Where does “whom” come from?
Whom derives from Middle English whom, from Old English hwām, from Proto-Germanic hwammai and hwaz, tracing back to Proto-Indo-European kʷos and the root kʷ-.
whom (English): What person or people; which person or people, as...
Definitions
- What person or people; which person or people, as...
Ancestry of “whom”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | whom | — |
| 2 | Old English | hwām | — |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | hwammai | masculine/neuter dative of *hwaz |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | hwaz | who, what; whose; whom |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷos | See *kʷis |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷ- | The primary interrogative root |
Words derived from “whom”