WHOM


Meaning of WHOM in English

(|)hüm, _üm pronoun, objective case of who

Etymology: Middle English, from Old English hwām, dative of hwā who — more at who

1. : who I 1 — sometimes used as object of a verb or a following preposition

whom shall I send — Isa 6:8 (Authorized Version)

my question was whom were all the Christmas signals for — W.T.Scott

or more frequently as the object of a preceding preposition

never send to know for whom the bell tolls — John Donne

though now often considered stilted especially in oral use — occasionally used as predicate nominative with a copulative verb especially in the vicinity of a preposition or a verb of which it might mistakenly be considered the object

whom say ye that I am — Mt 16:15 (Authorized Version)

regardless of whom his friends may be

2.

a. : who I 2a — used as object of a verb or preposition

whom he strikes his crooked tushes slay — Shakespeare

I will … be gracious to whom I will be gracious — Exod 33:19 (Authorized Version)

ask whom you will

b. archaic : who I 2b — used as object of a verb or preposition

how can I curse whom God has not cursed — Num 23:8 (Revised Standard Version)

there are to whom my satire seems too bold — Alexander Pope

3. : who I 3 — used as the object of a verb or a preceding preposition

those whom oppression had goaded to rebellion — T.B.Macaulay

the universities, by whom he was abundantly honored — J.A.Pollard

his pet toad whom he fed regularly — Osbert Sitwell

these moral types, whom all recognize — V.S.Pritchett

or less frequently as the object of a following preposition

the man whom you addressed the letter to

— sometimes used as the subject of the clause that it introduces especially in the vicinity of a verb of which it might mistakenly be considered the object

a … recruit whom he hoped would prove to be a crack salesman — Bennett Cerf

people … whom you never thought would sympathize — Shea Murphy

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.