• adj. 兩者之中任一的；兩者之中每一的
• prep. 任何一個
• conj. 也（用于否定句或否定詞組后）；根本
• pron. 任一，兩方，隨便哪一個；兩者中的一個或另一個

縮寫自古英語aeghwaether, 來自ae, 詞源同each. hwaether,同whether. 即兩者中永遠有一個。

either

either: [OE] Either is the modern descendant of an ancient Germanic phrase which meant literally ‘always each of two’. Its constituents were *aiwō, source of English aye ‘ever, always’, (which was also one of the building blocks of which each was made) and *gikhwatharaz, ancestor of English whether. In Old English this became lexicalized as the compound ?gehw?ther, subsequently contracted to ?gther, from which developed modern English either. Despite its similarity, neither is more than just either with a negative prefix tacked on: its history is parallel but slightly different.
=> aye, whether

either

Old English ?geer, contraction of ?ghw?eer (pron., adv., conj.) "each of two, both," from a "always" (see aye (adv.)) + ge- collective prefix + hw?eer "which of two, whether" (see whether). Cognate with Dutch ieder, Old High German eogiwedar, German jeder "either, each, every").

Modern sense of "one or the other of two" is late 13c. Adverbially, for emphasis, "in any case, at all," especially when expressing negation, by 1828. Use of either-or to suggest an unavoidable choice between alternatives (1931) in some cases reflects Danish enten-eller, title of an 1843 book by Kierkegaard.

1. She had met both sons and did not care for either.

兩個兒子她都見了，一個都不喜歡。

來自柯林斯例句

2. He seems either to fear women or to sentimentalize them.

他似乎要么怕女人要么就對她們懷有浪漫想法。

來自柯林斯例句

3. On either side of the tracks the ground fell away sharply.

跑道兩側都是很陡的斜坡。

來自柯林斯例句

4. Both groups on either side are just picking off innocent bystanders.

對峙雙方都只是在瞄準射擊無辜的旁觀者。

來自柯林斯例句

5. Either you can talk to him, or I will.

要么你跟他談，要么我去。

來自柯林斯例句