| 释义 |
▪ I. who, pron. (n.)
(huː, unemphatic hʊ)
Forms: 1–3 hwa, (1 hua), 2–3 hwo, hwoa, 2–4 wa, (2 wua, 3 whæ, wæ, wea, wah, hwoo, ȝwo), 3–5 hoo, 3–6 wo, 3–5, 6– Sc. wha, (4 huo), 4–6 ho, whoo, 4, 9 dial. whe, 5 woo, (Sc. vho, 5–9 dial. how, 6 hou, Sc. vha), 6–7 whoe, (9 Sc. whae), 3– who; 3–5 quo, (3 quuo), 4 qwo, qwa, 4–5, 6 Sc. qua, 4–8 Sc. quha, 5–6 Sc. quhay, 5–7 Sc. quho, (6 Sc. qwha, quhe).
[OE. hwā̆ = OFris. hwā̆, OS. hwe, hwie (MDu., Du. wie), OHG. hwer, wer (MHG., G. wer), ODa. hwa (Da. hvo), Goth. hwas, fem. hwo:—OTeut. *χwaz, *χwez:—Indo-eur. *qwos, *qwes. For oblique forms see whom, whose. For the vocalism cf. two.
Indo-eur. qwo-, qwe-, qwā- are represented outside Germanic by Skr. ka, fem. kā́, neut. kad (what), Zend kô, kâ, kat, Lith. kàs, OSl. kŭ-to (Russ. kto), Gr. πότερος, Ionic κότερος, etc., L. quī, quæ, quod, Umbrian poi who, Oscan pod what, OIr. cia, cé, cad, ca-ch any one, ca-te, co-te what is, W. pwy who, pa what, paup any one, Gael. co who; the variant qwi- is represented by Skr. kis (interrog. particle), cid (indef. particle), kim what, how, why, etc., Zend čiš, Gr. τίς, τί (:—*τίδ), L. quis, quid, Umbrian sve-pis if any one, Oscan pis, pid, OSl. čĭ-to what (Russ. chto), Ir., Gael. ciod. For the stem-types as represented in derivative formations in English see when, where, whether, which, whither, whon, why, and how adv.]
I. Interrogative and allied uses.
1. a. As the ordinary interrogative pronoun, in the nominative singular or plural, used of a person or persons: corresponding to what of things (what A. 1).
Formerly sometimes with partitive of, where which is ordinarily used (which 3 b).
c1000ælfric Gram. xviii. (Z.) 113 Quis hoc fecit? hwa dyde ðis? c1200Ormin 9755 Wha tahhte ȝuw To fleon & to forrbuȝhenn Þatt irre þatt to cumenn iss? c1250Gen. & Ex. 359 Quo seide ðe ðat ðu wer naked? c1300Harrow. Hell (L) 63 Who ys þat ych here þore? c1375Cursor M. 3725 (Fairf.) His fader asked him qua art þou, And he onsquared þi sone esau. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints ix. (Bertholomeus) 40 Quha is þat, we pray þe. 1382Wyclif Gen. xlviii. 8 Who ben thes?.. My sones thei ben. a1400–50Wars Alex. 834* (Dubl. MS.) Whyne ert þou & who & what makys þou here? 1526Tindale Matt. xii. 48 Who is my mother? or who are my brethren? 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. iii. ii. 198 Nay, but who is it? 1663Killigrew Parson's Wedd. iii. v, Carel. How can that be? Joll. It is the Scrivener at the Corner. 1667Milton P.L. i. 33 Who first seduc'd them to that fowl revolt? Th' infernal Serpent. 1703Rowe Fair Penit. iv. i. G 2 b, Who of my Servants wait there? c1800Jock o' the Side xvi. in Whitelaw Bk. Sc. Ballads (1857) 380/1 Whae's this kens my name sae weil..? 1863M. E. Braddon Aurora Floyd xxx, ‘Who can it be, dear?’..‘at such a time too’. 1865Kingsley Herew. x, ‘And he is killed?’ ‘Who? Hereward?’ 1904S. Weyman Abb. Vlaye iv, And who—who does she say dared to commit this outrage?
b. With intensive additions, as who the devil, who on earth, etc.
c1470Henry Wallace v. 743 Quha dewill thaim maid so galy for to ryd? 1525Ld. Berners Froiss. II. ii. A iij, Some therat dide murmure and..sayd: Who the deuyll hath sent for theym? 1749Fielding Tom Jones xv. v, Why, who the Devil are you? a1849H. Coleridge Ess. (1851) I. 255 Who upon earth could ever paint the bare sea?
c. In pregnant or emphatic sense, referring to a person's origin, character, position, or the like; cf. what A. 2.
In rhetorical questions often approaching or merging with 2.
1382Wyclif Rom. xiv. 4 Who art thou, that demest anothir [v.r. anothris] seruaunt? 1526Tindale Acts xix. 15 Jesus I knowe, and Paul I knowe: but who are ye? 1548Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Matt. xv. 16 Who saye ye that I am? 1611Bible Exod. v. 2 Who is the Lord that I should obey him? Ibid. Isa. lxiii. 1 Who is this that commeth from Edom? 1840Browning Sordello ii. 635 Who were The Mantuans, after all, that he should care About their recognition? 1898Belgravia Aug. 462 ‘Who is he?’ ‘Mr. Legge—Eustace Legge.’ ‘Yes. But who is he?’ ‘I don't know.’
d. Substituted for the name of a person in asking for explanation: cf. what A. 4 b.
1749Fielding Tom Jones xvi. ii, ‘I am come..by the Command of my Lord Fellamar.’ ‘My Lord who?’ 1837Dickens Pickw. xx, ‘I heerd 'em laughing, and saying how they'd done old Fireworks.’ ‘Old who?’ said Mr. Pickwick. 1841S. Warren Ten Thou. i. ii, ‘What's your names?’ ‘Mr. Tittlebat Titmouse,’ answered that gentleman..‘Mr. who?’ exclaimed the old woman.
2. In a rhetorical question, suggesting or implying an emphatic contrary assertion.
e.g. who would..? = No one would..; who would not..? = Any one would..; who knows..? = No one knows..; who but..? = No one but, no one else than..; etc. See also who not in 4 b. (Cf. what A. 3, where 4.)
a1000Boeth. Metr. xxviii. 5 Hwa is moncynnes þæt ne wundrie? c1000ælfric Gen. xxi. 7 Hwa wolde ᵹelyfan, þæt Sarra sceolde lecgan cild to hyre breoste..on ylde? a1300Cursor M. 454 Qua herd euer a warr auntur? 13..E.E. Allit. P. A. 427 Þe croune fro hyr [sc. Mary] quo moȝt remwe, Bot ho hir passed in sum fauour? c1386Chaucer Knt.'s T. 601 Who koude ryme in englyssh proprely His martirdom? for sothe it am nat I. 1526Tindale Rom. viii. 35 Who shall seperate vs from goddes loue? 1633G. Herbert Temple, Quip iv, Then came brave Gloria puffing by, In silks that whistled, who but he! 1735Pope Ep. Arbuthnot 213–14 Who but must laugh, if such a man there be? Who would not weep if Atticus were he? 1782Cowper Gilpin 113 Away went Gilpin—who but he? 1840Dickens Old C. Shop lxxiii, Of course he married, and who should be his wife but Barbara? 1855Tennyson Maud i. xii. ii, Where was Maud? in our wood; And I, who else, was with her. 1914Kipling For all we have and are 39 Who stands if freedom fall?
3. In a dependent question, or clause of similar meaning. † In early use also with that (that conj. 6).
For the distinction between the dependent interrogative and the relative, cf. note s.v. what A. I.**.
Beowulf 52 Men ne cunnon secgan..hwa þæm hlæste onfeng! a1175Cott. Hom. 231 To underȝeite wa an alle his cynerice him were frend oðer fend. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 159 Lusteð nu wich maiden þat is..and hware he was fet and hwo hire ledde and wu and hwider. a1240Lofsong in O.E. Hom. I. 211 Ich..nabbe hwoa me froure. a1250Owl & Night. 1195 Ic wot hwo sal beo anhonge. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 985 Wan a child were ibore & me in doute were Wo were þe fader. 13..Northern Passion 803 (Camb. Gg. 5. 31), Tell vs now who smate þe. 1340Ayenb. 264 Me him acseþ huo he ys. c1350Will. Palerne 2733 Þe werwolf went þer-to to wite ho were þere. a1400R. Glouc. Chron. (1724) 40 (MS. B.) Among hem..stryf me myȝte se, Wuche mest maistres were, & hoo schulde lord be. 1423Jas. I Kingis Q. lvii, Maist thou noght se Quho commyth ȝond? a1450Le Morte Arth. 47 That ladyes..might se Who that beste were of dede. 1469Paston Lett. Suppl. (1901) 129 If he happed to dye, how shuld come after hym ye wote never. 1563–7Buchanan Reform. St. Andros Wks. (S.T.S.) 13 The examinatouris..sal declair to the rectour..quha ar worthy of promotion. 1595Shakes. John ii. i. 400 Shall we..lay this Angiers euen with the ground, Then after fight who shall be king of it? 1611― Wint. T. iv. iv. 612 They throng who should buy first. 1617S. Collins Epphata to F. T. 374 It might put him in minde of who had beene there sometime. 1677Ravenscroft Wrangling Lovers v. i. 67 Did he know who I was? a1700B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Highjinks, a Play at Dice who Drinks. 1800Lathom Dash of Day v. i, Tell the young gentleman..a gentleman wishes to see him immediately; don't say who, but bring him hither directly. 1803G. Rose Diaries (1860) II. 56 Not having a guess of who he was. 1822Besant All Sorts xxiv. (1898) 167 What her obligations were, and who this lady was, belongs in no way to this history.
4. Phrases.
a. who is who (chiefly in dependent clause): who is one and who is the other; who each of a number of persons is, or what position each holds. (Cf. what A. 8 a, which 4 b.)
† who and who are (or who's) together: who is allied with or engaged to whom. Who's Who, the title of a reference manual of contemporary biography, issued first in 1849, and in a new and enlarged form in 1897, and now updated annually; also transf. and fig. you and who else?: a contemptuous expression of incredulity, conveying scepticism about a person's ability to do some past or threatened deed, esp. of violence.
c1386Chaucer Reeve's T. 380 She saugh hem bothe two But sikerly she nyste who was who. a1500[see what A. 8 a]. 1700T. Brown tr. Fresny's Amusem. 70 Let's take a Trip into the Land of Marriage, and see Who and Who are together. 1709Steele Tatler No. 35 ⁋3 A general Knowledge of who and who's together. 1712–13Swift Jrnl. to Stella 4 Jan., I showed the Bishop..at Court, who was who. 1720Mrs. Bradshaw in C'tess Suffolk's Lett. (1824) I. 50 Pray let me hear a little how your court goes, who and who are together. 1860E. Eden Semi-attached Couple ii, Though she could not distinguish who was who, yet she had a right to say she had seen ‘the marquess’. 1902E. Banks Newspaper Girl 76 With the exception of those persons of art and letters who were celebrated in my own country as well as in England, I knew nothing of ‘who was who’ in London. 1917Wells Fargo Messenger V. 183/2 The Messenger is no ‘Who's who’. 1917National Police Gaz. (U.S.) 18 Aug. 2/4 We don't believe that Ed W. Dunn's latest effusion would win a place for him in the poet's ‘Who's who!’ corner. 1918Nat. Geogr. Mag. XXXIV. 64 Those whose names would be in history's ‘Who's Who’. 1929‘E. Queen’ Roman Hat Mystery xviii. 260 ‘Forget, and I'll dip you into the East River.’ ‘You and who else?’ breathed Djuna. 1929Times Lit. Suppl. 18 Apr. 308/2 First he [sc. the biographer] gets out of the way the ‘Who's Who’ of Wallace Williamson's career in a terse opening chapter. 1951P. Branch Lion in Cellar iii. 38 ‘'Oo creased 'im?’ he asked... ‘I did,’ he said firmly... ‘You an' 'oo else?’ he jeered. 1962W. Nowottny Lang. Poets Use ii. 34 Whilst using obituary or Who's Who language, it [sc. the diction] subtly detaches itself from the social attitudes such language is normally associated with. 1971A. Morice Murder in Married Life xiii. 124 Julian: ‘Then I'll throw you out.’ Murderer: ‘You and who else, ha ha.’ 1974Advocate-News (Barbados) 19 Feb. 12/1 The list of batsmen to come is straight out of the ‘who's who’ of attacking cricketers. 1981Country Life 16 July 205/4 Women in History..is a sort of Who's Who and Who Was Who of women who..should be known.
b. Phrases used as ns., etc.
I know not (mod. I don't know) who, Lord knows who, etc.: some person or persons unknown, or of unknown origin, status, etc. (cf. 1 c): so and I don't know who all (colloq. rare: cf. what A. 8 b), = ‘and various other persons unspecified’; who-do-you-think († who-dost-think), substituted for the name of a person to be guessed; who not (cf. 2 above and what-not 1): any one whatever, any one and every one, all kinds of people (now rare or obs.); who does what(?): which person will do which task; esp. (in a demarcation dispute) members of which trade union will do a certain job; who-say (now dial.): a vague report, a rumour; in quot. 1583, a pretended excuse; also who's-afraid adj. phr., defiant, swaggering.
1583Leg. Bp. St. Androis 789 Half way hameward vp the calsay, [He] Said to his servandis for a quha say: ‘Alace! the porter is foryett’. a1586Sidney Apol. Poetrie (1595) D 2, Innumerable examples,..as Brutus, Alphonsus.., and Who not. 1615R. Brathwait Strappado (1878) 131 Heere stood I musing..Till Iockie wha dost thinke speard vp to me. 1691Wood Ath. Oxon. I. 18 He was great with..Erasmus, Grocyn, Latimer, Tonstall, and who not. 1744M. Bishop Life 99 To throw herself away upon the Lord knows who. 1823Southey Hist. Penins. War I. v. 249 note, St. Antonio on one side, and St. I know not who on the other. 1825Jennings Obs. Dial. W. Eng., Whosay, or Hoosay, a wandering report; an observation of no weight. 1837Dickens Pickw. xli, A vagabondish who's-afraid sort of bearing. 1844Haliburton Sam Slick in Eng. xlviii. (1858) 304 And then he'd go over a whole string—Mason, Mickle, Burns, and I don't know who all. 1905E. Glyn Viciss. Evang. 5 Mamma's father was a lord, and her mother I don't know who. 1922H. S. Walpole Cathedral ii. iii. 194 But who's going to decide who does what?.. We're not much in the sewing line. 1960Guardian 13 Sept. 3/2 A who-does-what dispute between the Amalgamated Engineering Union and the Electrical Trades Union. 1962Economist 13 Oct. 118/1 The squabble over who-does-what. 1962Daily Tel. 28 Nov. 1/1 The Trades Union Congress will seek to settle future ‘Who does what?’ demarcation disputes with quick and decisive action. 1979Now! 21–27 Sept. 60/1 The {pstlg}100 million complex has stood idle, paralysed by an inter-union ‘who does what’ row over 42 jobs.
¶5. Used ungrammatically for the objective whom, in senses corresponding to any of the above.
Common in colloquial use as obj. of a verb, or of a preposition following at the end of the clause; formerly also of a preposition preceding (now only when substituted for a noun or pronoun as in 1 d).
1450Paston Lett. I. 112, I rehersyd no name, but me thowt be hem that thei wost ho I ment. 1540Cranmer Remains (Parker Soc.) 401 Who shall your grace trust hereafter, if you might not trust him? 1546J. Heywood Prov. (1874) 52 At sight of me he asked, who have we there? 1588Shakes. L.L.L. iv. i. 74 To whom came he?.. What saw he?.. Who ouercame he? 1591― 1 Hen. VI, iii. iii. 62 Who ioyn'st thou with? 1681T. Flatman Heraclitus Ridens No. 39 (1713) I. 258 Who have we to thank..but the Whigs? 1753Foote Englishm. in Paris ii, Buck. Why, have you observ'd nothing? Mrs. Sub. About who? 1807Southey Espriella's Lett. (1814) III. 68 This leads to a discussion..who the son married, whether the daughter died single [etc.]. 1874Hardy Far from Madding Crowd xxx, Who are you speaking of? 1881Mallock Rom. 19th Cent. II. 154, I know..who it comes from. 1941V. Woolf Between Acts 101 Who was she looking for? 1958Observer 6 Apr. 3 (heading) Who do you want to save? 1966I. Murdoch Time of Angels x. 106 Who, after all, could I possibly be in love with? 1969Listener 13 Nov. 664/1 One of the policemen..went up to him and almost shouted: ‘Who do you think you're talking to?’ 1980J. Gerson Assassination Run ii. 35 The days of Philby and Blake when no one knew who to trust.
II. Relative uses (formerly often with that, that conj. 6, rarely with as).
6. As compound relative in the nominative in general or indefinite sense: Any one that: = whoever 1. arch. or literary.
a. with pronominal correlative in following clause.
c1230Hali Meid. 23/233 Hwa þat sehe þenne hu þe engles beoð isweamed..stani were his heorte ȝif ha ne mealte i teares. c1315Shoreham i. 195 Who þat entreþ þer He his sauff euere more. c1325Poem temp. Edw. II (Percy) lxiii, Who that is in such offys, Ne come he ner so pore, He fareth witin a while As he had selver in horde. c1330King of Tars 990 Ho that nolde do bi heore red, Cristen men tak of heore hed. c1375Cursor M. 6781 (Fairf.) Wha dose..þat wriched pliȝt He salle be done to dede. c1400Anturs of Arth. xix, But ho his bidding brekes, bare þei bene of blys. c1460Wisdom 71 in Macro Plays 38 To yowur loue wo dothe repeyer, All felycyte yn þat creatur ys. 1470–85Malory Arthur i. vii. 43 Who that holdeth ageynst it we wille slee hym. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xx. 453 Who that had be there than, he sholde have seen grete faytes of armes. c1540Lyndesay Auld Man & Wife 199 Wks. 1879 II. 337 Quha wald haif weir, God send thame littill rest. 1573–80Tusser Husb. (1878) 47 Who soweth in raine, he shall reape it with teares. 1607Bp. Hall Ps. i. 1 Who hath not walkt astray,..Oh, how that man Thrice blessed is! 1892Kipling Barrack-room Ballads, East & West 24 Who rides at the tail of a Border thief, he sits not long at his meat.
b. without correlative.
c1350Will. Palerne 2379 Ho wol winne his wareson, now wiȝtly him spede Forto saue my sone, or for sorwe i deye. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints i. (Petrus) 211 Þat, quha to hym ferme treutht gafe, He suld euire luf oure þe lafe. 140026 Pol. Poems i. 145 Who that takeþ fro pore to eke with his, ffor that wrong is worthy wo. c1470Henry Wallace i. 33 Quha likis till haif mar knawlage in that part, Go reid. 1543tr. Act 6 Edw. I, c. 5 Who that is attaynted of wast, shal lese the thing wasted. 1600W. Watson Decacordon (1602) 101 marg, Let who as list be blinded with these patches. Ibid. 186 To lie open to the spoile of who that first can catch it. 1600Marston etc. Jack Drum's Entert. i. (1601) B, Let who will climbe ambitious glibbery rowndes. 1601Shakes. Jul. C. i. iii. 80 Cask. 'Tis Cæsar that you meane: Is it not, Cassius? Cassi. Let it be who it is. 1604― Oth. iii. iii. 156 Who steales my purse, steales trash. 1650Earl of Monmouth tr. Senault's Man bec. Guilty 25 Visible to the Eyes of who shall consider them. 1797Jane Austen Sense & Sens. xxx, When a young man, be he who he will,..promises marriage, he has no business to fly off from his word. 1855Kingsley Westw. Ho! v, Each shall slay his man, catch who catch can. 1856― Poems, Farew. 9 Be good, sweed maid, and let who can be clever. 1871Browning Balaust. 22, I passionately cried to who would hear. 1896A. Austin England's Darling ii. iv, Who holds the sea, perforce doth hold the land, And who lose that must lose the other too.
†c. In a dependent qualifying clause with loose construction (without correlative) and with conditional force: If any one: = whoever 2. Obs.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 2235 Inolde noȝt abbe uorsake þat lond, wo me adde ibroȝt þerto. a1300Cursor M. 42 Þis fruit bitakens alle oure dedis, Both gode and ille qua rightly redis. Ibid. 1969 Qua þat slas or man or wijf, Þar gas na ransun bot liue for lijf. 1375Barbour Bruce i. 391 Quha in battaill mycht him se, All othir contenance had he. c1400Destr. Troy 298 Hit is tolde..wo þat trawe lyst,..he highyt vnto helle yates. 1420–2Lydg. Thebes 2117 And in despit, who that was lief or loth A sterne pas thorgh the halle he goth. c1500Melusine 285, I were not so joyous who that had gyuen me a C thousand besans of gold, as I am to haue fond the. a1536Wyatt Poems, To cause accord or to aggrie 16 Twixt lyff and deth say what who sayth There lyveth no lyff that draweth breth. 1556Lauder Tractate of Kyngis 69 Christe..sched, also quha vnderstude, Als gret abundance of his blude For the pure sely nakit thyng As he sched for the Potent kyng.
†d. Introducing a clause expressing comparison, with idiomatic superlative. Obs.
c1500Melusine 170 Thenne was the oost gretly mevyd, & came to the port who best coude. 1600W. Watson Decacordon (1602) 347, I euer detesting [heresy] as much as who can detest it most. 1658W. Gurnall Chr. in Arm. ii. verse 14. vii. §4 Elijah, who did as great wonders..by prayer, as who greatest? Ibid. 15. xviii. §2 There was a time..that Paul loved the world as well as who most.
7. a. as who (freq. followed by would or should): as or like one who; hence (with loss of relative force), as if one. arch.
c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. II. 401 Al þis shal be bouȝt, as who bieþ an oxe or a cow. Ibid. III. 123 Þei sellen Gods worde, as who schulde selle an oxe. a1400–50Wars Alex. 4649 We erd noȝt in elementis as euirmare to duell, Bot as qua pas a pilgrymage fra Parysch to rome. 1483Caxton Gold. Leg. 294 b/2 He..pressyd her..bytwene foure grete stones as who shold presse olyues. 1513Douglas æneis vi. vii. 60 Sic wys as quha throw cluddy skyis saw. 1606[see as B. 12 a]. 1659Fuller Appeal Inj. Innoc. i. ii. 2 The Tanner was the Worst of all Masters to his Cattle, as who would not onely load them soundly whilest living, but Tan their Hides when dead. a1677Barrow Serm. Wks. 1687 I. 305 Every man gladly would be neighbour to a quiet person, as who..doth afford all the pleasure of conversation, without any..trouble. 1873Morley Rousseau I. vi. 210 Such speech..was probably.. a mere freak of the tongue,..as who should go to a masked ball in guise of Mephistopheles. 1887Morris Odyss. xi. 608 With his bow..in his hand and the arrow laid on the string, And peering round about him as who would loose at a thing.
b. Most commonly with the vb. say: (a) † as who saith or say, as they say, as is commonly said, as the saying is; also = next; (b) as who should say (arch.), † (c) as who would (occas. might) say, as if saying, as if one should say, as one may say, as much as to say.
(a)1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 24 Severne & temese; homber is þet þridde; & þanne is, as ȝwo seiþ, þat pur lond amidde. 1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 7046 Alle þat spake of syre Troyle Was skraped awey, as who sey oyle. a1340Hampole Psalter cxliii. 6 Lorde helde þi heuens and descend..Aswhasay, we ere in feghtynge [etc.]. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. II. 127 Pilat answeride, Þat Y have writun, I have writun; as who seiþ, þis writing shal stonde. 1423Jas. I Kingis Q. lxxvii, Sodaynly, as quho sais at a thoght, It opnyt. 1438in Wars Eng. in France (Rolls) II. 438 His tarying here dothe..grete hurte, what for the wages of hym and his retenue, as who say lost. 1559Mirr. Mag., Sir Thomas of Woodstock xiv, To bridle the prince of a realme, Is euen (as who sayeth) to striue with the streame. 1611W. Sclater Key (1629) 14 Papists hence inferre [that the Scriptures are] not to be permitted to lay-people, in their Mother-tongue: abusing to this purpose the saying of Christ, Mat. 7. 6. as who say all Gods people were Dogges.
(b)c1375Cursor M. 8611 (Fairf.) Ho turned hir ouer..As qua sulde sai, I knaw na harme. 1527Tindale Wicked Mammon (1528) 36 If I preache (sayeth he) I haue nought to reioyse in, for necessyte is put vnto me, as who shulde say, god hathe made me so. 1596Shakes. Merch. V. i. ii. 50 He doth nothing but frowne (as who should say, and you will not haue me, choose). 1661R. L'Estrange Interest Mistaken 127 This is but another Alarm, as who should say; Look to your selves my Masters. 1717S. Centlivre Bold Stroke for Wife i. ii, They command Regard, as who should say, We are your Defenders. 1841Dickens Barn. Rudge xliv, Mr. Dennis coughed and shook his head, as who should say, ‘A mystery indeed!’ 1905Wells Kipps ii. ix. §1 Sid beamed at Kipps, as who should say, ‘You don't meet a character like this every dinner-time’.
(c)1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 8 It was (as who myght saye) the hynder parte of god that they sawe. 1532Tindale Expos. Matt. v. (c 1550) 32 b, They sayed to the Apostles: ye wolde bryng thys mans bloud vpon vs, as who wolde saye, we slue him not. 1664J. Wilson A. Comnenius i. i, They all lookt wistly one on t'other, As who would say, 'twas true enough, but yet [etc.]. 1675R. Burthogge Causa Dei 19 He shall come..in Divine Majesty, as who would say, that when he Judges..He will show himself like God.
8. a. As compound relative in the nominative, of persons (less freq. a person): The persons (or person) that. arch. (Chiefly a latinism; esp. in ‘There are who{ddd}’ = L. Sunt qui{ddd})
1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. viii. (S.T.S.) II. 90 marg., Quha pape was in thir days, allowit al at the kings requeist. 1605Shakes. Macb. i. iii. 109 Macb. The Thane of Cawdor liues; why doe you dresse me In borrowed Robes? Ang. Who was the Thane, liues yet. 1627J. Doughty Disc. Div. Myst. (1628) 20 There are who hold no art or science to be extant, which [etc.]. 1644Milton Judgm. Bucer To Parlt. B 4 b, If thir own works be not thought sufficient to defend them, there livs yet who will be ready..to debate.. this matter. 1656Earl of Monmouth tr. Boccalini's Advts. fr. Parnass. ii. xxiv. 262 Through the ingratitude of who commands [It. di chi domanda]. 1713Tickell Poems, To Addison, on Cato 36 Who think like Romans, could like Romans fight. 1805Wordsw. Ode to Duty ii, There are who ask not if thine eye Be on them. 1871Browning Pr. Hohenst. 1007 He should know, sitting on the throne, how tastes Life to who sweeps the doorway. 1903F. W. Maitland in Camb. Mod. Hist. II. xvi. 569 There were who held that the Queen was Supreme Head iure divino.
†b. In the phrase but who = ‘except (one, those) who’, ‘who..not’: now replaced by but what (what C. 5).
1675R. Burthogge Causa Dei 158 Should none arrive at Heaven but who had first arrived to a State of Perfection.., Heaven would be empty. 1757Warburton Lett. to Hurd (1809) 249, I don't meet with one but who singly says yes. 1774Kames Sketches I. i. i. 31 There is scarce a peasant but who has a chess-board and men.
9. a. As simple relative (of a person or persons), introducing a clause defining or restricting the antecedent and thus completing the sense: = that rel. pron. 1.
In modern printing usually distinguished from 10 by the absence of a comma before the relative: cf. which B. 8.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1977 He nadde bote an doȝter wo miȝte is eir be. 13..Northern Passion I. 154/382* Als men may here wha takes entent. 1375Barbour Bruce i. 445 Lordingis quha likis for till her, The romanys now begynnys her. 1599Shakes. Much Ado iii. iii. 68 A man who hath anie honestie in him. 1633G. Herbert Temple, Ch. Porch i, A verse may finde him, who a sermon flies. 1707Sel. Charters Trad. Comp. (Selden Soc.) 257 All and every other person and persons who shall be a subscriber or subscribers to the fund. 1709Pope Ess. Crit. 363 As those move easiest who have learn'd to dance. 1768Goldsm. Good-n. Man iv, I must disclaim his friendship who ceases to be a friend to himself. 1819Lingard Hist. Eng. I. i. 11 The first who exported this metal..were certain Phenician adventurers from Cadiz. 1864Newman Apol. 329 The men who had driven me from Oxford were distinctly the Liberals. 1893M. Pemberton Iron Pirate i, One who..can command and be obeyed in ten cities.
†b. Used as correlative to such, where as is now idiomatic: cf. which B. 10 b. Obs.
1584J. Melvill Autob. & Diary (Wodrow Soc.) 174 To..mak his eares patent to sic wha could alienat his mynd from the guid cause. 1662[see such B. 12]. 1713Guardian No. 3 ⁋1 And instruct such who are not as wise as himself.
10. As simple relative introducing an additional statement about the antecedent, the sense of the principal clause being complete without the relative clause; thus sometimes equivalent to ‘and he (she, they)’: cf. which B. 7, 9 a.
Formerly often placed at a distance from the antecedent (one or more ns. intervening), with consequent obscurity or ambiguity: see quots. 1534, 1655.
1466–7in Mann. & Househ. Exp. (Roxb.) 172 Be the grase of God, ho amend ȝower desposysyon. 1533More Answ. Poys. Bk. Wks. 1037/2 As for Tyndal..who before he fel to these fransies, men had went had hadde some wyt. 1534― Treat. Passion ibid. 1292/1 And he sayd vnto theym, what will ye gyue me and I shall delyuer hym to you, whoe whan they heard hym, were well apaid. 1556Lauder Tractate of Kyngis 115 That kyng, that sitts all kyngis abone, Quha heiris, and seis all that is wrocht. 1601Shakes. Jul. C. iii. ii. 129, I should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong, Who (you all know) are Honourable men. 1611Bible Ps. lxv. 5 O God of our saluation: who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth. Ibid. Matt. x. 4 Iudas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. 1655Fuller Ch. Hist. ix. vi. §40. 180 As for her Son the King of Scots, from whom they expected a settlement of Popery in that land, their hopes were lately turned into despairs, who had his education on contrary principles. 1711Addison Spect. No. 119 ⁋4 Honest Will Wimble, who I should have thought had been altogether uninfected with Ceremony. 1750Johnson Idler No. 99 ⁋3 How different..is thy condition, who art doomed to the perpetual torments of unsatisfied desire. 1793Burns Bruce's Addr. i, Scots, wha hae wi' Wallace bled. 1882Besant All Sorts xxviii, A chap like my cousin Dick, who's a clever fellow and a devil for fireworks.
11. a. With antecedent denoting or connoting a number of persons collectively: usually with plural concord.
1593Shakes. Rich. II, i. ii. 7 Put we our quarrell to the will of heauen, Who when they see the houres ripe on earth, Will raigne hot vengeance on offenders heads. 1602― Ham. iv. iii. 5 Hee's loued of the distracted multitude, Who like not in their iudgement, but their eyes. 1609Skene Reg. Maj., Stat. Alex. II, 14 Except in Galloway, quha hes their awne speciall and proper Lawes. 1711Addison Spect. No. 112 ⁋4 This authority of the knight..has a very good effect upon the parish, who are not polite enough to see any thing ridiculous in his behaviour. 1771Goldsm. Hist. Eng. II. 238 The Hanse-towns, who were then at war with both France and England. 1885Pall Mall G. 6 Jan. 12/2 The Midland, who first introduced American railway notions in their Pullman cars.
b. Used in reference to an animal or animals: usually with implication of personality, but sometimes merely a substitute for which.
a1585Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 16, I sawe the Hurchone and the Haire, Quha fed amang the flowers faire. 1601Shakes. Jul. C. i. iii. 21 Against the Capitoll I met a Lyon Who glaz'd vpon me, and went surly by. 1607― Cor. iv. vii. 34 As is the Aspray to the Fish, who takes it By Soueraignty of Nature. 1748Thomson Cast. Indol. ii. xl, Like wily fox who roosted cock doth spy. a1774Goldsm. Hist. Greece II. 163 He..lost his horse,..who was killed with the thrust of a sword. 1860Dickens Uncomm. Trav. x, Two honest dogs..who perform in Punch's shows. 1884P. Brooks New Starts in Life xviii. 306 Even the lowest creature who floats on the pool's surface..feels..some..half-conscious pleasure in the mere act of living.
c. Used instead of which in reference to an inanimate thing or things; chiefly with personification (also with suggestion of personality, e.g. of a life-like statue); sometimes, as of a ship, approaching sense a.
1588[see 12]. 1600G. Abbot Expos. Jonah xix. 402 The snow and raine, who come downe from aboue. 1610Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 7 A braue vessell (Who had no doubt some noble creature in her) Dash'd all to peeces. 1633G. Herbert Temple, Provid. xxiii, The windes, who think they rule the mariner, Are rul'd by him. 1659Nicholas Papers (Camden) IV. 95, 3 Spanish men of warre..who..came vp with vs and fired at vs. a1774Goldsm. Surv. Exp. Philos. (1776) II. 263 The sun, who is the great fountain of both [light and heat]. 1812J. Wilson Isle of Palms iii. 8 Some wandering Ship who hath lost her way. 1917Miss M. T. Jackson Museum ii. 33 The Venus de Milo, who has stood for so many years..in the Louvre.
¶12. In irregular constructions:
a. with pleonastic personal pronoun in the latter part of the relative clause, who thus becoming a mere link between the clauses (cf. which 14);
b. preceded by redundant and (cf. which 16 b).
1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. lxxxiv. 43 b/1 Now let vs returne to sir Loyes of Spayne, who whan he was at the porte of Guerand.., he and his company sayled forth. 1588Shakes. Tit. A. iii. i. 37, I tell my sorrowes..to the stones, Who though they cannot answere my distresse, Yet in some sort they are better than the Tribunes. 1619Naunton in Fortescue Papers (Camden) 105 He is well knowen to..divers others, who if they shold see him about the Court, it would make him uncapable to do the service. 1831Scott Cast. Dang. xix, The very same place in which Sir Aymer de Valence held an interview with the old sexton; and who now, drawing into a separate corner some of the straggling parties whom he had collected,..kept on the alert.
¶13. Used ungrammatically for the objective whom, in senses corresponding to those above.
Still common colloquially.
13..Cursor M. 4007 (Gött.) Qua þat godd helpis wid-all, Traistli may be wend ouer-all. c1400Destr. Troy 5943 Mony [he] dange to the dede with dynt of his hond: Who happit hym to hitte harmyt nomo. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccx. 103 b/1 The kynge of Englande..had great prouision for his oost, by the meanes of John Alenson, who he founde at Flauigny. 1596Spenser F.Q. vi. i. 44 The sad Briana..Who comming forth yet full of late affray, Sir Calidore vpcheard. 1641Earl of Monmouth tr. Biondi's Civil Wars iv. 42 A great Prince who I forbeare to name. 1725De Foe Voy. round World ii. 17 Our Surgeons, who we all call Doctors at Sea. a1774Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) II. 442 Persons who in his best judgment he sees reason to confide in. 1849Froude Nem. Faith 134 He has a right..to choose who he will have for a teacher. 1858R. S. Surtees Ask Mamma xxxi, Not being able to ask exactly who he liked. 1979Globe & Mail (Toronto) 27 Aug. 14/5 They come to see Bowser, who they equate not only with The Fonz, but the Cookie Monster and Mork from Ork, too. 1984Times 6 Feb. 12/3 Just over half..of our sample who we assessed as working class concurred.
III. Substantival nonce-uses.
14.
†a. old who: the right man. Obs.
1594Nashe Unfort. Trav. F 2, He must haue exquisite courtship in him or else he is not old who.
b. A person, indefinitely or abstractly; a ‘some one’.
1654Whitlock Zootomia 149 We have seen the Pittifull who's, and..the slender whats are against modest Learning. 1904Strand Mag. May 516/1 ‘What ever made you think of it?’ ‘It wasn't a what; it was a who’.
c. with the: The question ‘who?’
1771Goldsm. Haunch of Venison 26, I was puzzled again, With the how, and the who, and the where, and the when. 1955Bull. Atomic Sci. June 228/3 The ‘who’ and ‘why’ of ethical judgments may lie in the realm of metaphysics; but the ‘how’ are phenomena in the natural world.
▪ II. who, int. (n.)|wəʊ|
Forms: 5 whoo, 5–7, 9 dial. who, 7 whoe, 8 whoh, 9 whoo.
[Variant of ho int.2 = stop!]
Stop! esp. as a call to a horse: = whoa 2 (cf. wo). † Also as n.
c1450[see whoop int. b]. 1467in S. Bentley Excerpta Historica (1831) 211 Then the Kyng perceyvyng the cruell assaile, cast his staff, and with high voice, cried, Whoo! 1562J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 152 Thou art one of them, to whom god bad who, God tooke the for a carte horse, when god bad so. 1599Chapman Hum. dayes Myrth Plays 1873 I. 107 Who loe you bird, how much you are deceiued. c1603Heywood & Rowley Fortune by Land ii. i, Come Ile go teach ye hayte and ree, gee and whoe, and which is to which hand. 1606Choice, Chance, etc. (1881) 15 The ploughman..with haye Ree, & Who to his horse. 1621Burton Anat. Mel. i. ii. iii. xiv. 165 He is madd, madd, no whoe with him. 1797T. Morton Cure for Heart-ache i, Scene 1. A Farm Yard... The Bells of a Team jingling. Frank (without) Woyh! Whoh! Smiler! 1814Sporting Mag. XLIV. 146 Come hither, who-o. 1841Punch 17 July 5/2 Coachman.—Whoo up!—d―n you! 1859Geo. Eliot A. Bede xii, There was a great deal of strong language, mingled with soothing ‘who-ho's’ while the leg was examined.
▪ III. who
obs. f. ho int.1, how adv., woe. |