Main Entry: who

Pronunciation: \ˈhü, ü\

Function: pronoun

Etymology: Middle English, from Old English hwā; akin to Old High German hwer, interrog. pron., who, Latin quis, Greek tis, Latin qui, relative pron., who

Date: before 12th century

1 : what or which person or persons —used as an interrogative <who was elected?> <find out who they are> —used by speakers on all educational levels and by many reputable writers, though disapproved by some grammarians, as the object of a verb or a following preposition <who did I see but a Spanish lady — Padraic Colum> <do not know who the message is from — G. K. Chesterton>
2 : the person or persons that : whoever
3 —used as a function word to introduce a relative clause ; used especially in reference to persons <my father, who was a lawyer> but also in reference to groups <a generation who had known nothing but war — R. B. West> or to animals <dogs who…fawn all over tramps — Nigel Balchin> or to inanimate objects especially with the implication that the reference is really to a person <earlier sources who maintain a Davidic ancestry — F. M. Cross> ; used by speakers on all educational levels and by many reputable writers, though disapproved by some grammarians, as the object of a verb or a following preposition <a character who we are meant to pity — Times Literary Supplement>

usage see whom, that

— as who archaic : as one that : as if someone

— as who should say archaic : so to speak

— who is who or who's who or who was who : the identity of or the noteworthy facts about each of a number of persons