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Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English - Cite This Source - Share This
| Main Entry: | IF |
| Part of Speech: | n |
| Definition: | See interactive fiction |
Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English, Preview Edition (v 0.9.7)
Copyright © 2007 Lexico Publishing Group, LLC
Copyright © 2007 Lexico Publishing Group, LLC
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
if 
[if] Pronunciation Key
[if] Pronunciation Key –conjunction
–noun
—Idiom
| 1. | in case that; granting or supposing that; on condition that: Sing if you want to. Stay indoors if it rains. I'll go if you do. |
| 2. | even though: an enthusiastic if small audience. |
| 3. | whether: He asked if I knew Spanish. |
| 4. | (used to introduce an exclamatory phrase): If only Dad could see me now! |
| 5. | when or whenever: If it was raining, we had to play inside. |
| 6. | a supposition; uncertain possibility: The future is full of ifs. |
| 7. | a condition, requirement, or stipulation: There are too many ifs in his agreement. |
| 8. | ifs, ands, or buts, reservations, restrictions, or excuses: I want that job finished today, and no ifs, ands, or buts. |
[Origin: bef. 900; ME, var. of yif, OE gif, gef; akin to ON ef if, Goth ibai whether, OHG iba condition, stipulation]
] —Synonyms 1, 2. If, provided, providing imply a condition on which something depends. If is general. It may be used to indicate suppositions or hypothetical conditions (often involving doubt or uncertainty): If you like, we can go straight home. If I had known, I wouldn't have gone. If may mean even though: If I am wrong, you are not right. It may mean whenever: If I do not understand, I ask questions. Provided always indicates some stipulation: I will subscribe ten dollars provided (on the condition) that you do, too. Provided he goes, we can go along. Providing means the same as provided, that is, just in case some certain thing should happen: We will buy the house, providing (provided) we can get a mortgage.
—Usage note If meaning “whether,” as in I haven't decided if I'll go, is sometimes criticized, but the usage has been established in standard English for a long time.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| if
(ĭf) Pronunciation Key
conj.
n. A possibility, condition, or stipulation: There will be no ifs, ands, or buts in this matter. [Middle English, from Old English gif; see i- in Indo-European roots.] Usage Note: In informal writing both if and whether are standard in their use to introduce a clause indicating uncertainty after a verb such as ask, doubt, know, learn, or see: We shall soon learn whether (or if) it is true. In such contexts, however, the use of if can sometimes create ambiguities. Depending on the intended meaning, the sentence Let her know if she is invited might be better paraphrased as Let her know whether she is invited or If she is invited, let her know. · In conditional sentences the clause introduced by if may contain either a past subjunctive verb (if I were going) or an indicative verb (if I am going; if I was going), depending on the intended meaning. According to the traditional rule, the subjunctive should be used to describe an occurrence that is presupposed to be contrary to fact, as in if I were ten years younger or if Napoleon had won at Waterloo. The main verb of such a sentence must then contain the modal verb would or (less frequently) should: If America were still a British colony, we would have an anthem that human voices could sing. If I were the President, I should (or would) declare November 1 a national holiday. When the situation described by the if clause is not presupposed to be false, however, that clause must contain an indicative verb, and the choice of verb in the main clause will depend on the intended meaning: If Hamlet was really written by Marlowe, as many have argued, then we have underestimated Marlowe's genius. If Kevin was out all day, then it makes sense that he couldn't answer the phone. Note also that the presence of the modal verb would in the main clause should not be taken as a sign that the verb in the if clause must be in the subjunctive, if the content of that clause is not presupposed to be false: If there is anything I can do to help, I should be happy to do so. He would always call her from the office if he was (not were) going to be late for dinner. · Again according to the traditional rule, the subjunctive is not correctly used following verbs such as ask or wonder in if clauses that express indirect questions, even if the content of the question is presumed to be contrary to fact: We wondered if dinner was (not were) included in the room price. Some of the people we met even asked us if California was (not were) an island. · With all deference to the traditional rules governing the use of the subjunctive, it should be noted that a survey of the prose of reputable writers over the past 200 years would reveal a persistent tendency to use the indicative was where the traditional rule would require the subjunctive were. A sentence beginning If I was the only boy in the world, while not strictly correct, is wholly unremarkable. But the corresponding practice of using the subjunctive in place of the indicative may be labeled a hypercorrection. · In spoken English there is a growing tendency to use would have in place of the subjunctive in contrary-to-fact clauses, as in if I would have been the President, but this usage is still widely considered incorrect. See Usage Notes at doubt, should, wish. |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| IF or i.f.
abbr. intermediate frequency |
(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
if
if
O.E. gif (initial g- in O.E. pronounced with a sound close to Mod.Eng. -y-), from P.Gmc. *ja-ba (cf. O.N. ef, O.Fris. gef, O.H.G. ibu, Ger. ob, Du. of), probably originally from an oblique case of a noun meaning "doubt" (cf. O.H.G. iba, O.N. if "doubt"). Iffy is first attested 1937 in Amer.Eng.; originally associated with President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This
if
In addition to the idioms beginning with if, also see as if; damned if I do, damned if I don't; make as if to; no ifs or buts; nothing if not; (if) push comes to shove; what if.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
IF abbr.
initiation factor
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
If
If\, conj. [OE. if, gif, AS. gif; akin to OFries. ief, gef, ef, OS. ef, of, D. of, or, whether, if, G. ob whether, if, OHG. oba, ibu, Icel. ef, Goth. iba, ibai, an interrogative particle; properly a case form of a noun meaning, doubt (cf. OHG. iba doubt, condition, Icel. if, ef, ifi, efi), and therefore orig. meaning, on condition that.]1. In case that; granting, allowing, or supposing that; -- introducing a condition or supposition. Tisiphone, that oft hast heard my prayer, Assist, if [OE]dipus deserve thy care. --Pope. If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. --Matt. iv. 3. 2. Whether; -- in dependent questions. Uncertain if by augury or chance. --Dryden. She doubts if two and two make four. --Prior. As if, But if. See under As, But.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
American Heritage Abbreviations Dictionary 3rd Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
IF
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The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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