Where does “which” come from?

Which derives from Middle English which, Old English hwilc, Proto-Germanic hwilīkaz and hwaz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European kʷos and līg-, though the precise sense development remains unclear.

which (English): What, of those mentioned or implied; The one or...

Definitions

  1. What, of those mentioned or implied; The one or...

Ancestry of “which”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishwhichwhich
2Old Englishhwelċwhich
3Proto-Germanichwilīkazwhat kind of, what sort of
4Proto-Germanichwazwho, what; whose; whom
5Proto-Indo-EuropeankʷosSee *kʷis
6Proto-Indo-Europeankʷ-The primary interrogative root

Words derived from “which”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European kʷ- →