the name · pronunciation

It's "ee-ther." Or "eye-ther." We don't even know.

Either is one of those English words where two pronunciations live in standoff. We named the app after the argument because the argument is the point: two valid options, one decision, no algorithm to break the tie.

Where it comes from.

Old English had ǣghwæþer — "each of two." It softened into Middle English aither (rhyming with "neither" then), then split. The vowel before th drifted in different directions depending on whose mouth held it. By the 18th century there were two confident schools.

What the dictionaries say.

• /ˈiːðər/ — "ee-ther" general American · most US dictionaries list first
• /ˈaɪðər/ — "eye-ther" received pronunciation · British, more emphatic, faintly posh
• /ˈʌɪðər/ — somewhere in between parts of Ireland, Australia · diphthong but lazier

What the regions say.

US: ee-ther wins, but eye-ther is read as deliberate or pretentious depending on the room. UK: eye-ther wins, but ee-ther isn't wrong, just American-sounding. Both are valid. Both have always been valid. The argument outlives every other part of the conversation it interrupted.

What we say.

We don't say it on the brand mark. Our logo lowercases the word ("either / fm") and lets you supply the vowel. The slash is the tie-breaker that doesn't break the tie. When we have to say it out loud — interviews, podcasts — we alternate. It's deliberate.

Famous on each side.

ee-ther: most American newscasters, Aretha Franklin's "neither" is consistent with it, Hemingway, most of the Pacific Northwest.

eye-ther: Stephen Fry, the late Queen, half of the BBC, theatrical actors who want to land a syllable.

Settle it on the walkthrough.

The 7-step start-here walkthrough ends with the only duel we keep on the leaderboard: ee-ther vs eye-ther. The winner is wrong. So is the loser. Vote anyway.