who

Meaning

Pron

1. What person or people; which person or people; asks for the identity of someone; used in a direct or indirect question.
2. Introduces a relative clause having a human antecedent.
3. Introduces a relative clause having a human antecedent.
4. Whoever, he who, they who.

Noun

A person under discussion; a question of which person.

Det

whose

Pronounced as (IPA)

/huː/

Etymology

From Middle English who, hwo, huo, wha, hwoa, hwa, from Old English hwā (dative hwām, genitive hwæs), from Proto-West Germanic *hwaʀ, from Proto-Germanic *hwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷos, *kʷis.
The sound change /hw/ > /h/ (without a corresponding change in spelling) was due to wh-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 in two. Compare how, which underwent wh-reduction earlier (in Old English), and thus is spelt with h.
Compare Scots wha, West Frisian wa, Dutch wie, Low German we, German wer, Danish hvem, Norwegian Bokmål hvem, Norwegian Nynorsk kven, Icelandic hver.

Sentences

It's a man who understands nature and the world .

He is the brother of Bristol Rovers player Dominic Thomas who retired through injury .

This authority does not extend to professionals who receive licensure through non-governmental agencies .

He is survived by his widow , Lady Skeet , who resides in Milton Ernest , Bedfordshire .