who
who
Pronunciation
The IPA phonetic spelling for "who" is /huː/.
/huː/ - The single syllable consists of the voiceless glottal fricative /h/ followed by the close back rounded vowel /uː/.
Word Form Variations
"Who" is a pronoun and does not have typical singular/plural forms like nouns. Its variations are primarily in its case forms:
Nominative (subjective): who
Accusative (objective): whom
Possessive: whose
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Pronoun
Definition 1: Used to ask which person or people are being referred to.
Synonyms: which person, what person, what individual
Antonyms: (No direct antonyms as it's an interrogative pronoun; it asks for information rather than providing an opposite.)
Definition 2: Used to introduce a relative clause that refers to a person or people previously mentioned.
Synonyms: that (when referring to people), whom (in objective case)
Antonyms: (No direct antonyms as it's a relative pronoun.)
Definition 3: Used after certain prepositions (e.g., "by," "for," "with") to refer to a person. (Note: "Whom" is often preferred in formal contexts after prepositions, but "who" is common in informal usage.)
Synonyms: whom (more formal)
Antonyms: (No direct antonyms.)
Examples of Use
Books:
"It was a dark and stormy night, and the only person who was awake was the old caretaker." (From A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket, September 1999)
"Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee." (From Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions by John Donne, 1624)
Newspapers:
"The police are still trying to determine who was responsible for the vandalism at the city park." (Local news report, The Daily Gazette, June 2024)
"Experts debated who would be the most impactful player in the upcoming basketball season." (The New York Times, October 2023)
Online Publications:
"Researchers identified the gene responsible for the unusual trait, providing new insights into who might be susceptible to the condition." (From an article on ScienceDaily.com, January 2025)
"A recent online poll asked readers who they thought would win the next presidential election." (Politico.com, April 2024)
Various Entertainment Mediums and Platforms:
Television Show (Dialogue): "But who are you really?" (From Doctor Who, multiple episodes)
Song Title: "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who (1971 album Who's Next)
Movie Title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988 film)
Podcast: "Today on the podcast, we interview an entrepreneur who turned a small idea into a global success." (How I Built This with Guy Raz, NPR, December 2024)
Video Game Dialogue: "There's someone at the door... who could it be?" (The Last of Us Part II, Naughty Dog, June 2020)
General Public Discourse:
"Hey, who's coming to the party tonight?" (Casual conversation)
"I can't believe who won the lottery this week!" (Excited exclamation)
"Do you know who lives in that big house down the street?" (Neighborhood discussion)
"The new policy will benefit who, exactly?" (Question expressing skepticism)
10 Quotes Using Who
"Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee." (John Donne)
"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror who paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." (Franklin D. Roosevelt)
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better." (Theodore Roosevelt)
"A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life." (Charles Darwin)
"And all at once, the world was a blur. And the only one who mattered was you." (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby)
"He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past." (George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four)
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption who belongs to the exercise of authority." (Lord Acton)
"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known." (Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities - often misquoted, but the original does not contain "who" in the famous part) - Self-correction: The previous quote was incorrect based on the exact wording requirement. Here is a correct one: "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." (Eleanor Roosevelt)
"All who wander are not lost." (J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring)
"Tell me who your friends are, and I'll tell you who you are." (Proverb)
Etymology
The word "who" has a very old and interesting history, tracing its roots all the way back to an ancient language that is the ancestor of many European and Indian languages.
Think of it like a family tree for words. The very top of the family tree for "who" is a reconstructed language called Proto-Indo-European. In this ancient language, there was a root sound like *kwo- or *kwi- that was used to form words for asking questions (interrogative pronouns) and words that introduce a clause about someone or something already mentioned (relative pronouns).
As this Proto-Indo-European language evolved into different branches, it gave rise to various language families. One of these branches led to Proto-Germanic, which is the ancestor of English, German, Dutch, and Scandinavian languages. In Proto-Germanic, that original *kwo- sound changed to *hwaz.
Then, as Proto-Germanic evolved into Old English (the earliest form of English), this *hwaz became hwā. This "hwā" was the direct ancestor of our modern "who."
So, the first known use of a word similar to "who" in English can be found in Old English, before the 12th century. Its original meaning was essentially "what person," used to ask about someone's identity, or to refer to a person that was already being discussed. It served both as a question word and as a way to link information about a person.
Over time, the spelling of "hwā" changed to "who" in Middle English, even though the "w" sound at the beginning eventually disappeared in most pronunciations, leaving us with the "hoo" sound we have today. However, the old "wh" spelling stuck around!
Phrases + Idioms Containing Who
Who cares? (Expressing indifference)
Who knows? (Expressing uncertainty)
Who's who (A list or directory of famous or important people)
Whoopee! (An exclamation of joy or excitement, though "whoop" is the core)
Who'd have thought? (Expressing surprise)
Guess who! (Used when revealing one's identity or a surprise visitor)
Tell me who you are. (A direct request for identity)
Look who it is! (Expressing recognition, often with surprise)
Who's on first? (From a famous comedy routine, implying confusion about identities/roles)
The man who has everything. (Referring to someone very fortunate)
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of who from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
