor intelligent, but she contrived to dress both herself and her daughter out of a meagre jointure, supplying with her clever fingers what her purse could not buy;[…]."
- "Neither you nor I likes it."
- "For most people, this sacrifice is made easily and instinctively. Not so for otroverts, who are neither willing nor able to passively adopt the social scripts that others do. To the otrovert, who is constantly engaged with the choices and consequences of their individual life, social norms follow a circular logic: […]"
- "I’ve tried on both shirts, but neither fits properly."
Etymology
Alteration (after either) of nauther, from Middle English neiþer, from Old English nāwþer, contraction of nāhwæþer, corresponding to no + whether. Compare Latin neuter (“neither”). By surface analysis, not + either.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *h₂ey-, neiþer, nāwþer
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈnaɪ.ðɚ/
- British English: /ˈnaɪ.ðə/