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who

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also:WHO,W.H.O.,andW. H. O.

English

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Etymology

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FromMiddle Englishwho,hwo,huo,wha,hwoa,hwa, fromOld Englishhwā (dativehwām, genitivehwæs), fromProto-West Germanic*hwaʀ, fromProto-Germanic*hwaz, fromProto-Indo-European*kʷos,*kʷís.

The sound change/hw/ >/h/ (without a corresponding change in spelling) was due towh-cluster reduction after an irregular change of/ɑː/ to/oː/ in Middle English (instead of the expected/ɔː/) and further to/uː/ regularly in Early Modern English. A similar change occurred intwo. Comparehow, which underwentwh-reduction earlier (in Old English), and thus is spelt withh.

CompareScotswha,West Frisianwa,Dutchwie,Low Germanwe,Germanwer,Swedishvem,Danishhvem,Norwegian Bokmålhvem,Norwegian Nynorskkven,Icelandichver.

Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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who (singular or plural, nominative case,objectivewhom,who,possessivewhose)

  1. (interrogative) What person or people; which person or people;asks for the identity of someone; used in a direct or indirect question.
    You'regetting married‽Who to? (direct question)
    I don't knowwho it is. (indirect question)
  2. (relative)Introduces a relative clause having a human antecedent.
    1. With antecedent as subject.
      That's the manwho works at the newsagent. (defining)
      My sister,who works in the accounts department, just got promoted to manager. (non-defining)
      • 2008,BioWare,Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts,→ISBN,→OCLC, PC, scene: Citadel:
        Chorban: I don't really think my scanning disturbs them, but the authorities might disagree.
        Chorban: I'd like to do it more openly, but it's not really worth getting arrested over.
        Shepard: I could help you out. I'm not worried about the authorities.
        Chorban: I don't even knowwho you are.
      • 2014 March 3, Zoe Alderton, “‘Snapewives’ and ‘Snapeism’: A Fiction-Based Religion within the Harry Potter Fandom”, inReligions‎[2], volume 5, number 1, MDPI,→DOI, pages219–257:
        Despite personal schisms and differences in spiritual experience, there is a very coherent theology of Snape shared between the wives. To examine this manifestation of religious fandom, I will first discuss the canon scepticism and anti-Rowling sentiment that helps to contextualise the wider belief in Snape as a characterwho extends beyond book and film.
    2. (non-formal)With antecedent as object:whom.
      That's the manwho I saw earlier.(defining)
      My brother,who you met the other day, is coming to stay for the weekend.(non-defining)
  3. (fused relative, archaic or marginal)Whoever, he who, they who.
    Who insults my mother insults me.
    Give it towho deserves it.(marginal usage)
  4. (informal, especially non-US)Also used with names of collective nouns that are groups of people, especially singularly-named musical groups or sports teams.
    Who are the Miami Heat?

Usage notes

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  • Who is asubjectpronoun.Whom is anobject pronoun. To determine whether a particular sentence uses a subject or an object pronoun, rephrase it to usehe/she/they orhim/her/them instead ofwho,whom; if you usehe,she orthey, then you use the subject pronounwho; if you usehim,her orthem, then you use the object pronoun. The same rule applies towhoever/whosoever/whoso andwhomever/whomsoever/whomso. In the case ofwho(m)(so)ever, which usually plays a role in two phrases at once, it is the role in the internal ("downstairs") clause that determines the case. For example,Sell the sofa towhoeveroffers the most money for it useswhoever because it is the subject of the verboffers; the fact that it is also the object ofto is irrelevant.
  • Who can also be used as an object pronoun, especially in informal writing and speech (hence one hears not onlywhom are you waiting for? but alsowho are you waiting for?), andwhom may be seen as (overly) formal; in some dialects and contexts, it is hardly used, even in the most formal settings. As an exception to this, fronted prepositional phrases almost always usewhom, e.g. one usually sayswithwhom did you go?, not *withwho did you go?. However, dialects in whichwhom is rarely used usually avoid fronting prepositional phrases in the first place (for example, usingwho did you go with?).
  • The use ofwho as an object pronoun is proscribed by many authorities, but is frequent nonetheless. It is usually felt to be much more acceptable than the conversehypercorrection in whichwhom is misused in place ofwho, as in *the savagewhom spoke to me.
  • Instead ofwhat orwhich, particularly in music and sports journalism, although a solecism in conventional or traditional grammar,who andwhom are also used with names of collective nouns that define or describe groups of people, for instance singularly-named musical groups or sports clubs, in addition to teams with plural names of anthromorphic non-human beings or inanimate entities.
  • Whenwho (or the other relative pronounsthat andwhich) is used as the subject of a relative clause, the verb typically agrees with the antecedent of the pronoun. Thus "I who am...", "He who is...", "You who are...", etc.

Translations

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who? (interrogative pronoun)
who (relative pronoun)
whoever, he who, they who
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions atWiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Noun

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who (pluralwhos)

  1. A person under discussion; a question of which person.
    • 2008 March 21, The New York Times, “Movie Guide and Film Series”, inNew York Times‎[3]:
      A wham-bam caper flick, efficiently directed by Roger Donaldson, that fancifully revisits the mysteriouswhos and speculative hows of a 1971 London bank heist.

Determiner

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who

  1. (interrogative, dialect, African-American Vernacular)whose
    Who phone just rang?

Derived terms

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References

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  1. ^Dobson, E[ric] J. (1957),English pronunciation 1500-1700‎[1], second edition, volume II: Phonology,Oxford:Clarendon Press, published1968,→OCLC,§ 153,page677.

Anagrams

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Middle English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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FromOld Englishhwā, fromProto-West Germanic*hwaʀ, fromProto-Germanic*hwaz, fromProto-Indo-European*kʷos,*kʷís.

Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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who (singular or plural, nominative case, accusative/dativewhom,genitivewhos,inanimatewhat)

  1. (interrogative)who(nominative)
  2. (relative)who(nominative)
  3. (relative)whoever,anyonewho(usually nominative)
  4. (indefinite)anyone,someone(nominative)

Usage notes

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  • The non-relative indefinite sense is rare outside of the expressionaswho(“as one”).
  • In Middle English, use ofwho as an accusative is rare and restricted to the sense of "whoever".

Descendants

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References

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