# what
## English
### Etymology

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”).

### Pronunciation

* (General American)
** (wine–whine merger) enPR: wŭt, IPA: /wʌt/, (sometimes also in General American) /wɑt/
*** Audio (US, stressed form, wine–whine merger):(file)
** (without the wine–whine merger) enPR: hwŭt, IPA: /ʍʌt/
*** Audio (US, stressed form, without the wine–whine merger):(file)
** (unstressed form) IPA: (flapped) [wʌɾ], (glottalized) [wʌˀ]
*** Audio (US, unstressed form, flapped, wine–whine merger):(file)
*** Audio (US, unstressed form, glottalized, wine–whine merger):(file)
* (UK, New Zealand, New York City)
** (wine–whine merger) enPR: wŏt, IPA: (glottalized) /wɒt/ [wɒʔ(t)]
*** Audio (UK, wine–whine merger):(file)
*** Audio (New York City, glottalized, wine–whine merger):(file)
** (without the wine–whine merger) enPR: hwŏt, IPA: /ʍɒt/
* (General Australian) IPA: /wɔt/
* (Canada) IPA: /wʌt/
** (Dialectal) IPA: /hɒt/
* (General South African) enPR: wŏt, IPA: /wɑt/, /wɜt/
* (Singapore) IPA: /wʌt/, (as a particle) [wä(ː)t̚˨˩], (now rare) /ʍʌt/
* Homophones: Watt, watt, wot (all only in British, Australian, New Zealand, New York City accents with the wine–whine merger)
* Rhymes: -ɒt, -ʌt

### Determiner

what
* (interrogative) 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?
* (indirect interrogative) 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.
* (relative) Any ... that; all ... that; whatever.
    He seems to have lost what sense he had.
    What money I earn is soon spent.
* 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.
** (exclamative) Used to form exclamations indicating that something is remarkable, in either a good or bad way.
    Synonym: such
    What nonsense!
    Wow! What a speech.
    What beautiful children you have.
    With what passion she sings!
*** Little Red Riding Hood, traditional folk tale
    “Oh Granny, what big eyes you have,” said Little Red Riding Hood.

#### Usage notes

In cases where both "what" and "which" are possible, with similar meaning, "what" is preferred for open-ended choices, while "which" is preferred for choices from a closed group or set. For example, "Which one of these do you want?" not "What one of these do you want?".
As used to begin an exclamation, what and such are largely interchangeable, with a few exceptions:
* Nouns modified by such need not appear at the beginning of the sentence: She sings with such passion.
* such requires that the noun phrase it modifies be gradable in some way. Such a disaster! is acceptable because a disaster may be minor or major in degree, but Such a movie! is not (except with the unusual meaning that the movie under discussion has especially "movie-like" qualities).
how is another word used at the beginning of a sentence to form an exclamation (How quickly he ran!), but it modifies different syntactic elements (verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and certain determinatives).

#### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### Pronoun

what
* (interrogative) Which thing, event, circumstance, etc.: used in asking for the specification of an identity, quantity, quality, etc.
    What is your name?
    Ask them what they want.
** 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
    The gym is across from … what? — The gym is across from the lounge. — Across from the lounge. Right. Thanks!
       Audio (US):(file)
* (fused relative) That which; those that; the thing(s) that.
    He knows what he wants.
    What is amazing is his boundless energy.
    And, what's even worse, I have to work on Sunday too.
* (fused relative) Anything that; all that; whatever.
    I will do what I can to help you.
    What is mine is yours.
* (relative, nonstandard) That; which; who.
    'Ere! There's that bloke what I saw earlier!
** 1887, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet, page 60:"I'll tell it ye from the beginning," he said. "My time is from ten at night to six in the morning. At eleven there was a fight at the 'White Hart'; but bar that all was quiet enough on the beat. At one o'clock it began to rain, and I met Harry Murcher—him who has the Holland Grove beat—and we stood together at the corner of Henrietta Street a-talkin'. Presently—maybe about two or a little after—I thought I would take a look round and see that all was right down the Brixton Road. It was precious dirty and lonely. Not a soul did I meet all the way down, though a cab or two went past me. I was a strollin' down, thinkin' between ourselves how uncommon handy a four of gin hot would be, when suddenly the glint of a light caught my eye in the window of that same house. Now, I knew that them two houses in Lauriston Gardens was empty on account of him that owns them who won't have the drains seen to, though the very last tenant what lived in one of them died o' typhoid fever. I was knocked all in a heap therefore at seeing a light in the window, and I suspected as something was wrong. When I got to the door——"
** 1902, J. M. Barrie, The Admirable Crichton:That’s her; that’s the thing what has stole his heart from me.
** 2017, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2:For, it is a name what strikes fear in the heart of anyone what hears it.

#### Translations
### Adverb

what (not comparable)
* (interrogative) In what way; to what extent.
    What does it matter?
    What do you care?
* 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.
** 1787, Henry St. John, Lord Viscount Bolingbroke, Letters on the Study and Use of History: A Letter to Sir William Windham, page 83:In short; what by the indiscretion of people here, what by the rebound which came often back from London, what by the private interests and ambitious views of persons in the French court, and what by other causes unnecessary to be examined now, the most private transactions came to light [...]
** 1815, Rev. Mr. Milne, letter reprinted in The Evangelical Magazine and Missionary Chronicle, Volume 23, page 82.
    The Chinese of all ranks, and in every place, received my books gladly, and listened with patience to what I had to say about the true God.—So that what from opportunities of attending to the object of my Mission among the Chinese—what from seasons of religious instruction to Dutch and English—what from intercourse with gentlemen of education and knowledge of the world—what from occasions of stating clearly the object of Missions, and of endeavouring to remove prejudices against them—and what from the view of a highly cultivated country, happy under an enlightened and liberal government, I have much reason to be satisfied with this journey [...]

#### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### Interjection

what
* An expression of surprise or disbelief.
    What! That’s amazing!
** c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):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.
* (British, colloquial, dated) 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?
** 1918, Denis Garstin, The Shilling Soldiers‎, London: Hodder and Stoughton, page 83:“That’s riled them,” said my compaion. “Good work, what?”
** 1991 May 12, “Kidnapped!”, in Jeeves and Wooster, Series 2, Episode 5: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 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.

#### Alternative forms

* wha
* wat

#### Synonyms

* (colloquial British interjection): what-what, wot
* (what did you say?): come again, pardon; see also Thesaurus:say again

#### Translations
### Noun

what (countable and uncountable, plural whats)
* (obsolete, uncountable) Something; thing; stuff.
** 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 7: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 […]
* (countable) The identity of a thing, as an answer to a question of what.
** 2005, Norman K. Denzin, Yvonna S. Lincoln, The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research, page 493:The emphasis on the interplay between the hows and whats of interpretive practice is paramount.
* (countable) 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.

### Particle

what
* (Manglish, Singlish) Emphasizes the truth of an assertion made to contradict an evidently false assumption held by the listener.
    — Sian sia, nearby here don’t have library. — The National Library is a five-minute walk from here what, no meh?
** 1978, L. C. Cheong, Youth in the Army, page 142:Most things come from Europe what.
** 1989, Eleanor Wong, Jackson on a Jaunt, or, Mistaken Identities, page 8, lines 5–9:Susan: Jalan Sultan, ah? Quite far from Jurong, you know. I may not be able to get there on time. Jackson: […] I’ll tell Beng Huat to wait for you, lah. It’s not that far, what.
** 2007, yansimon52, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet):[…] they can't be the same what?
** 2007, Elangovan, P, Singapore, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 85‒86:I told him to go to Woodlands to buy durian for me. He came back and said no durian. But he some more said-ah, he got see people selling durian in Bukit Timah. I ask him-ah. Why you never buy from Bukit Timah. On your way what.
** 2009, Jean Tay, Boom, Epigram Books, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii, page 21:boon: […] You want to go see snow or not, Ma? mother: See for what? I open freezer can see already what. boon: Not the same, lah… Imagine snowflakes drifting down, melting when they touch your skin. […]

#### Usage notes

Only used at the end of sentences.

### Derived terms

* a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do
* as what
* be careful what you wish for
* be it what it would
* come what may
* dance with the one what brought ya
* dance with the one what brought you
* dance with the one what brung ya
* dance with the one what brung you
* do exactly what it says on the tin
* do what
* do you know what I'm saying
* eat what you kill
* for what
* for what it's worth
* get out what one puts in
* get what one asked for
* give someone what-for
* give someone what for
* give what for
* gods may do what cattle may not
* guess what
* hear what I'm saying
* hold come what may
* I am what I am
* if you know what I mean
* if you see what I mean
* I know you are but what am I
* in what world
* I see what you did there
* it doesn't matter what they say about you as long as they spell your name right
* it is what it is
* it's not what you know but who you know
* know what
* know what I'm saying
* know what is what
* know what o'clock it is
* know what one is about
* know what one is doing
* know what's what
* leave with the one what brought ya
* leave with the one what brought you
* leave with the one what brung ya
* leave with the one what brung you
* look what the cat dragged in
* look what the cat drug in
* look what the cat's dragged in
* much what
* much-what
* never put off until tomorrow what you can do today
* no matter what
* not know what hit one
* now that's what I call
* now what
* one's gotta do what one's gotta do
* one's got to do what one's got to do
* on what planet
* or what
* pick up what someone is laying down
* pick up what someone is putting down
* practice what one preaches
* practise what one preaches
* reap what one sows
* say what
* say what you like
* see what sticks
* show what one is made of
* smell what someone is stepping in
* so what
* tell you what
* that's what I call
* that's what I'm talking about
* that's what she said
* the heart wants what it wants
* the heart wants what the heart wants
* the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing
* them what has gets
* throw things at the wall and see what sticks
* to what do I owe the pleasure
* to what end
* up what spring
* wha
* what about
* what about the children
* what a lovely day
* what a pity
* what are friends for
* what are the odds
* what are you doing
* what are you like
* what are you looking at
* what are you smoking
* what are you waiting for
* what a shame
* what a small world
* what a way to go
* what can I do you for
* what can I say
* what can I tell you
* what can you do
* what cheer
* what color is the sun in your world
* what color is your Bugatti
* what colour is your Bugatti
* what date is it today
* what day is it today
* what did I tell you
* what did your last slave die of
* what does it matter
* what doesn't kill you makes you stronger
* what does that have to do with the price of corn
* what does that have to do with the price of fish
* what does that have to do with the price of tea in China
* what does … mean
* what do I know
* what-do-you-call-it
* what do you know
* what do you make the time
* what do you mean
* what do you want
* what do you want: blood?
* what-d'ye-call-'em
* what-d'ye-call-it
* what else is new
* what foot the shoe is on
* what for
* what gives
* what goes around comes around
* what goes on
* what goes up must come down
* what good is
* what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas
* what happens on the road stays on the road
* what happens on tour stays on tour
* what has been seen cannot be unseen
* what has someone done
* what hath God wrought
* what have you
* what-have-you
* what ho
* what if
* what-if
* what-iffery
* what in tarnation
* what in the world
* what in time
* what is her name
* what is his name
* what is it
* what is more
* what is that
* what is the matter
* what is the Wi-Fi password
* what is this I don't even
* what is up
* what is what
* what is your job
* what is your name
* what is your phone number
* what is your problem
* what it be
* what it do
* what it is
* what it takes
* what kind of
* what kind of music do you like
* what languages do you speak
* what-like
* whatness
* what next
* what-not
* what not
* what-not shop
* what now
* what number
* what o'clock is it
* what of
* what of it
* what one is made of
* what say you
* what seems to be the problem
* what should I do
* what-so-ever
* what someone said
* what someone says goes
* what's what
* what the
* what the actual fuck
* what the crap
* what the Devil, deuce, dickens, hell, heck, fuck
* what the doctor ordered, just what the doctor ordered
* what the ef
* what the eff
* what the fish
* what the flying fuck
* what the fuck ever
* what the fudge
* what the goodyear
* what the hay
* what the hey
* what the shit
* what the what
* what though
* what time
* what time do you make it
* what time have you got
* what time is it
* what up
* what was someone smoking
* what was someone thinking
* what was that
* what was your first clue
* what way the wind is blowing
* what wins on Sunday sells on Monday
* what with
* what would Jesus do
* what would you like
* what-you-call-it
* what you don't know can't hurt you
* what you gain on the swings you lose on the roundabouts
* what you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts
* what-you-may-call-it
* what you saying
* what-you-see-is-what-you-get
* what you see is what you get
* who are you and what have you done with someone
* write-what-where
* you and what army
* you are what you eat
* you get what you pay for
* you hear what I'm saying
* you-know-what
* you know what
* you know what I mean
* you know what I'm saying
* you know what they say
* you never know what you've got till it's gone
* you only get what you give
* you what

### See also

* wat
* wha
* whuh
* woat
* wot
* wuh
* wut
* (Singlish particles): ah, hor, know, lah, leh, liao, lor, mah, meh, one, sia

### References

* Low, Ee Ling, Brown, Adam (2005) English in Singapore: An Introduction, →ISBN
* Kuteva, Tania, Rhee, Seongha, Ziegeler, Debra, Sabban, Jessica (2018) “On sentence-final “what” in Singlish: Are you the Queen of England, or what?”, in Journal of Language Contact‎

### Anagrams

* HAWT, Thaw, Wath, hawt, thaw, wath

## Chinese
### Alternative forms

* What

### Etymology

From clipping of English WhatsApp.

### Pronunciation

* Cantonese (Jyutping): wot$^1$ / wat$^1$
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: wot$^1$ / wat$^1$
*** Yale: wōt / wāt
*** Cantonese Pinyin: wot$^7$ / wat$^7$
*** Guangdong Romanization: wod$^1$ / wed$^1$
*** Sinological IPA : /wɔːt̚⁵/, /wɐt̚⁵/

### Verb

what
* (Hong Kong Cantonese) to WhatsApp; to send via WhatsApp

## Middle English
### Etymology 1

From Old English hwæt, from Proto-West Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷód.

#### Alternative forms

* whad, whote, watte, wath, wad, qhat
* whæt, whæht, waht, waet, wæht, weht, hweat (Southern West Mid)

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ʍat/, /wat/

#### Pronoun

what
* what

##### Descendants

* English: what
* Scots: what, whate, whit, whut, wha', quhat, quat, fat, faht, phat, fit, fut, fout, at
* Yola: faade, fhaade, faad, fade, f'ad

#### Adverb

what
* A user suggests that this Middle English entry be cleaned up, giving the reason: “This 1641 citation is NOT Middle English”.
* Please see the discussion on Requests for cleanup or the talk page for more information and remove this template after the problem has been dealt with.
* Why.
** 1387–1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Sompners Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, [Westminster: William Caxton, published 1478], →OCLC; republished in [William Thynne], editor, The Workes of Geffray Chaucer Newlye Printed, […], [London]: […] [Richard Grafton for] Iohn Reynes […], 1542, →OCLC:What shulde I tel the answere of the knyght?Why should I tell the answer of the knight?
** 1641 May, John Milton, Of Reformation Touching Church-Discipline in England: And the Cavvses that hitherto have Hindred it; republished as Will Taliaferro Hale, editor, Of Reformation Touching Church-Discipline in England (Yale Studies in English; LIV), New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1916, →OCLC:But what do I stand reckoning upon advantages and gains lost by the misrule and turbulency of the prelates?
* Used to introduce each of two coordinate phrases or concepts; both...and...
** 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “primum”, in Le Morte Darthur, book III:And as for on C good knyghtes I haue my self / but I fawte / l / for so many haue ben slayne in my dayes / and so Ladegreans delyuerd his doughter Gweneuer vnto Merlyn / and the table round with the C knyghtes / and so they rode fresshly with grete royalte / what by water and what by land / tyl that they came nyghe vnto london(please add an English translation of this quotation)

##### Descendants

* Yola: fad

#### References

* “what, pron.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
* “what, adv. & conj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

### Etymology 2
#### Noun

what
* Alternative form of whate

## Scots
### Etymology 1

From Middle English what, from Old English hwæt, from Proto-West Germanic *hwat. Cognates include English what and Yola faade.

#### Alternative forms

* whate, whit, whut, wha', quhat, quat, fat, faht, phat, fit, fut, fout, at

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ʍɑt], [ʍo̞t], [ʍɪt], [ʍʌt], [ʍɑʔ]
* (Shetland) IPA: [kwɑt]

#### Pronoun

what
* (interrogative) what?
* (relative) that, which

#### Adverb

what
* (interrogative) how?
* (interrogative) why?
* (relative) as, than, how
* (exclamatory) how!

#### Determiner

what
* (interrogative) what?
* (relative) what, which
* (exclamatory) what a lot of! how many!

### Etymology 2

From Middle English whetten, from Old English hwettan, from Proto-West Germanic *hwattjan. Cognates include English whet.

#### Alternative forms

* whatt

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ʍɑt]

#### Verb

what (third-person singular simple present whats, present participle whatin, simple past whatt, past participle whatt)
* (transitive) to whet, hone, sharpen

### References

* 1 2 “what, pron., adv., conj., interj.,.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.
* ↑ “what, v., n..”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.

## Yola
### Etymology

From Middle English whetten, from Old English hwettan, from Proto-West Germanic *hwattjan.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /hwat/

### Verb

what
* to whet
** 1867, “ABOUT AN OLD SOW GOING TO BE KILLED”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 1, page 106:A skudhelès, lhaung roosta, wull glaude leth aam what.The knives, that were long rusty, well-pleased let them whet.

### 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 78