if

if

[if]
conjunction
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.
noun
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.
00:10
If is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
8.
ifs, ands, or buts, reservations, restrictions, or excuses: I want that job finished today, and no ifs, ands, or buts.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English, variant of yif, Old English gif, gef; akin to Old Norse ef if, Gothic ibai whether, Old High German iba condition, stipulation


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.


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

if

Also, IF.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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World English Dictionary
if (ɪf) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
conj
1.  in case that, or on condition that: if you try hard it might work; if he were poor, would you marry him?
2.  used to introduce an indirect question. In this sense, if approaches the meaning of whether
3.  even though: an attractive if awkward girl
4.  a.  used to introduce expressions of desire, with only: if I had only known
 b.  used to introduce exclamations of surprise, dismay, etc: if this doesn't top everything!
5.  as if as it would be if; as though: he treats me as if I were junior to him
 
n
6.  an uncertainty or doubt: the big if is whether our plan will work at all
7.  a condition or stipulation: I won't have any ifs or buts
 
[Old English gif; related to Old Saxon ef if, Old High German iba whether, if]

IF or electronics i.f.
 
abbreviation for
intermediate frequency
 
i.f. or electronics i.f.
 
abbreviation for

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon
Main Entry:  IF
Part of Speech:  n
Definition:  See interactive fiction
Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon
Copyright © 2003-2013 Dictionary.com, LLC
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

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, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

IF abbr.
initiation factor

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Abbreviations & Acronyms
IF
  1. infertility

  2. intracytoplasmic sperm injection

  3. interferon

  4. intermediate frequency

The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

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. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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