When

• POS: Conjunction, Noun, Pronoun, Adverb

CIDE DICTIONARY

When, adv. [OE. when, whan, whenne, whanne, AS. hwænne, hwanne, hwonne; akin to OS. hwan, OD. wan, OHG. wanne, G. wann when, wenn if, when, Goth. hwan when, and to E. who. . See Who.].

•  At what time; -- used interrogatively.  [1913 Webster]

  " See the Note under What, pron., 1."  [1913 Webster]

  "When shall these things be?"  [1913 Webster]
•  At what time; at, during, or after the time that; at or just after, the moment that; -- used relatively.  [1913 Webster]

  "Kings may
  Take their advantage when and how they list."  [1913 Webster]

  "Book lore ne'er served, when trial came,
  Nor gifts, when faith was dead."  [1913 Webster]
•  While; whereas; although; -- used in the manner of a conjunction to introduce a dependent adverbial sentence or clause, having a causal, conditional, or adversative relation to the principal proposition; as, he chose to turn highwayman when he might have continued an honest man; he removed the tree when it was the best in the grounds.  [1913 Webster]
•  Which time; then; -- used elliptically as a noun.  [1913 Webster]

  " When was formerly used as an exclamation of surprise or impatience, like what!"  [1913 Webster]

  "I was adopted heir by his consent;
  Since when, his oath is broke."  [1913 Webster]

  "Come hither; mend my ruff:
  Here, when! thou art such a tedious lady!"  [1913 Webster]

  "When as sacred light began to dawn."  [1913 Webster]

  "When that mine eye is famished for a look."  [1913 Webster]

When as, When that, at the time that; when. [Obs.]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

When, adv., conj., pron., & n.
--interrog.adv.
1 at what time? 2 on what occasion? 3 how soon? 4 how long ago?
--rel.adv. (prec. by time etc.) at or on which (there are times when I could cry).
--conj.
1 at the or any time that; as soon as (come when you like; come when ready; when I was your age).
2 although; considering that (why stand up when you could sit down?).
3 after which; and then; but just then (was nearly asleep when the bell rang).
--pron. what time? (till when can you stay?; since when it has been better).
--n. time, occasion, date (fixed the where and when).

Etymology

OE hwanne, hwenne

THESAURUS

When

after all, again, albeit, all the same, although, anon, as far as, as long as, at all events, at any rate, at what time, at which, at which time, but, during which time, even, even so, for all that, howbeit, however, in any case, in any event, in what period, in which time, just the same, nevertheless, nonetheless, notwithstanding, on what occasion, on which occasion, rather, still, the while, though, upon which, what time, when as, whenever, whereas, whereupon, while, whilst, yet

ROGET THESAURUS

When

Time

N time, duration, period, term, stage, space, span, spell, season, the whole time, the whole period, space-time, course, snap, intermediate time, while, interim, interval, pendency, intervention, intermission, intermittence, interregnum, interlude, respite, era, epoch, time of life, age, year, date, decade, moment, glass of time, sands of time, march of time, Father Time, ravages of time, arrow of time, river of time, whirligig of time, noiseless foot of time, scythe, continuing, on foot, permanent, while, whilst, during, pending, during the time, during the interval, in the course of, at that point, at that point in time, for the time being, day by day, in the time of, when, meantime, meanwhile, in the meantime, in the interim, ad interim, pendente lite, de die in diem, from day to day, from hour to hour, hourly, always, for a time, for a season, till, until, up to, yet, as far as, by that time, so far, hereunto, heretofore, prior to this, up to this point, the whole time, all the time, all along, throughout, for good, hereupon, thereupon, whereupon, then, anno Domini, A, D, ante Christum, A, C, before Christ, B, C, anno urbis conditae, A, U, C, anno regni, A, R, once upon a time, one fine morning, one fine day, one day, once, time flies, tempus fugit, time runs out, time runs against, race against time, racing the clock, time marches on, time is of the essence, time and tide wait for no man, ad calendas Groecas, panting Time toileth after him in vain, 'gainst the tooth of time and razure of oblivion, rich with the spoils of time, tempus edax rerum, the long hours come and go, the time is out of joint, Time rolls his ceaseless course, Time the foe of man's dominion, time wasted is existence, used is life, truditur dies die, volat hora per orbem, carpe diem.

Different time

N different time, other time, aorist, aoristic, indefinite, at that time, at which time, at that moment, at that instant, then, on that occasion, upon, not now, some other time, when, whenever, whensoever, upon which, on which occasion, at another time, at a different time, at some other time, at any time, at various times, some one of these days, one of these days, one fine morning, eventually, some day, by and by, sooner or later, some time or other, once upon a time.