which

which
I. adjective Etymology: Middle English, of what kind, which, from Old English hwilc; akin to Old High German wilīh of what kind, which, Old English hwā who, gelīk like — more at who, like Date: before 12th century 1. being what one or ones out of a group — used as an interrogative <
which tie should I wear
>
<
kept a record of which employees took their vacations in July
>
2. whichever <
it will not fit, turn it which way you like
>
3. — used as a function word to introduce a nonrestrictive relative clause and to modify a noun in that clause and to refer together with that noun to a word or word group in a preceding clause or to an entire preceding clause or sentence or longer unit of discourse <
in German, which language might…have been the medium of transmission — Thomas Pyles
>
<
that this city is a rebellious city… : for which cause was this city destroyed — Ezra 4:15 (Authorized Version)
>
II. pronoun Date: before 12th century 1. what one or ones out of a group — used as an interrogative <
which of those houses do you live in
>
<
which of you want tea and which want lemonade
>
<
he is swimming or canoeing, I don't know which
>
2. whichever <
take which you like
>
3. — used as a function word to introduce a relative clause; used in any grammatical relation except that of a possessive; used especially in reference to animals, inanimate objects, groups, or ideas <
the bonds which represent the debt — G. B. Robinson
>
<
the Samnite tribes, which settled south and southeast of Rome — Ernst Pulgram
>
— used freely in reference to persons as recently as the 17th century <
our Father which art in heaven — Matthew 6:9(Authorized Version)
>
, and still occasionally so used but usually with some implication of emphasis on the function or role of the person rather than on the person as such <
chiefly they wanted husbands, which they got easily — Lynn White
>
— used by speakers on all educational levels and by many reputable writers, though disapproved by some grammarians, in reference to an idea expressed by a word or group of words that is not necessarily a noun or noun phrase <
he resigned that post, after which he engaged in ranching — Current Biography
>
Usage: see that IV

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Which — Which, pron. [OE. which, whilk, AS. hwilc, hwylc, hwelc, from the root of hw[=a] who + l[=i]c body; hence properly, of what sort or kind; akin to OS. hwilik which, OFries. hwelik, D. welk, G. welch, OHG. wel[=i]h, hwel[=i]h, Icel. hv[=i]l[=i]kr,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Which — which  Unix утилита, отображающая полный путь к указанным командам или сценариям. Содержание 1 Описание 2 Опции 3 Пример использования …   Википедия

  • Which — Voir « which » sur le Wiktionnaire …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Which — is an English relative pronoun and interrogative pronoun.Which may also refer to: *Which?, a UK charity and its magazine *which (Unix), a Unix command See also * English relative clauses, for discussion of when to use which and when to use that… …   Wikipedia

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  • which — /hwich, wich/, pron. 1. what one?: Which of these do you want? Which do you want? 2. whichever: Choose which appeals to you. 3. (used relatively in restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses to represent a specified antecedent): The book, which I… …   Universalium

  • which's — pronoun a) Of which; alternative to inanimate sense of “whose” If the previous request (which’s response was generated by the jsp) set a cookie on the client mdash;[ …   Wiktionary

  • Which? — a magazine produced each month by the Consumers’ Association in Britain. It consists of reports comparing different makes of similar products and services, to help people to decide which one to buy. It is only available to members of the… …   Universalium

  • which — 1. pronoun /ʍɪʧ,wɪʧ,ʍɪʧ/ Who; whom; what (of those mentioned or implied) He walked by a door with a sign which read: PRIVATE OFFICE. 2. noun /ʍɪʧ,wɪʧ,ʍɪʧ/ An occurrence of the word which. The ofs and the whiches have thrown our prose into a… …   Wiktionary

  • which — See: GAME AT WHICH TWO CAN PLAY …   Dictionary of American idioms

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