what
detEtymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kʷ- Proto-Indo-European *kʷís Proto-Germanic *hwat Proto-West Germanic *hwat Old English hwæt Middle English what English what From Middle English what, from Old English hwæt (“what”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Germanic *hwat (“what”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷód (“what”), neuter form of *kʷós (“who”). Cognate with Scots what, whit (“what”), North Frisian wat (“what”), Saterland Frisian wat (“what”), West Frisian wat (“what”), Dutch wat (“what”), Low German wat (“what”), German was (“what”), Danish hvad (“what”), Norwegian Bokmål hva (“what”), Swedish vad (“what”), Norwegian Nynorsk kva (“what”), Icelandic hvað (“what”), Latin quod (“what, which”). Its use as a particle of contradiction or objection in colloquial Singaporean English is analogous to Cantonese 喎 /㖞 (wo³, etymology 2, sense 3). It is possible that this was historically reinforced by the dated use of what as a sentence-final question tag in British English.
Definitions
Which, especially which of an open-ended set of possibilities.
- What colour are you going to use?
- What time is it?
- What kind of car is that?
Which.
- I wonder what colour he is going to use.
- I know what colour I am going to use.
- That depends on what answer is received.
Any ... that
Any ... that; all ... that; whatever.
- He seems to have lost what sense he had.
- What money I earn is soon spent.
- He crammed what little food was left, into the breast of his grey jacket.
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Emphasises that something is noteworthy or remarkable in quality or degree, in either a…
Emphasises that something is noteworthy or remarkable in quality or degree, in either a good or bad way; may be used in combination with certain other determiners, especially 'a', less often 'some'.
- This shows what beauty there is in nature.
- You know what nonsense she talks.
- I found out what a liar he is.
Which thing, event, circumstance, etc.
Which thing, event, circumstance, etc.: used in asking for the specification of an identity, quantity, quality, etc.
- Hammer in that nail —What with? I didn't bring my set of tools.
- What is your name?
- My kids set the neighbor's cat on fire. —They did what?
That which
That which; those that; the thing(s) that.
- He knows what he wants and what to do to get it.
- What is amazing is his boundless energy.
- And, what's even worse, I have to work on Sunday too.
Anything that
Anything that; all that; whatever.
- I will do what I can to help you.
- What I'll do is, I'll phone you to let you know.
- What is mine is yours.
That
That; which; who.
- Look! It's that bloke again what was 'ere yesterday!
- That’s her; that’s the thing what has stole his heart from me.
In what way
In what way; to what extent.
- What does it matter?
- What do you care?
- It must be, what, twenty-five years since we first met.
Used before a prepositional phrase to emphasise that something is taken into…
Used before a prepositional phrase to emphasise that something is taken into consideration as a cause or reason; usually used in combination with 'with' (see what with), and much less commonly with other prepositions.
An expression of surprise or disbelief.
- What! That’s amazing!
- wait this song is so good whattt
- What, have his daughters brought him to this pass?
What do you want? An abrupt, usually unfriendly enquiry as to what a person desires.
- What? I'm busy.
Clipping of what do you say?, used as a type of tag question to emphasise a statement and…
Clipping of what do you say?, used as a type of tag question to emphasise a statement and invite agreement, often rhetorically.
- It’s a nice day, what?
- “That’s riled them,” said my compaion. “Good work, what?”
- Chuffy: WHAT? No, no, no, no, no. My casa is your casa, what?
What did you say? I beg your pardon? This usage is often considered impolite, with the…
What did you say? I beg your pardon? This usage is often considered impolite, with the more polite "Pardon?" or "Excuse me?" preferred.
- — Could I have some of those aarrrrrr mmmm ... — What?
Indicating a guess or approximation, or a pause to try to recall information.
- I must have been, what, about five years old.
Something
Something; thing; stuff.
- They prayd him sit, and gave him for to feed / Such homely what as serves the simple clowne, / That doth despise the dainties of the towne[…]
The identity of a thing, as an answer to a question of what.
- The emphasis on the interplay between the hows and whats of interpretive practice is paramount.
Something that is addressed by what, as opposed to a person, addressed by who.
- 2012, "We Are Both", season 2, episode 2 of Once Upon a Time Regina: What are you? Rumplestiltskin: What? What? What? My, my, what a rude question! I am not a what.
Emphasizes the truth of an assertion made to contradict an evidently false assumption…
Emphasizes the truth of an assertion made to contradict an evidently false assumption held by the listener.
- Pitch contour: low [wʌt˩], low-dipping [wʌt˨˩]
- — Sian sia, nearby here don’t have library. — The National Library is a five-minute walk from here what, no meh?
- Most things come from Europe what.
Used to invite agreement or acknowledgment when something is assumed to be…
Used to invite agreement or acknowledgment when something is assumed to be straightforward or already obvious to begin with; similar in function to “right?” and “as you know”.
- Pitch contour: low [wʌt˩], low-dipping [wʌt˨˩]
- If it doesn’t get sunlight, it won’t grow what, so you should consider moving it closer to the window.
- […] like Joel you can just melee what. Melee your way through if you can’t handle them […]
Used after a direct assertion to reinforce a disagreeing opinion.
- Pitch contour: low [wʌt˩], low-dipping [wʌt˨˩]
- The lava cakes are not that bad what.
The neighborhood
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for what. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA