who

huː

3 definitions

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#1·6h ago

(interrogative) What person or people; which person or people; asks for the identity of someone; used in a direct or indirect question.

''You're getting married‽ Who to?'' (direct question)

Origin: From , hwo, huo, wha, hwoa, hwa, from (dative hwām, genitive hwæs), from , from , from , *kʷís. The sound change > (without a corresponding change in spelling) was due to wh-cluster reduction after an irregular change of to in Middle English (instead of the expected ) and further to regularly in Early Modern English. A similar change occurred in two. Compare how, which underwent wh-reduction earlier (in Old English), and thus is spelt with h. Compare , , , , , , , , ,. Origin information sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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#2·6h ago

(relative) Introduces a relative clause having a human antecedent.

''I don't know who it is.'' (indirect question)

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#3·6h ago

(fused relative, archaic, or, marginal) Whoever, he who, they who.

Who says they care? —They themselves do.

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