who
who Lexical Profile
who Game Scores & Validity
• pronoun
What or which person or people (used as an interrogative pronoun to ask about identity in direct or indirect questions).
"Who left the back door unlocked last night?"
Used to introduce a relative clause providing further information about a person or people previously mentioned.
"The professor who taught the seminar has just published a new book."
Any person that; whoever (used without an explicit antecedent in somewhat formal or literary contexts).
"Who hesitates in a moment of crisis often loses the opportunity."
Word Nuance & Usage
In formal English, "who" is the subjective pronoun used for the subject of a verb, whereas "whom" is the objective form used for the object of a verb or preposition; however, "who" frequently replaces "whom" in everyday conversation. Additionally, "who" refers to people and sometimes personified animals, while "which" and "that" are used for inanimate objects.
• Rhymes for who
Word Origin & Etymology
Derived from Old English "hwa," meaning "who" or "anyone," which traces back to the Proto-Germanic "*hwas" and ultimately the Proto-Indo-European interrogative root "*kwo-."