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Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

In case that; granting, allowing, or supposing that; on condition that: used in introducing a conditional sentence or clause: as, I will go if you do; if he is there, I shall see him.
Whether: used in introducing an object clause.
Although; notwithstanding that: as, I am honest, if I am poor; he is strong, if he is little.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

conjunction In case that; granting, allowing, or supposing that; -- introducing a condition or supposition.
conjunction Whether; -- in dependent questions.
conjunction See under As, But.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

conjunction Supposing that, assuming that, in the circumstances that; used to introduce a condition or choice.
conjunction Supposing that; used with past subjunctive indicating that the condition is not fulfilled.
conjunction Although; used to introduce a concession.
conjunction computing In the event that a statement is true (a programming statement that acts in a similar manner).
conjunction Whether; used to introduce a noun clause as the object of certain verbs.
conjunction Even if; even in the circumstances that.
noun informal An uncertainty, possibility, condition, doubt etc.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English yif, yef, from Old English ġif, ġef ("if; whether, though"), from Proto-Germanic *jabai (“when, if”), from Proto-Indo-European *e-, *ē- (“then, at that time”). Cognate with Scots gif ("if, whether"), West Frisian oft ("whether"), Dutch of ("or, whether, but"), Middle Low German ef ("if, whether"), German ob ("if, whether"), Icelandic ef, if ("if").

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Examples

By the time the 2nd one was over the 7 year old had asked several times When is this going to be over? toystory fan if you see the first one in 3d i have do you get to see the 2nd in digital 3d for free..if so how?

TOY STORY 1 & 2 3D DOUBLE-FEATURE Review – Collider.com 2009
My best advice is to make sure that your orthopod understands the benefit of post op pain relief… ask yours if he has ever had any work done on himself..if so, he will understand the need for regular and strong pain relief.

Cheeseburger Gothic » Under the knife. 2009
This after he posted an open letter to the Republican Party in July in which he said he would be willing to re-join, \ "if and only if\" certain conditions would be met.

Dawn Teo: Tempest in a Teabag: Tea Party Founder Announces He's (Re)Joining GOP 2009
They might wish she didn't have to steal the nomination at the convention, but I doubt if ultimately many will have reservations about her actually doing it ... * if* they're able to keep the damage to a controllable minimum, and * if* they can effectively conceal their hand in it.

Sen. Nelson (D-FL): Deal Could Be Reached Soon For New Florida Primary 2009
Back then, if you wrapped yourself up in an American Flag, in most jurisdictions, you could wind up in jail…..if you were lucky.

Gen Y on being an American « Dating Jesus 2009
Yet the College Board plans to offer Advanced Placement exams in Mandarin for the first time in 2007, and this is only if teacher ranks can be filled (a big ��if��).

Ross Chanin: �� 2008
I think there is somnething in your description if the styles of misdemeanour although the cash for honours car boot is what this is really about and involving Brown who after all did know ..if he`s not incompetent

Con-way Parallels: More Like Old School Tory Felony 2008
If you have read them and don't like them or think they are "gay" which, by the way, is a really intelligent response to anything…….and if you don't get my sarcasm then you definitely shouldn't read the books…..if you can read at all, then I believe that you are probably severely confused about a lot things.

Diana Gabaldon's Outlander Headed to the Big Screen « FirstShowing.net 2008
Poetry will be there to light a candle for each one of them if you let it — in remembrance or regret if you so choose, but mostly in honest remark upon the heart that feels it first.

The Dancing Weather or The Small Truths that are Often Fireflies 2008
However, if historical evidence is any guide, such restraint on the part of the military may yet prove to be fleeting if conditions continue to deteriorate.

Pakistan's Day of Reckoning 2008

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Comments

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sonofgroucho commented on the word if

If by Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son.

December 11, 2006
yarb commented on the word if

...if it's 6 o'clock
you can hear the News;
if you can hear the News
you have ears. Therefore
if it's 6 you've ears...
- Peter Reading, 5x5x5x5x5, 1983

July 1, 2008
yarb commented on the word if

Oh dear. Tonight I was that close – that close to being infamous. I don't want to be infamous. I want to be... f'mous. Famous. Like the Rudyard Kipling poem, 'If'. You know that? 'If' you do X, Y and Z, Bob's your uncle.
- I'm Alan Partridge, episode 4, BBC TV.

July 1, 2008
johnmperry commented on the word if

UK response to statement starting If..
"If my uncle had tits he'd be my auntie."

July 22, 2008
plethora commented on the word if

Or, contrastingly, if your auntie had balls, she'd be your uncle.

July 22, 2008
bestiary commented on the word if

"balls!" said the queen: "if i had two, i'd be king."

July 22, 2008
mialuthien commented on the word if

The Latvian equivalent for the "if" statement is ja tantei būtu riteņi, tante būtu tramvajs, or "if your auntie had wheels, she'd be a streetcar". That's a very, very old expression, and it is still in use today.

July 22, 2008
bilby commented on the word if

Usage on gunpowder.

October 14, 2008
whichbe commented on the word if

THEN GOTO 100.

October 14, 2008
john commented on the word if

Careful whichbe! Go To Statement Considered Harmful.

October 14, 2008
seanahan commented on the word if

GOTO CONSIDERED HARMFUL

October 15, 2008
seanahan commented on the word if

Great minds think alike, eh?

October 16, 2008
vanishedone commented on the word if

Warning in turn: "Considered Harmful" Essays Considered Harmful.

October 16, 2008