who

Who is that? (direct question)

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

Ia[go]. Hee’s married. Caſ[ſio]. To who? […] Ia[go]. Marry to. ---- Come Captaine, will you goe? Oth[ello]. Ha, with who?

c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragœdy of Othello, the Moore of Venice. […] (First Quarto), London: […] N[icholas] O[kes] for Thomas Walkley, […], published 1622, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], page 8:

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

That's the man who works at the newsagent. (defining)

My sister, who works in the accounts department, just got promoted to manager. (non-defining)

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 know who you are.

2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Citadel:

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 character who extends beyond book and film.

2014 March 3, Zoe Alderton, “‘Snapewives’ and ‘Snapeism’: A Fiction-Based Religion within the Harry Potter Fandom”, in Religions, volume 5, number 1, MDPI, →DOI, pages 219–257:

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

That's the man who I saw earlier. (defining)

My brother, who you met the other day, is coming to stay for the weekend. (non-defining)

(non-formal) With antecedent as object: whom.

Who insults my mother insults me.

Give it to who deserves it. (marginal usage)

Who steals my purse steals trash.

c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]:

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

fused relative; archaic or marginal; fused relative; archaic or marginal

Who are the Miami Heat?

(informal, especially non-US) Also used with names of collective nouns that are groups of people, especially singularly-named musical groups or sports teams.

head

who (singular or plural, nominative case, objective whom, who, possessive whose)

whom (objective)
who (objective)
whose (possessive)

誰 /谁

sûi, chûi, chūi, cho̍ah, chiâ, chôa, tiâng, siáng, siâng

啥物人

siáⁿ-mih-lâng, siáⁿ-mí-lâng, sáng-n̂g, siàng-n̂g

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, Swedish vem, Danish hvem, Norwegian Bokmål hvem, Norwegian Nynorsk kven, Icelandic hver.


who

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.

2008 March 21, The New York Times, “Movie Guide and Film Series”, in New York Times:

A person under discussion; a question of which person.


who

Who phone just rang?

(interrogative, dialect, African-American Vernacular) whose

he who digs a pit for others falls in himself

he who sups with the devil should have a long spoon

let he who is without sin cast the first stone

let him who is without sin cast the first stone

people who live in glass houses should not throw stones

people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones

send it up the flagpole and see who salutes

the Lord helps those who help themselves

there are none so blind as those who will not see

there's none so blind as those who will not see

those who live in glass houses should not throw stones

those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones

those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those doing it

who are you and what have you done with someone

who keeps company with the wolf will learn to howl

with friends like these who needs enemies

with friends like those who needs enemies


who

⁊ I seide .· who art þou, loꝛd? / ⁊ þe loꝛd ſeide / I am iheſus whom þou purſueſt.

c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.), published c. 1410, Dedis of Apoſtlis 26:15, page 107v, column 1; republished as Wycliffe's translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:

And I asked, "Who are you, Lord?". The Lord replied, "I am Jesus, who you are persecuting".

(relative) whoever, anyone who (usually nominative)

(indefinite) anyone, someone (nominative)

who (singular or plural, nominative case, accusative/dative whom, genitive whos, inanimate what)

whom (accusative dative)
whos (genitive)
what (inanimate)

English: who

Geordie English: whe

Scots: wha

Yola: fho, fo, vo

From Old English hwā, from Proto-West Germanic *hwaʀ, from Proto-Germanic *hwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷos, *kʷis.