Etimology
From Middle English when(ne), whanne, from Old English 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 (“when, if”), Low German wannehr (“when”), wann (“when”) and wenn (“if, when”), German wann (“when”) and wenn (“when, if”), Gothic 𐍈𐌰𐌽 (ƕan, “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".
adverb
when (not comparable)
(interrogative) At what time? At which time? Upon which occasion or circumstance? Used to introduce direct or indirect questions about time.
At an earlier time and under different, usually less favorable, circumstances.
(relative) At which, on which, during which: often omitted or replaced with that.
(fused relative) The time at, on or during which.
(informal, in definitions or explanations) A circumstance or situation in which.
Examples
When will they arrive?
Do you know when they arrived?
I don't know when they arrived.
When they arrived is unknown.
What words are used as interrogative pronouns? — Give examples.When are the words, what, which, and that, called adj. pron.?When are they called interrogative pronominal adjectives?
The site's all bugged. Fix when?
Tank class buff when?
My fridge even restocks itself these days. Glorious AI overlords when?
New patch when??
Iran EU when? lol
obligatory hl3 when? yea yea i know, likely never.
Bard and eve nerf when
He's mister high and mighty now, but I remember him when.
That was the day when the Twin Towers fell.
The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on a certain afternoon when Mr. Cooke was trying a trotter on the track. […] Their example was followed by others at a time when the master of Mohair was superintending in person the docking of some two-year-olds, and equally invisible.
I recall when they were called the Greys.
Next year is when we elect a new mayor.
Love is when you can't get enough of someone.
conjunction
when
At (or as soon as) that time that; at the (or any and every) time that; if.
During the time that; at the time of the action of the following clause or participle phrase.
At what time; at which time.
Since; given the fact that; considering that.
Whereas; although; at the same time as; in spite of the fact that.
Examples
Pavlov's dogs salivate when [i.e. at any and every time that] they hear a bell.
When [i.e. at any and every time that] he speaks to her, he is always polite.
Put your pencil down when [i.e. as soon as, at the moment that] the timer goes off.
A player wins when [as soon as, or at any time that, if] she has four cards of the same suit.
A student is disqualified when [as soon as, if] they cheat.
Turning back, then, toward the basement staircase, she began to grope her way through blinding darkness, but had taken only a few uncertain steps when, of a sudden, she stopped short and for a little stood like a stricken thing, quite motionless save that she quaked to her very marrow in the grasp of a great and enervating fear.
Energy has seldom been found where we need it when we want it.
They dream when [i.e. during the time that] they sleep.
I'm happiest when [during the time that, or at any time that] I’m working.
It was raining when I came yesterday.
The game is over when the referee says it is.
Be careful when crossing the street.
When angry, count to ten before speaking or acting.
The Baggies had offered little threat until the 28th minute, but when their first chance came it was a clear one.
I am here till Friday, when [i.e. at which time] I leave for Senegal.
I was just walking down the street, when [i.e. at which time] all of a sudden it started to rain.
I am at London only to provide for Monday, when I shall use that favour which my Lady Bedford hath afforded me, of giving her name to my daughter; which I mention to you, […]
He sat at the door of his kitchen watching, and seeing there was nothing else for it we buckled to and soon had the job done; when we were admitted to the kitchen and given a really good meal.
I don't see the point of putting up Christmas decorations when I am the only person who is going to see them.
You're picking at your scabs when you should be letting them heal.
He keeps changing things when the existing system works perfectly well.
Oh age! / Where only wealthy men are counted happy: / How ſhall I pleaſe thee? how deſerve thy ſmiles? / When I am only rich in miſery?
Related words
synonyms
(as soon as): as soon as, immediately, once
(every time that): whenever
(during the time that): while, whilst; see also Thesaurus:while
(at any time that): whenever
(at which time):
(given the fact that): given that, seeing that; see also Thesaurus:because
(in spite of the fact that): but, where, whereas
pronoun
when
(interrogative) What time; which time.
Examples
Since when do I need your permission?
[...] ſhortly [...] I'le reſolue you [...] / Theſe happend accidents: till when, be cheerefull [...]
Homer, to whom the Muses did carouse
A great deep cup with heav'nly nectar fill'd,
The greatest, deepest cup in Jove's great house,
He drank off all, nor let one drop be spill'd;
Since when, his brain that had before been dry,
Became the well-spring of all poetry.
[This] we imagined might have been owing to some accidental condition of the system, or perhaps idiosyncracy; this led us to a second trial, but we experienced the same inconveniences, since when, we have altogether abandoned their use.
So we combined the Kocher-Langenbeck and iliofemoral approach until 1965, since when we have combined the ilioinguinal and Kocher-Langenbeck approaches.
noun
when (plural whens)
The time at which something happens.
Examples
A good article will cover the who, the what, the when, the where, the why and the how.
For the moment, suffice it to say that the stories told through the whens and hows of building a scene differentiate individual desires and needs more clearly than shared speech was up to then able to communicate.
interjection
when
(often humorous) That's enough: a command asking someone to stop adding something, especially an ingredient or portion of food or drink; used in, or as if in, literal response to 'Say when'.
(obsolete) Expressing impatience.
Examples
When we go out to a restaurant, we're the guys who never say "when" when the waiter is grinding fresh pepper on our salads.
He keeps the bottle in the top bureau drawer; he takes it out, and two glasses, and pours. Say when. When, please.
Producers have the power to say "when" when the actress involved is too stressed to continue. That's responsible filmmaking.
Coordinate term: what
Why when I ſay? […] Off with my boots, you rogues: you villaines, when? […] Out you rogue […]
Set parſon, ſet, the dice die in my hand: / VVhen parſon, vvhen! vvhat can ye finde no more?
VVhy vvhen? begin Sir: I muſt ſtay your leiſure.