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

  1. What person or people; which person or people, as...

Ancestry of “whom”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishwhom(to) who, whom accusative or dative
2Old Englishhwām—
3Proto-Germanichwammaimasculine/neuter dative of *hwaz
4Proto-Germanichwazwho, what; whose; whom
5Proto-Indo-EuropeankʷosSee *kʷis
6Proto-Indo-Europeankʷ-The primary interrogative root

Words derived from “whom”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European kʷ- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European kʷos →Every word from Proto-Germanic hwaz →