The story
- Old English · inherited fromhwæt ġif
- English todaywhat if
Dates back at least to Old English hwæt ġif, of the same meaning. A similar expression occurs in Latin in the Vulgate, Acts 23:9, "Factus est autem clamor magnus. Et surgentes quidam pharisaeorum, pugnabant, decentes: Nihil mali inveniumus in homine isto: quid si Spiritus locutus est ei, aut angelus?" ("And there arose a great cry. And some of the Pharisees rising up, strove, saying: We find no evil in this man. What if a spirit hath spoken to him, or an angel?" Douay-Rheims translation)
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.