WHICH

I. (|)hwich, (|)wich adjective

Etymology: Middle English, which, of what kind, from Old English hwilc; akin to Old High German wilīh which, of what kind, Old Swedish hvilkin of what kind, Gothic hwileiks; all from a prehistoric Germanic compound whose first constituent is akin to Old English hwā who and whose second constituent is represented by Old English ge līc like — more at who , like

1.

a. : being what one or ones out of a group — used as an interrogative adjective in direct or indirect questions

which tie should I wear with this shirt

deciding which candidate he is going to vote for

kept a record of which employees took their vacations in July and which ones in August

b. obsolete : what III 1a(1)

from which lord to which lady — Shakespeare

2. : whichever II

it will not fit, turn it which way you like

3. — used as a function word to introduce a nonrestrictive relative clause and to modify a noun in that clause and to refer together with that noun to a word or word group in a preceding clause or to an entire preceding clause or sentence or longer unit of discourse

that a new currency should be made ready for any possible emergency, which currency would … be available for immediate use — Jack Bennett

the word occurs as a Yiddish loan in German, which language might thus have been the medium of transmission — Thomas Pyles

a licensed practitioner of medicine of the state of Tennessee, which practitioner must also sign the prescription — Bulletin of Meharry Medical College

that this city is a rebellious city …: for which cause was this city destroyed — Ezra 4:15 (Authorized Version)

Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a free woman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the free woman was by promise. Which things are an allegory — Gal 4:22-4 (Authorized Version)

— sometimes used archaically with preceding the

I am apponted a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For the which cause I also suffer these things — 2 Tim 1:11-12 (Authorized Version)

II. pronoun

Etymology: Middle English, from Old English hwilc, from hwilc, adjective, which, of what kind

1.

a. : what one or ones out of a group — used as an interrogative pronoun in direct or indirect questions

which of those houses do you live in

which of you want tea and which want lemonade

he asked which he should take

he is down at the lake swimming or canoeing, I don't know which

b. : what I 1a(1) — used as recently as the 17th century in questions of regular syntactical form containing a verb with a subject that may or may not be which itself

I have many ill qualities. Which is one — Shakespeare

— used dialectally by itself to ask for repetition of an utterance not properly heard or understood; sometimes used in informal speech in connection with other words to ask for repetition or explanation of the particular part of an utterance that has not been properly heard or understood

he said he wanted a which

2. : whichever I

take which you like

3. — used as a function word to introduce a restrictive or nonrestrictive relative clause and to serve as a substitute within that clause for the substantive modified by that clause; used in any grammatical relation within the relative clause except that of a possessive; used especially in reference to animals, inanimate objects, groups, or ideas

fish which are dangerous at some particular time of the year — Margaret Mead

grapefruit juice … sweetened to improve its palatability for the rats, which would not otherwise drink it — Henry Hicks

the bonds which represent the debt — G.B.Robinson

the kind of … church which you would expect a decent body of merchants to erect — Douglas Goldring

a generation which had been taught … to appreciate the beauty of simplicity — Bernard Groom

they form the Samnite tribes, which settled south and southeast of Rome — Ernst Pulgram

some of the difficulties which must be guarded against — Eastman Kodak Monthly Abstract Bulletin

new problems arose, the investigation of which would necessitate additional material — Robert Balk

— used freely in reference to persons as recently as the 17th century

our Father which art in heaven — Mt 6:9 (Authorized Version)

and still occasionally so used

a human which … would unhesitatingly sacrifice a score of opossums for a real scientific need — William Beebe

think of the children which are threatened — H.R.Hays

but usually with some implication of emphasis on the function or role of the person rather than on the person himself

the Republican presidential electors which we had chosen at the state convention — W.A.White

chiefly they wanted husbands, which they got easily — Lynn White

— used by speakers on all educational levels and by many reputable writers, though disapproved by some grammarians, in reference to an idea expressed by a word or group of words that is not necessarily a noun or noun phrase

the attitude is … that failure to publish is tantamount to suppression, which of course it isn't — R.H.Rovere

or in reference to a clause or sentence

in August of that year he resigned that post, after which he engaged in ranching — Current Biography

I have forgotten them now. Which makes no difference — W.A.White

— sometimes used parenthetically in reference to a clause that is yet to come or is not yet complete

yours is the earth and everything that's in it, and — which is more — you'll be a man — Rudyard Kipling

he demonstrated — which was indeed the truth — that the days of capitalism were numbered — Christopher Hollis

— used regularly to introduce a restrictive relative clause having as its antecedent the demonstrative pronoun that

ultimate truth still remains in that outside world of that which is — Weston La Barre

— sometimes used archaically with preceding the

this time of long silence, of reverie, in the which … his eyes were placidly shut — Maurice Hewlett

— sometimes used after so or such with the implication that the action or state expressed in the clause introduced by which is a real or appropriate consequence of what is expressed by the phrase containing so or such

there is not any argument so absurd, which is not daily received — Jeremy Bentham

there rooted betwixt them then such an affection which cannot choose but branch now — Shakespeare

— sometimes used dialectally with a following personal pronoun or possessive adjective referring to the same antecedent

she had a big something under her arm which I couldn't make out what it was — Helen Eustis

the man which his head was cut off — Western Folklore

— occasionally used dialectally as a word that merely introduces a clause or sentence and has no reference to any expressed or implied antecedent

which we had a small game — Bret Harte

— compare that IV 1, who , whose , what I 3a

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- which is which