whose
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1whose

adjective \ˈhüz, üz\

Definition of WHOSE

: of or relating to whom or which especially as possessor or possessors <whose gorgeous vesture heaps the ground — Robert Browning>, agent or agents <the law courts, whose decisions were important — F. L. Mott>, or object or objects of an action <the first poem whose publication he ever sanctioned — J. W. Krutch>

Examples of WHOSE

  1. The granddaddy of all metafictional novels was Tristram Shandy, whose narrator's dialogues with his imaginary readers are only one of many ways in which Sterne foregrounds the gap between art and life that conventional realism seeks to conceal. —David Lodge, The Art of Fiction, 1992

Origin of WHOSE

Middle English whos, genitive of who, what
First Known Use: before 12th century

2whose

pronoun, singular or plural in construction \ˈhüz, üz\

Definition of WHOSE

: that which belongs to whom —used without a following noun as a pronoun equivalent in meaning to the adjective whose <tell me whose it was — Shakespeare>

Examples of WHOSE

  1. Though life here is a dangerous business for olive trees, in summer the children roam the streets alone, and well into the night. Everyone knows whose are whose, and keeps an eye out. —David Leavitt, Travel & Leisure, May 2000

Origin of WHOSE

(see 1whose)
First Known Use: 12th century

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