n.
Pronunciation: ' hü, ü
Function: pronoun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English hw ā ; akin to Old High German hwer, interrogative pronoun, who, Latin quis, Greek tis, Latin qui, relative pronoun, who
Date: before 12th century
1 : what or which person or persons ― used as an interrogative < who was elected?> <find out who they are> ― used by speakers on all educational levels and by many reputable writers, though disapproved by some grammarians, as the object of a verb or a following preposition < who did I see but a Spanish lady ― Padraic Colum> <do not know who the message is from ― G. K. Chesterton>
2 : the person or persons that : WHOEVER
3 ― used as a function word to introduce a relative clause ― used especially in reference to persons <my father, who was a lawyer> but also in reference to groups <a generation who had known nothing but war ― R. B. West> or to animals <dogs who ⋯ fawn all over tramps ― Nigel Balchin> or to inanimate objects especially with the implication that the reference is really to a person <earlier sources who maintain a Davidic ancestry ― F. M. Cross> ― used by speakers on all educational levels and by many reputable writers, though disapproved by some grammarians, as the object of a verb or a following preposition <a character who we are meant to pity ― Times Lit. Supp. >
usage see WHOM , THAT
– as who
archaic : as one that : as if someone
– as who should say
archaic : so to speak
– who is who or who's who or who was who : the identity of or the noteworthy facts about each of a number of persons