whom

Meaning

  1. (formal, interrogative) What person or people; which person or people.
  2. (formal, interrogative) What person or people; which person or people.
  3. (formal, relative) Used to refer to a previously mentioned person or people.
  4. (formal) The person(s) whom; whomever.
  5. (formal, informal) Also used with names of collective nouns that are groups of people, especially singularly-named musical groups or sports teams.

Synonyms

who
A1
which
A1
that
A1
what
A1

to whom

anybody
A1

for whom

anyone
A1
somebody
A1
someone
A1
Translations

chi
wen
quem
que
wie
quién
wem
o quê

a chi

quien
qui
o que

a quién

waaraan
Frequency

B1
Pronounced as (IPA)
/huːm/
Etymology

Inherited from Middle English
whom
Inherited from Old English
hwām
Cognate with Scots
wham
Cognate with German
German
wem
Cognate with Danish
hvem
Cognate with Swedish
vem
In summary

From Middle English whom, wham, from Old English hwām, hwǣm, from Proto-Germanic *hwammai, dative case of *hwaz (“who, what”). Cognate with Scots wham (“whom”), German wem (“whom, to whom”), Danish hvem (“who, whom”), Swedish vem (“who, whom”).

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English