"who" meaning in Middle English

See who in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Pronoun

IPA: /hwɔː/, /h(w)oː/, /hwɑː/ [Early-Middle-English], /hwaː/ [Northern] Forms: whom [accusative, dative], whos [genitive], what [inanimate]
Etymology: From Old English hwā, from Proto-West Germanic *hwaʀ, from Proto-Germanic *hwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷos, *kʷis. Etymology templates: {{etymid|enm|who}}, {{inh|enm|ang|hwā}} Old English hwā, {{inh|enm|gmw-pro|*hwaʀ}} Proto-West Germanic *hwaʀ, {{inh|enm|gem-pro|*hwaz}} Proto-Germanic *hwaz, {{inh|enm|ine-pro|*kʷos}} Proto-Indo-European *kʷos Head templates: {{head|enm|pronoun|singular or plural, nominative case, accusative/dative|whom|genitive|whos|inanimate|what}} who (singular or plural, nominative case, accusative/dative whom, genitive whos, inanimate what)
  1. (interrogative) who (nominative) Tags: interrogative, nominative, plural, singular
    Sense id: en-who-enm-pron-OAvLtjJZ
  2. (relative) who (nominative) Tags: nominative, plural, relative, singular
    Sense id: en-who-enm-pron-OAvLtjJZ1
  3. (relative) whoever, anyone who (usually nominative) Tags: nominative, plural, relative, singular
    Sense id: en-who-enm-pron-ZHOFo9JG
  4. (indefinite) anyone, someone (nominative) Tags: indefinite, nominative, plural, singular
    Sense id: en-who-enm-pron-WIugQNs2
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: ȝwo, ho, hoo, huo, quo, qwo, qwho, whoo, wo, woo, qua [Northern], wha, hwo, hwoa Synonyms (early): hwa Disambiguation of 'early': 0 0 0 0

Alternative forms

{
  "descendants": [
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "en",
            "2": "who"
          },
          "expansion": "English: who",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "English: who"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "en-geo",
            "2": "whe"
          },
          "expansion": "Geordie English: whe",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "Geordie English: whe"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "sco",
            "2": "wha"
          },
          "expansion": "Scots: wha",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "Scots: wha"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "yol",
            "2": "fho",
            "alts": "1"
          },
          "expansion": "Yola: fho, fo, vo",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "Yola: fho, fo, vo"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "who"
      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "etymid"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "hwā"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English hwā",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*hwaʀ"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *hwaʀ",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*hwaz"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *hwaz",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*kʷos"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *kʷos",
      "name": "inh"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Old English hwā, from Proto-West Germanic *hwaʀ, from Proto-Germanic *hwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷos, *kʷis.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "whom",
      "tags": [
        "accusative",
        "dative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "whos",
      "tags": [
        "genitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "what",
      "tags": [
        "inanimate"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "pronoun",
        "3": "singular or plural, nominative case, accusative/dative",
        "4": "whom",
        "5": "genitive",
        "6": "whos",
        "7": "inanimate",
        "8": "what"
      },
      "expansion": "who (singular or plural, nominative case, accusative/dative whom, genitive whos, inanimate what)",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Middle English",
  "lang_code": "enm",
  "pos": "pron",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "english": "And I asked, \"Who are you, Lord?\". The Lord replied, \"I am Jesus, who you are persecuting\".",
          "ref": "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:",
          "text": "⁊ I seide .· who art þou, loꝛd? / ⁊ þe loꝛd ſeide / I am iheſus whom þou purſueſt.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "who (nominative)"
      ],
      "id": "en-who-enm-pron-OAvLtjJZ",
      "links": [
        [
          "who",
          "who#English"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(interrogative) who (nominative)"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "interrogative",
        "nominative",
        "plural",
        "singular"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "who (nominative)"
      ],
      "id": "en-who-enm-pron-OAvLtjJZ1",
      "links": [
        [
          "who",
          "who#English"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(relative) who (nominative)"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "nominative",
        "plural",
        "relative",
        "singular"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "whoever, anyone who (usually nominative)"
      ],
      "id": "en-who-enm-pron-ZHOFo9JG",
      "links": [
        [
          "whoever",
          "whoever"
        ],
        [
          "anyone",
          "anyone"
        ],
        [
          "who",
          "who#English"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(relative) whoever, anyone who (usually nominative)"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "nominative",
        "plural",
        "relative",
        "singular"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "anyone, someone (nominative)"
      ],
      "id": "en-who-enm-pron-WIugQNs2",
      "links": [
        [
          "indefinite",
          "indefinite"
        ],
        [
          "anyone",
          "anyone"
        ],
        [
          "someone",
          "someone"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(indefinite) anyone, someone (nominative)"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "indefinite",
        "nominative",
        "plural",
        "singular"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/hwɔː/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/h(w)oː/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/hwɑː/",
      "tags": [
        "Early-Middle-English"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/hwaː/",
      "tags": [
        "Northern"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "ȝwo"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "ho"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "hoo"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "huo"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "quo"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "qwo"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "qwho"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "whoo"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "wo"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "woo"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "tags": [
        "Northern"
      ],
      "word": "qua"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "wha"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "hwo"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "hwoa"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "sense": "early",
      "word": "hwa"
    }
  ],
  "word": "who"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "Middle English entries with incorrect language header",
    "Middle English indefinite pronouns",
    "Middle English interrogative pronouns",
    "Middle English lemmas",
    "Middle English pronouns",
    "Middle English relative pronouns",
    "Middle English terms derived from Old English",
    "Middle English terms derived from Proto-Germanic",
    "Middle English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European",
    "Middle English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic",
    "Middle English terms inherited from Old English",
    "Middle English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic",
    "Middle English terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European",
    "Middle English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic",
    "Pages with 2 entries",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "en",
            "2": "who"
          },
          "expansion": "English: who",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "English: who"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "en-geo",
            "2": "whe"
          },
          "expansion": "Geordie English: whe",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "Geordie English: whe"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "sco",
            "2": "wha"
          },
          "expansion": "Scots: wha",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "Scots: wha"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "yol",
            "2": "fho",
            "alts": "1"
          },
          "expansion": "Yola: fho, fo, vo",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "Yola: fho, fo, vo"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "who"
      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "etymid"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "hwā"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English hwā",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*hwaʀ"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *hwaʀ",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*hwaz"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *hwaz",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*kʷos"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *kʷos",
      "name": "inh"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Old English hwā, from Proto-West Germanic *hwaʀ, from Proto-Germanic *hwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷos, *kʷis.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "whom",
      "tags": [
        "accusative",
        "dative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "whos",
      "tags": [
        "genitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "what",
      "tags": [
        "inanimate"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "pronoun",
        "3": "singular or plural, nominative case, accusative/dative",
        "4": "whom",
        "5": "genitive",
        "6": "whos",
        "7": "inanimate",
        "8": "what"
      },
      "expansion": "who (singular or plural, nominative case, accusative/dative whom, genitive whos, inanimate what)",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Middle English",
  "lang_code": "enm",
  "pos": "pron",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "Middle English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "english": "And I asked, \"Who are you, Lord?\". The Lord replied, \"I am Jesus, who you are persecuting\".",
          "ref": "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:",
          "text": "⁊ I seide .· who art þou, loꝛd? / ⁊ þe loꝛd ſeide / I am iheſus whom þou purſueſt.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "who (nominative)"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "who",
          "who#English"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(interrogative) who (nominative)"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "interrogative",
        "nominative",
        "plural",
        "singular"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "who (nominative)"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "who",
          "who#English"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(relative) who (nominative)"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "nominative",
        "plural",
        "relative",
        "singular"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "whoever, anyone who (usually nominative)"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "whoever",
          "whoever"
        ],
        [
          "anyone",
          "anyone"
        ],
        [
          "who",
          "who#English"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(relative) whoever, anyone who (usually nominative)"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "nominative",
        "plural",
        "relative",
        "singular"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "anyone, someone (nominative)"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "indefinite",
          "indefinite"
        ],
        [
          "anyone",
          "anyone"
        ],
        [
          "someone",
          "someone"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(indefinite) anyone, someone (nominative)"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "indefinite",
        "nominative",
        "plural",
        "singular"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/hwɔː/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/h(w)oː/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/hwɑː/",
      "tags": [
        "Early-Middle-English"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/hwaː/",
      "tags": [
        "Northern"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "ȝwo"
    },
    {
      "word": "ho"
    },
    {
      "word": "hoo"
    },
    {
      "word": "huo"
    },
    {
      "word": "quo"
    },
    {
      "word": "qwo"
    },
    {
      "word": "qwho"
    },
    {
      "word": "whoo"
    },
    {
      "word": "wo"
    },
    {
      "word": "woo"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Northern"
      ],
      "word": "qua"
    },
    {
      "word": "wha"
    },
    {
      "sense": "early",
      "word": "hwa"
    },
    {
      "word": "hwo"
    },
    {
      "word": "hwoa"
    }
  ],
  "word": "who"
}

Download raw JSONL data for who meaning in Middle English (4.4kB)

{
  "called_from": "wiktionary/179/20240425uppercase_tags",
  "msg": "who/Middle English/pron: invalid uppercase tag Early-Middle-English not in or uppercase_tags: {\"categories\": [\"Middle English entries with incorrect language header\", \"Middle English indefinite pronouns\", \"Middle English interrogative pronouns\", \"Middle English lemmas\", \"Middle English pronouns\", \"Middle English relative pronouns\", \"Middle English terms derived from Old English\", \"Middle English terms derived from Proto-Germanic\", \"Middle English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European\", \"Middle English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic\", \"Middle English terms inherited from Old English\", \"Middle English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic\", \"Middle English terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European\", \"Middle English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic\", \"Pages with 2 entries\", \"Pages with entries\"], \"descendants\": [{\"depth\": 1, \"templates\": [{\"args\": {\"1\": \"en\", \"2\": \"who\"}, \"expansion\": \"English: who\", \"name\": \"desc\"}], \"text\": \"English: who\"}, {\"depth\": 1, \"templates\": [{\"args\": {\"1\": \"en-geo\", \"2\": \"whe\"}, \"expansion\": \"Geordie English: whe\", \"name\": \"desc\"}], \"text\": \"Geordie English: whe\"}, {\"depth\": 1, \"templates\": [{\"args\": {\"1\": \"sco\", \"2\": \"wha\"}, \"expansion\": \"Scots: wha\", \"name\": \"desc\"}], \"text\": \"Scots: wha\"}, {\"depth\": 1, \"templates\": [{\"args\": {\"1\": \"yol\", \"2\": \"fho\", \"alts\": \"1\"}, \"expansion\": \"Yola: fho, fo, vo\", \"name\": \"desc\"}], \"text\": \"Yola: fho, fo, vo\"}], \"etymology_templates\": [{\"args\": {\"1\": \"enm\", \"2\": \"who\"}, \"expansion\": \"\", \"name\": \"etymid\"}, {\"args\": {\"1\": \"enm\", \"2\": \"ang\", \"3\": \"hwā\"}, \"expansion\": \"Old English hwā\", \"name\": \"inh\"}, {\"args\": {\"1\": \"enm\", \"2\": \"gmw-pro\", \"3\": \"*hwaʀ\"}, \"expansion\": \"Proto-West Germanic *hwaʀ\", \"name\": \"inh\"}, {\"args\": {\"1\": \"enm\", \"2\": \"gem-pro\", \"3\": \"*hwaz\"}, \"expansion\": \"Proto-Germanic *hwaz\", \"name\": \"inh\"}, {\"args\": {\"1\": \"enm\", \"2\": \"ine-pro\", \"3\": \"*kʷos\"}, \"expansion\": \"Proto-Indo-European *kʷos\", \"name\": \"inh\"}], \"etymology_text\": \"From Old English hwā, from Proto-West Germanic *hwaʀ, from Proto-Germanic *hwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷos, *kʷis.\", \"forms\": [{\"form\": \"whom\", \"tags\": [\"accusative\", \"dative\"]}, {\"form\": \"whos\", \"tags\": [\"genitive\"]}, {\"form\": \"what\", \"tags\": [\"inanimate\"]}], \"head_templates\": [{\"args\": {\"1\": \"enm\", \"2\": \"pronoun\", \"3\": \"singular or plural, nominative case, accusative/dative\", \"4\": \"whom\", \"5\": \"genitive\", \"6\": \"whos\", \"7\": \"inanimate\", \"8\": \"what\"}, \"expansion\": \"who (singular or plural, nominative case, accusative/dative whom, genitive whos, inanimate what)\", \"name\": \"head\"}], \"lang\": \"Middle English\", \"lang_code\": \"enm\", \"pos\": \"pron\", \"senses\": [{\"categories\": [\"Middle English terms with quotations\"], \"examples\": [{\"english\": \"And I asked, \\\"Who are you, Lord?\\\". The Lord replied, \\\"I am Jesus, who you are persecuting\\\".\", \"ref\": \"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:\", \"text\": \"⁊ I seide .· who art þou, loꝛd? / ⁊ þe loꝛd ſeide / I am iheſus whom þou purſueſt.\", \"type\": \"quote\"}], \"glosses\": [\"who (nominative)\"], \"links\": [[\"who\", \"who#English\"]], \"raw_glosses\": [\"(interrogative) who (nominative)\"], \"tags\": [\"interrogative\", \"nominative\", \"plural\", \"singular\"]}, {\"glosses\": [\"who (nominative)\"], \"links\": [[\"who\", \"who#English\"]], \"raw_glosses\": [\"(relative) who (nominative)\"], \"tags\": [\"nominative\", \"plural\", \"relative\", \"singular\"]}, {\"glosses\": [\"whoever, anyone who (usually nominative)\"], \"links\": [[\"whoever\", \"whoever\"], [\"anyone\", \"anyone\"], [\"who\", \"who#English\"]], \"raw_glosses\": [\"(relative) whoever, anyone who (usually nominative)\"], \"tags\": [\"nominative\", \"plural\", \"relative\", \"singular\"]}, {\"glosses\": [\"anyone, someone (nominative)\"], \"links\": [[\"indefinite\", \"indefinite\"], [\"anyone\", \"anyone\"], [\"someone\", \"someone\"]], \"raw_glosses\": [\"(indefinite) anyone, someone (nominative)\"], \"tags\": [\"indefinite\", \"nominative\", \"plural\", \"singular\"]}], \"sounds\": [{\"ipa\": \"/hwɔː/\"}, {\"ipa\": \"/h(w)oː/\"}, {\"ipa\": \"/hwɑː/\", \"tags\": [\"Early-Middle-English\"]}, {\"ipa\": \"/hwaː/\", \"tags\": [\"Northern\"]}], \"synonyms\": [{\"word\": \"ȝwo\"}, {\"word\": \"ho\"}, {\"word\": \"hoo\"}, {\"word\": \"huo\"}, {\"word\": \"quo\"}, {\"word\": \"qwo\"}, {\"word\": \"qwho\"}, {\"word\": \"whoo\"}, {\"word\": \"wo\"}, {\"word\": \"woo\"}, {\"tags\": [\"Northern\"], \"word\": \"qua\"}, {\"word\": \"wha\"}, {\"sense\": \"early\", \"word\": \"hwa\"}, {\"word\": \"hwo\"}, {\"word\": \"hwoa\"}], \"word\": \"who\"}",
  "path": [],
  "section": "Middle English",
  "subsection": "pron",
  "title": "who",
  "trace": ""
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable Middle English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (fbeafe8 and 7f03c9b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.