Word: how Part of Speech: adv Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kʷ- Proto-Indo-European *kʷís Proto-Germanic *hwō Old English hū Middle English how English how From Middle English how, hou, hu, hwu, from Old English hū, from Proto-West Germanic *hwō, from Proto-Germanic *hwō (“through what, how”), from the same root as hwæt (“who, what”). /hw/ > /h/ due to wh-cluster reduction in Old English; compare who, which underwent this change later, and thus is spelt wh (Middle English spelling of /hw/) but pronounced /h/ (it previously had a different vowel, hence avoided the spelling and sound change in Old English). Vowel change per Great Vowel Shift. Akin to Scots hoo, foo (“how”), North Frisian ho, hü, hur (“how”), Saterland Frisian wo (“how”), West Frisian hoe (“how”), Dutch hoe (“how”), Low German ho, wo, wu (“how”), German wie (“how”), Swedish hur (“how”). See who and compare why. Pronunciation: /haʊ/, /huː/, /hʌʊ/, [həu̯], /hæɔ/ 1. To what degree or extent. Labels: interrogative, not-comparable Example: How often do you practice? Example: The gauge indicated how hot the oven was. 2. In what manner Labels: interrogative, not-comparable Example: Economics is a messy discipline: too fluid to be a science, too rigorous to be an art. Perhaps it is fitting that economists’ most-used metric, gross domestic product (GDP), is a tangle too.[…]But as a foundation for analysis it is highly subjective: it rests on difficult decisions about what counts as a territory, what counts as output and how to value it. Indeed, economists are still tweaking it. 3. In what manner: Labels: interrogative, not-comparable Example: How do you solve this puzzle? –Sorry, I can't remember how. Example: How else can we get this finished? 4. In what manner: Labels: interrogative, not-comparable Example: How should I know whether he likes raisins or not? Ask him! 5. In what manner: Labels: interrogative, not-comparable Example: How are you fixed for money? Example: How did you vote in the last election? 6. In what manner: Labels: interrogative, not-comparable Example: How the stock market interprets events has real consequences. Example: A heap of stamps? Yes. Stamps they were indeed, hundreds of penny Queen's Heads neatly mounted on the original sheets. "Good God!" exclaimed Mr. Erskine as he turned to Mr. Sackville, "how am I to take this, sir?" said he severely. "Where are the real stamps? Were they ever inside, ever in your possession at all? If it is a joke, it is a very poor one." 7. In what manner: Labels: interrogative, not-comparable Example: "How art thou called? Thy name make known; Thy father's name and family,—tell me thy father's and thine own." Example: Salutation—How does one address the recipient; what titles, greetings, and honorifics are preferred; how does one manage the problem of unknown gender;[…] 8. In what manner: Labels: interrogative, not-comparable Example: Shal. How a score of ewes now? Sil. Thereafter as they be: a score of good ewes may be worth ten pounds. 9. In what state or condition. Labels: interrogative, not-comparable Example: How are you? Example: How was your vacation? 10. In the manner in which. Labels: not-comparable Example: I said it exactly how he said it. 11. In any manner in which; in whatever way; however. Labels: not-comparable Example: People should be free to live how they want. 12. In which. Labels: nonstandard, not-comparable, relative Example: The way how you walk is funny. 13. Used as a modifier to indicate surprise, delight, or other strong feelings in an exclamation. Labels: not-comparable Example: How very interesting! Example: How wonderful it was to receive your invitation.