what

what
what O.E. hwæt, from P.Gmc. *khwat (Cf. O.S. hwat, O.N. hvat, Dan. hvad, O.Fris. hwet, Du. wat, O.H.G. hwaz, Ger. was, Goth. hva "what"), from PIE *qwod, neut. sing. of *qwos "who" (see WHO (Cf. who)). Meaning "what did you say?" is recorded from c.1300; as an interrogative expletive at the end of sentences it is first recorded 1785, common early 20c. in affected British speech. Or what as an alternative end to a question is first attested 1766. "To give one what for is to respond to his remonstrant what for? by further assault" [Weekley]. The phrase is attested from 1873. What's-his-name for "unspecified person" is attested from 1690s; variant whatsisface is first recorded 1967. What's up? "what is happening?" first recorded 1881.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?
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  • what^ — what s up? …   Glossary of chat acronyms & text shorthand

  • what — W1S1 [wɔt US wa:t, wʌt] pron, determiner, predeterminer [: Old English; Origin: hwAt] 1.) used to ask for information or for someone s opinion ▪ What are you doing? ▪ What subjects did you enjoy most? ▪ What colour is the new carpet? ▪ What s… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • What — What, pron., a., & adv. [AS. hw[ae]t, neuter of hw[=a] who; akin to OS. hwat what, OFries. hwet, D. & LG. wat, G. was, OHG. waz, hwaz, Icel. hvat, Sw. & Dan. hvad, Goth. hwa. [root]182. See {Who}.] [1913 Webster] 1. As an interrogative pronoun,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • What ho — What What, pron., a., & adv. [AS. hw[ae]t, neuter of hw[=a] who; akin to OS. hwat what, OFries. hwet, D. & LG. wat, G. was, OHG. waz, hwaz, Icel. hvat, Sw. & Dan. hvad, Goth. hwa. [root]182. See {Who}.] [1913 Webster] 1. As an interrogative… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • What if — What What, pron., a., & adv. [AS. hw[ae]t, neuter of hw[=a] who; akin to OS. hwat what, OFries. hwet, D. & LG. wat, G. was, OHG. waz, hwaz, Icel. hvat, Sw. & Dan. hvad, Goth. hwa. [root]182. See {Who}.] [1913 Webster] 1. As an interrogative… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • What of it — What What, pron., a., & adv. [AS. hw[ae]t, neuter of hw[=a] who; akin to OS. hwat what, OFries. hwet, D. & LG. wat, G. was, OHG. waz, hwaz, Icel. hvat, Sw. & Dan. hvad, Goth. hwa. [root]182. See {Who}.] [1913 Webster] 1. As an interrogative… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • What if? — (comics) What if? Éditeur Marvel Comics Format Série continue Date(s) de publication février 1977 octobre 1984 (Vol. 1) juillet 1989 novembre 1998 (Vol. 2) Numéros 47 (Vol. 1) 114 (Vol. 2) Scén …   Wikipédia en Français

  • what — [ wat, hwat ] function word *** What can be used in the following ways: as a question pronoun (introducing a direct or indirect question): What do you want? Tell me what happened. as a relative pronoun (starting a relative clause that is subject …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • what — 1. general. As a relative pronoun, what is an especially complex word because it can be either singular or plural and can refer both to words that have gone before and to words that come later in the sentence. In general it stands for a group of… …   Modern English usage

  • what — [hwut, hwät, wut, wät] pron. [ME hwat < OE hwæt, neut. of hwa, who < IE interrogative base * kwo , * kwe > WHERE, WHO, L qui, who what, Lith kàs, what, who] I as an interrogative: which thing, event, circumstance, etc.?: used to ask for… …   English World dictionary

  • What If? 2 — subtitled Eminent Historians Imagine What Might Have Been , is a collection of twenty five essays dealing with counterfactual history. It was published by G.P. Putnam s Sons in 2001, ISBN 0 399 14795 0, and edited by Robert Cowley. It is the suc …   Wikipedia

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