which

English Online Dictionary. What means which‎? What does which mean?

English

Alternative forms

• whiche (obsolete)
• wich (Jamaica)

Etymology

From Middle English which, hwic, wilche, hwilch, whilk, hwilc, from Old English hwelċ (“which”), from Proto-Germanic *hwilīkaz (“what kind”, literally “like what”), derived from *hwaz, equivalent to who +‎ like. Cognates include Scots whilk (“which”), West Frisian hokker (“which”), Dutch welk (“which”), Low German welk (“which”), German welcher (“which”), Danish hvilken (“which”), Swedish vilken (“which”), Norwegian hvilken (“which”), Icelandic hvílíkur (“which”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: wĭch, IPA^(key): /wɪt͡ʃ/
• (without the wine–whine merger) enPR: hwĭch, IPA^(key): /ʍɪt͡ʃ/
• Rhymes: -ɪtʃ
• Homophones: witch, wich, wych (wine–whine merger)

Conjunction

which

1. (nonstandard, US) And.

Determiner

which

1. (interrogative) What, of those mentioned or implied.

2. The/Any ... that; whichever.

3. (relative, formal outside certain phrases) Designates the one(s) previously mentioned.
   • 1860, Alfred Henry Forrester, Fairy footsteps, or, Lessons from legends, with illustr., by Alfred Crowquill, page 166 (Google Books view):

     After glaring upon the smoking philosopher, who took his misfortunes with such positive nonchalance, he growled out an oath in German, which language is particularly adapted for growling in; then, raising his hand, he dealt him a blow on his pipe, which sent it, like a rocket, into the midst of the players.

Usage notes

In cases where both "which" and "what" are possible, with similar meaning, "which" is preferred for choices from a closed group or set, while "what" is preferred for open-ended choices. For example, "Which one of these do you want?" not "What one of these do you want?".

Translations

Pronoun

which

1. (interrogative) What one or ones (of those mentioned or implied).
2. (not in common use) The/Any ones that; whichever.

3. (relative) In a non-restrictive relative clause, referring to something previously mentioned.
   1. Referring to a preceding noun.
      1. (chiefly archaic) Used of people (now generally who, whom, that; which remains possible with words also referred to by it such as baby, child).

   2. Referring to a preceding statement.
4. (relative, sometimes proscribed, see usage notes) In a restrictive relative clause, referring to a noun previously mentioned.
   1. (chiefly archaic) Used of people.

Usage notes

• Some authorities insist that relative which be used only in non-restrictive clauses (e.g., “I saw Tom’s car, which was parked outside his house”), or when it is the object of a preposition placed in front of the pronoun (e.g., “These are the things about which we shall talk”, “There were many fish, the biggest of which …”). Non-restrictive clauses are normally set off with a comma or commas. For restrictive clauses (e.g., The song that you just mentioned is better than the later ones), they prefer that. But Fowler, who proposed the rule, acknowledged, “It would be idle to pretend that it is the practice either of most or of the best writers.” In modern UK usage, The song which you just mentioned is better than the later ones is generally accepted without question.
• When which (or the other relative pronouns who and that) is used as the subject of a relative clause, the verb agrees with the antecedent of the pronoun. Thus, “the thing which is …”, “the things which are …”, etc.
• Which is commonly used, sometimes with partitive of, instead of who (the ordinary interrogative pronoun, in the nominative singular or plural) to refer to a person or persons, and corresponding to what of things. Compare “which of us always uses who for people” and “who among us has never used which for a person”. Neither “who of us” nor “which among us” is idiomatic.

Derived terms

• whichever
• whichsoever

Related terms

• every which way
• every which where
• which is which

Translations

Chinese

Etymology

From English which (“non-restrictive relative clause marker”).

Conjunction

which

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) which; discourse marker introducing personal assessment or comment of the preceding clause

Related terms

• which is

References

• Brian Hok-Shing Chan (2022) “Constructional Borrowing From English in Hong Kong Cantonese”, in Frontiers in Communication, volume 7, →DOI

Middle English

Alternative forms

• hwic, hwilc, hwilch, whiche, whilk, whyche, wilche

Etymology

From Old English hwelċ, from Proto-Germanic *hwilīkaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hwit͡ʃ/

Pronoun

which

1. which

Descendants

• English: which
• Scots: whilk, whulk, quhilk, whilke
• Yola: wich, which, whilke

References

• “which” listed in the Middle English Dictionary [2001]
• “which, pron.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Yola

Pronoun

which

1. Alternative form of wich

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 102