whom
English
/huːm/
pron
Definitions
- What person or people; which person or people, as the object of a verb.
- What person or people; which person or people, as the object of a preposition.
- Him; her; them (used as a relative pronoun to refer to a previously mentioned person or people.)
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English whom inherited from Old English hwām inherited from Proto-Germanic *hwammai root from Proto-Indo-European *kʷ-.
Origin
Proto-Indo-European
*kʷ-
Gloss
Timeline
Distribution of cognates by language
Geogrpahic distribution of cognates
Cognates and derived terms
- else English
- elsewhom English
- ever English
- excrescent suffix English
- soever English
- whomever English
- whomsoever English
- whomst English
- whose English
- Wemfall German
- wem German
- waarvoor Dutch, Flemish
- welks Dutch, Flemish
- wiens Dutch, Flemish
- ποσός Ancient Greek
- ποτέ Ancient Greek
- που Ancient Greek
- πως Ancient Greek
- ἕκαστος Ancient Greek
- ὁπότε Ancient Greek
- ὅπως Ancient Greek
- *kʷ- Proto-Indo-European
- *kʷey Proto-Indo-European
- *kʷis Proto-Indo-European
- *kʷis, *kʷos Proto-Indo-European
- *kʷis, *kʷosyo Proto-Indo-European
- *kʷis, kʷos Proto-Indo-European
- *kʷo- Proto-Indo-European
- *kʷokʷe Proto-Indo-European
- *kʷos Proto-Indo-European
- *kʷoti Proto-Indo-European
- *kʷód Proto-Indo-European
- *kʷóteros Proto-Indo-European
- *hwammai Proto-Germanic
- *hwar Proto-Germanic
- *hwaþeraz Proto-Germanic
- *hwi-, *hwaz Proto-Germanic
- *hwilīkaz Proto-Germanic
- *hwō Proto-Germanic
- vem Swedish
- hwam Old English
- hwanone Old English
- hwām Old English
- whom Middle English
- hveim Old Norse
- hvem Danish
- hvemsomhelst Danish
- waeromme Middle Dutch
- *wan ēr Old Dutch
- *tan Proto-Albanian
- hwa Old Danish