transcription, транскрипция: [ ˈhü, ü ]
pronoun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English hwā; 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 Literary Supplement
Usage: see whom , that
•
- as who
- as who should say
- who is who