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Origin and history of who

who(pron.)

Old English hwa "what person," sometimes also "what; anyone, someone; each; whosoever," from Proto-Germanic *hwas (source also of Old Saxon hwe, Danish hvo, Swedish vem, Old Frisian hwa, Dutch wie, Old High German hwer, German wer, Gothic hvo (fem.) "who"), from PIE root *kwo-, stem of relative and interrogative pronouns.

Entries linking to who

wha(pron.)

obsolete Scottish form of who (pron.).

which(pron.)

"who, which one" of a certain implied number or set, Old English hwilc (West Saxon), Anglian hwælc, Northumbrian hualc; short for hwi-lic "of what form."

This is from Proto-Germanic *hwa-lik-, a compound of *hwi- "who" (from PIE root *kwo-, stem of relative and interrogative pronouns) + *likan "body, form" (source also of Old English lic "body;" see like (adj.)).

In Middle English it was used as a relative pronoun where Modern English would use who, as preserved in the Lord's Prayer. Old English also had parallel forms hwelc and hwylc, which disappeared 15c.

Germanic cognates include Old Saxon hwilik, Old Norse hvelikr, Swedish vilken, Old Frisian hwelik, Middle Dutch wilk, Dutch welk, Old High German hwelich, German welch, Gothic hvileiks "which."

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jobber
"one who does odd jobs or chance work," 1706, agent noun from job (v.) in a sense of "to let out in separate portions," hence...Earlier it meant "one who purchases and resells, a middleman" (1660s); "intriguer who works to his own advantage" (1739)....Compare stock-jobber "one who speculates in stocks for gain" (1620s). Related: Jobbing, jobbery....
porter
["person who carries"] late 14c....(mid-13c. as a surname), portour, "person who carries" (goods, burdens), especially one who carries burdens or runs errands...portour, Old French porteor "porter, bearer; reporter" (12c.), from Late Latin portatorem (nominative portator) "carrier, one who...
skinner
(as a surname, mid-13c.), "a dealer in skins, one who prepares or sells animal skins," from skin (n.); as "one who skins,...Also in U.S. use "one who strips, robs, or plunders;" the name given to a band of marauders who committed depredations on...
epicure
late 14c., "follower of Epicurus," a Latinized form of Greek Epicouros (341-270 B.C.E.), Athenian philosopher who taught...virtue as the greatest pleasure; the first lesson recalled, the second forgotten, and the name used pejoratively for "one who...Epicurus's school was opposed by the stoics, who first gave his name a reproachful sense....The non-pejorative meaning "one who cultivates refined taste in food and drink" is from 1580s....
spoil-sport
"one who hinders enjoyment," 1786, from the verbal phrase (attested by 1711) in reference to one who "ruins" the "fun;" see...Another old word for it was addle-plot "person who spoils any amusement" (1690s; see addle)....Grose (1788) has spoil pudding (n.), "A parson who preaches long sermons, keeping his congregation in church till the puddings...
mediator
mid-14c., mediatour, "one who intervenes between two parties (especially to seek to effect a reconciliation)," from Late...Latin mediator "one who mediates," agent noun from stem of mediare "to intervene, mediate," also "to be or divide in the...Originally applied to Christ, who in Christian theology mediates between God and man....Meaning "one who intervenes between two disputing parties for the purpose of effecting reconciliation" is first attested...
survivor
early 15c. in the legal sense of "one who outlives another," agent noun from survive....Meaning "one who has a knack for pulling through adversity" is attested from 1971....Survivor syndrome as a name for the feeling of guilt in some who have lived through a traumatic event in which others died...escaped by accident, one who by rights should have been killed, may go on living....
how
Old English hu "how," from Proto-Germanic *hwo (source also of Old Saxon hwo, Old Frisian, Middle Dutch hu, Dutch hoe, German wie, Gothic hvaiwa "how"), an adverbial form from PIE root *kwo-, stem of relative and interrogative pronouns. Practically a doublet of why, differentiate
taboo
also tabu, 1777 (in Cook's "A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean"), "consecrated, inviolable, forbidden, unclean or cursed; prohibited to a certain class," explained in some English sources as being from Tongan (Polynesian language of the island of Tonga) ta-bu "sacred," from ta "mark"
blunt
c. 1200, blunt, blont, "dull, obtuse" (of persons), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from or related to Old Norse blundra "to shut one's eyes" (see blunder (v.)). Or from Old English blinnan (past participle blon) "to stop, cease, come to an end." Of tools or weapons, "not sharp, wit

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