Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Where
Wher
,Where
,p
ron.
& conj.
[See
Whether
.] Whether.
[Sometimes written
whe’r
.] [Obs.]
Piers Plowman.
Men must enquire (this is mine assent),
Wher
she be wise or sober or dronkelewe. Chaucer.
Where
,adv.
1.
At or in what place; hence, in what situation, position, or circumstances; – used interrogatively.
God called unto Adam, . . .
Where
art thou? Gen. iii. 9.
☞ See the Note under
What
, pron., 1. 2.
At or in which place; at the place in which; hence, in the case or instance in which; – used relatively.
She visited that place
where
first she was so happy. Sir P. Sidney.
Where
I thought the remnant of mine ageShould have been cherished by her childlike duty.
Shakespeare
Where
one on his side fights, thousands will fly. Shakespeare
But
where
he rode one mile, the dwarf ran four. Sir W. Scott.
3.
To what or which place; hence, to what goal, result, or issue; whither; – used interrogatively and relatively; as, where are you going?
But
where
does this tend? Goldsmith.
Lodged in sunny cleft,
Where
the gold breezes come not. Bryant.
☞ Where is often used pronominally with or without a preposition, in elliptical sentences for a place in which, the place in which, or what place.
The star . . . stood over
where
the young child was. Matt. ii. 9.
The Son of man hath not
where
to lay his head. Matt. viii. 20.
Within about twenty paces of
where
we were. Goldsmith.
Where
did the minstrels come from? Dickens.
☞ Where is much used in composition with preposition, and then is equivalent to a pronoun. Cf.
Whereat
, Whereby
, Wherefore
, Wherein
, etc. Where away
(Naut.)
, in what direction;
as,
where away
is the land?
Syn. – See
Whither
. Where
,c
onj.
Whereas.
And flight and die is death destroying death;
Where
fearing dying pays death servile breath. Shakespeare
Where
,Noun.
Place; situation.
[Obs. or Colloq.]
Finding the nymph asleep in secret
where
. Spenser.
Webster 1828 Edition
Where
WHERE
,adv.
1.
At which place or places.She visited the place where first she was so happy--
In all places where I record my name, I will come to thee and I will bless thee. Exodus 20.
2.
At or in what place.Adam, where art thou? Genesis 3.
3.
At the place in which.Where I though the remnant of my age should have been cherishd by her child-like duty.
4.
Whither; to what place, or from what place. Where are you going? Where are you from? [These uses of where are common, and the first cannot be condemned as vulgar.]Any where, in any place. I sought the man, but could not find him any where.
[Note. Where seems to have been originally a noun, and was so used by Spenser. He shall find no where safe to him. In this sense, it is obsolete; yet it implies place, its original signification.]