Who
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: /huË/
- US IPA: /hu/
- Rhymes: -uË
Origin
From Old English hwÄ (dative hwÄm, genitive hwæs), from Proto-Germanic *hwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kÊ·os, *kÊ·is. Compare West Frisian wa, Dutch wie, German wer.
Full definition of who
Pronoun
(Note that who is usually used instead of whom, especially in informal contexts.)- (interrogative pronoun) What person or people; which person or people (used in a direct or indirect question).Who is that? (direct question)I don't know who it is. (indirect question)
- (relative pronoun) The person or people that.It was a nice man who helped us.
Usage notes
When "who" (or the other relative pronouns "that" and "which") is used as the subject of a relative clause, the verb agrees with the antecedent of the pronoun. Thus "I who am...", "He who is...", "You who are...", etc.
Noun
who
(plural whos)- A person under discussion; a question of which person.
- 2008, March 21, The New York Times, Movie Guide and Film Series, A wham-bam caper flick, efficiently directed by Roger Donaldson, that fancifully revisits the mysterious whos and speculative hows of a 1971 London bank heist.