"what" meaning in Middle English

See what in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adverb

IPA: /ʍat/, /wat/
Etymology: From Old English hwæt, from Proto-West Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷód. Etymology templates: {{inh|enm|ang|hwæt}} Old English hwæt, {{inh|enm|gmw-pro|*hwat}} Proto-West Germanic *hwat, {{inh|enm|gem-pro|*hwat}} Proto-Germanic *hwat, {{inh|enm|ine-pro|*kʷód}} Proto-Indo-European *kʷód Head templates: {{head|enm|adverb}} what
  1. Why.
    Sense id: en-what-enm-adv-mq7kAL7v
  2. Used to introduce each of two coordinate phrases or concepts; both...and...
    Sense id: en-what-enm-adv-QFfdJShy Categories (other): Middle English entries with incorrect language header, Middle English interrogative pronouns, Middle English pronouns Disambiguation of Middle English entries with incorrect language header: 17 58 25 0 Disambiguation of Middle English interrogative pronouns: 29 59 13 Disambiguation of Middle English pronouns: 31 54 15
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 1 Synonyms: whad, whote, watte, wath, wad, qhat, whæt, whæht, waht, waet, wæht, weht, hweat [Mid, Southern, West]

Noun

Head templates: {{head|enm|noun}} what
  1. Alternative form of whate Tags: alt-of, alternative Alternative form of: whate
    Sense id: en-what-enm-noun-L1uciTZk
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 2

Pronoun

IPA: /ʍat/, /wat/
Etymology: From Old English hwæt, from Proto-West Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷód. Etymology templates: {{inh|enm|ang|hwæt}} Old English hwæt, {{inh|enm|gmw-pro|*hwat}} Proto-West Germanic *hwat, {{inh|enm|gem-pro|*hwat}} Proto-Germanic *hwat, {{inh|enm|ine-pro|*kʷód}} Proto-Indo-European *kʷód Head templates: {{head|enm|pronoun|cat2=interrogative pronouns}} what
  1. what
    Sense id: en-what-enm-pron-dJqywNBs
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 1 Synonyms: whad, whote, watte, wath, wad, qhat, whæt, whæht, waht, waet, wæht, weht, hweat [Mid, Southern, West]

Alternative forms

{
  "descendants": [
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "en",
            "2": "what"
          },
          "expansion": "English: what",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "English: what"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "sco",
            "2": "what",
            "alts": "1"
          },
          "expansion": "Scots: what, whate, whit, whut, wha', quhat, quat, fat, faht, phat, fit, fut, fout, at",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "Scots: what, whate, whit, whut, wha', quhat, quat, fat, faht, phat, fit, fut, fout, at"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "yol",
            "2": "faade",
            "alts": "1"
          },
          "expansion": "Yola: faade, fhaade, faad, fade, f'ad",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "Yola: faade, fhaade, faad, fade, f'ad"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "hwæt"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English hwæt",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*hwat"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *hwat",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*hwat"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *hwat",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*kʷód"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *kʷód",
      "name": "inh"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Old English hwæt, from Proto-West Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷód.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "pronoun",
        "cat2": "interrogative pronouns"
      },
      "expansion": "what",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Middle English",
  "lang_code": "enm",
  "pos": "pron",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "what"
      ],
      "id": "en-what-enm-pron-dJqywNBs",
      "links": [
        [
          "what",
          "#English"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ʍat/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/wat/"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "whad"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "whote"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "watte"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "wath"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "wad"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "qhat"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "whæt"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "whæht"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "waht"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "waet"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "wæht"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "weht"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "tags": [
        "Mid",
        "Southern",
        "West"
      ],
      "word": "hweat"
    }
  ],
  "word": "what"
}

{
  "descendants": [
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "yol",
            "2": "fad"
          },
          "expansion": "Yola: fad",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "Yola: fad"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "hwæt"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English hwæt",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*hwat"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *hwat",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*hwat"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *hwat",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*kʷód"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *kʷód",
      "name": "inh"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Old English hwæt, from Proto-West Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷód.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "adverb"
      },
      "expansion": "what",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Middle English",
  "lang_code": "enm",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "english": "Why should I tell the answer of the knight?",
          "ref": "1387–1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Sompners Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, [Westminster: William Caxton, published 1478], →OCLC; republished in [William Thynne], editor, The Workes of Geffray Chaucer Newlye Printed, […], [London]: […] [Richard Grafton for] Iohn Reynes […], 1542, →OCLC:",
          "text": "What shulde I tel the answere of the knyght?",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1641 May, John Milton, Of Reformation Touching Church-Discipline in England: And the Cavvses that hitherto have Hindred it; republished as Will Taliaferro Hale, editor, Of Reformation Touching Church-Discipline in England (Yale Studies in English; LIV), New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1916, →OCLC:",
          "text": "But what do I stand reckoning upon advantages and gains lost by the misrule and turbulency of the prelates?",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Why."
      ],
      "id": "en-what-enm-adv-mq7kAL7v",
      "links": [
        [
          "Why",
          "why"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "17 58 25 0",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Middle English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "29 59 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Middle English interrogative pronouns",
          "parents": [
            "Interrogative pronouns",
            "Interrogative pro-forms",
            "Pronouns",
            "Pro-forms",
            "Lemmas",
            "Terms by semantic function"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "31 54 15",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Middle English pronouns",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “primum”, in Le Morte Darthur, book III:",
          "text": "And as for on C good knyghtes I haue my self / but I fawte / l / for so many haue ben slayne in my dayes / and so Ladegreans delyuerd his doughter Gweneuer vnto Merlyn / and the table round with the C knyghtes / and so they rode fresshly with grete royalte / what by water and what by land / tyl that they came nyghe vnto london",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used to introduce each of two coordinate phrases or concepts; both...and..."
      ],
      "id": "en-what-enm-adv-QFfdJShy"
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ʍat/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/wat/"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "whad"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "whote"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "watte"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "wath"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "wad"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "qhat"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "whæt"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "whæht"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "waht"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "waet"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "wæht"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "weht"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "tags": [
        "Mid",
        "Southern",
        "West"
      ],
      "word": "hweat"
    }
  ],
  "word": "what"
}

{
  "etymology_number": 2,
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "noun"
      },
      "expansion": "what",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Middle English",
  "lang_code": "enm",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "whate"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of whate"
      ],
      "id": "en-what-enm-noun-L1uciTZk",
      "links": [
        [
          "whate",
          "whate#Middle_English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "what"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "Middle English adverbs",
    "Middle English entries with incorrect language header",
    "Middle English interrogative pronouns",
    "Middle English lemmas",
    "Middle English nouns",
    "Middle English 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 5 entries",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "en",
            "2": "what"
          },
          "expansion": "English: what",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "English: what"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "sco",
            "2": "what",
            "alts": "1"
          },
          "expansion": "Scots: what, whate, whit, whut, wha', quhat, quat, fat, faht, phat, fit, fut, fout, at",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "Scots: what, whate, whit, whut, wha', quhat, quat, fat, faht, phat, fit, fut, fout, at"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "yol",
            "2": "faade",
            "alts": "1"
          },
          "expansion": "Yola: faade, fhaade, faad, fade, f'ad",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "Yola: faade, fhaade, faad, fade, f'ad"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "hwæt"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English hwæt",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*hwat"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *hwat",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*hwat"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *hwat",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*kʷód"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *kʷód",
      "name": "inh"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Old English hwæt, from Proto-West Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷód.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "pronoun",
        "cat2": "interrogative pronouns"
      },
      "expansion": "what",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Middle English",
  "lang_code": "enm",
  "pos": "pron",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "what"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "what",
          "#English"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ʍat/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/wat/"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "whad"
    },
    {
      "word": "whote"
    },
    {
      "word": "watte"
    },
    {
      "word": "wath"
    },
    {
      "word": "wad"
    },
    {
      "word": "qhat"
    },
    {
      "word": "whæt"
    },
    {
      "word": "whæht"
    },
    {
      "word": "waht"
    },
    {
      "word": "waet"
    },
    {
      "word": "wæht"
    },
    {
      "word": "weht"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mid",
        "Southern",
        "West"
      ],
      "word": "hweat"
    }
  ],
  "word": "what"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "Middle English adverbs",
    "Middle English entries with incorrect language header",
    "Middle English interrogative pronouns",
    "Middle English lemmas",
    "Middle English nouns",
    "Middle English 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 5 entries",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "yol",
            "2": "fad"
          },
          "expansion": "Yola: fad",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "Yola: fad"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "hwæt"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English hwæt",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*hwat"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *hwat",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*hwat"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *hwat",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*kʷód"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *kʷód",
      "name": "inh"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Old English hwæt, from Proto-West Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷód.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "adverb"
      },
      "expansion": "what",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Middle English",
  "lang_code": "enm",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Middle English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "english": "Why should I tell the answer of the knight?",
          "ref": "1387–1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Sompners Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, [Westminster: William Caxton, published 1478], →OCLC; republished in [William Thynne], editor, The Workes of Geffray Chaucer Newlye Printed, […], [London]: […] [Richard Grafton for] Iohn Reynes […], 1542, →OCLC:",
          "text": "What shulde I tel the answere of the knyght?",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1641 May, John Milton, Of Reformation Touching Church-Discipline in England: And the Cavvses that hitherto have Hindred it; republished as Will Taliaferro Hale, editor, Of Reformation Touching Church-Discipline in England (Yale Studies in English; LIV), New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1916, →OCLC:",
          "text": "But what do I stand reckoning upon advantages and gains lost by the misrule and turbulency of the prelates?",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Why."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Why",
          "why"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "Middle English terms with quotations",
        "Requests for translations of Middle English quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “primum”, in Le Morte Darthur, book III:",
          "text": "And as for on C good knyghtes I haue my self / but I fawte / l / for so many haue ben slayne in my dayes / and so Ladegreans delyuerd his doughter Gweneuer vnto Merlyn / and the table round with the C knyghtes / and so they rode fresshly with grete royalte / what by water and what by land / tyl that they came nyghe vnto london",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used to introduce each of two coordinate phrases or concepts; both...and..."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ʍat/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/wat/"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "whad"
    },
    {
      "word": "whote"
    },
    {
      "word": "watte"
    },
    {
      "word": "wath"
    },
    {
      "word": "wad"
    },
    {
      "word": "qhat"
    },
    {
      "word": "whæt"
    },
    {
      "word": "whæht"
    },
    {
      "word": "waht"
    },
    {
      "word": "waet"
    },
    {
      "word": "wæht"
    },
    {
      "word": "weht"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mid",
        "Southern",
        "West"
      ],
      "word": "hweat"
    }
  ],
  "word": "what"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "Middle English entries with incorrect language header",
    "Middle English lemmas",
    "Middle English nouns",
    "Pages with 5 entries",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "etymology_number": 2,
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "noun"
      },
      "expansion": "what",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Middle English",
  "lang_code": "enm",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "whate"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of whate"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "whate",
          "whate#Middle_English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "what"
}

Download raw JSONL data for what meaning in Middle English (6.7kB)


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.