what
Part of speech: det
pron
adv
noun
particle
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *kʷ-
Proto-Indo-European *kʷís
Proto-Germanic *hwat
Proto-West Germanic *hwat
Old English hwæt
Middle English what
English what
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”).
Its use as a particle of contradiction or objection in colloquial Singaporean English is analogous to Cantonese 喎 /㖞 (wo³, etymology 2, sense 3). It is possible that this was historically reinforced by the dated use of what as a sentence-final question tag in British English.
Inflected forms:
form: whats
pos: noun
tags: plural
Senses:
gloss: Which, especially which of an open-ended set of possibilities.
pos: det
tags: interrogative
examples: What colour are you going to use?
What time is it?
What kind of car is that?
Did you buy the groceries? — With what money? We barely have any left.
Everyone always asks what my advice is, and my advice is don’t overintellectualize your art.
gloss: Which.
pos: det
tags: indirect
interrogative
examples: 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.
gloss: Any ... that; all ... that; whatever.
pos: det
tags: relative
examples: He seems to have lost what sense he had.
What money I earn is soon spent.
He crammed what little food was left, into the breast of his grey jacket.
gloss: 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'.
pos: det
examples: This shows what beauty there is in nature.
You know what nonsense she talks.
I found out what a liar he is.
gloss: 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'.
pos: det
examples: 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.
gloss: Which thing, event, circumstance, etc.: used in asking for the specification of an identity, quantity, quality, etc.
pos: pron
tags: interrogative
examples: Hammer in that nail —What with? I didn't bring my set of tools.
What is your name?
My kids set the neighbor's cat on fire. —They did what?
Ask them what they want.
What d’you say that made him so angry?
I’ve broken the exhaust manifold gasket. - You’ve broken the what?
The gym is across from … what? — The gym is across from the lounge. — Across from the lounge. Right. Thanks!
gloss: That which; those that; the thing(s) that.
pos: pron
examples: He knows what he wants and what to do to get it.
What is amazing is his boundless energy.
And, what's even worse, I have to work on Sunday too.
What is astonishing, she doesn't want the job. -What’s even more staggering, neither of her friends does either.
gloss: Anything that; all that; whatever.
pos: pron
examples: I will do what I can to help you.
What I'll do is, I'll phone you to let you know.
What is mine is yours.
gloss: That; which; who.
pos: pron
tags: nonstandard
relative
examples: Look! It's that bloke again what was 'ere yesterday!
"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——"
That’s her; that’s the thing what has stole his heart from me.
A diploma in the waiting room revealed Big Boy to be a member of The American Association of Medical Hydrology, whatever that might be. Furthermore he was a deacon of the Royal Aryan Society for Positive Christianity and as such was privileged to throw in divine healing without extra charge. That went right along with the three-dollar treatment for a touch of the astral power and a short lecture on the latent powers possessed by all of us. “Pow-wers what vassly transent our normaller ones,” was just how Big Boy put it.
For, it is a name what strikes fear in the heart of anyone what hears it.
gloss: In what way; to what extent.
pos: adv
tags: interrogative
not-comparable
examples: What does it matter?
What do you care?
It must be, what, twenty-five years since we first met.
gloss: 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.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
examples: 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 [...]
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 …
gloss: Something; thing; stuff.
pos: noun
tags: obsolete
uncountable
examples: 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[…]
gloss: The identity of a thing, as an answer to a question of what.
pos: noun
tags: countable
examples: The emphasis on the interplay between the hows and whats of interpretive practice is paramount.
gloss: Something that is addressed by what, as opposed to a person, addressed by who.
pos: noun
tags: countable
examples: 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.
gloss: Emphasizes the truth of an assertion made to contradict an evidently false assumption held by the listener.
pos: particle
tags: Manglish
Singlish
examples: Pitch contour: low [wʌt˩], low-dipping [wʌt˨˩]
— Sian sia, nearby here don’t have library.
— The National Library is a five-minute walk from here what, no meh?
Most things come from Europe what.
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.
[…] they can't be the same what?
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.
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. […]
Aiyah, we will always chat or message what... We’ll keep in touch lah, hor?
gloss: Used to invite agreement or acknowledgment when something is assumed to be straightforward or already obvious to begin with; similar in function to “right?” and “as you know”.
pos: particle
tags: Manglish
Singlish
examples: Pitch contour: low [wʌt˩], low-dipping [wʌt˨˩]
If it doesn’t get sunlight, it won’t grow what, so you should consider moving it closer to the window.
[…] like Joel you can just melee what. Melee your way through if you can’t handle them […]
gloss: Used after a direct assertion to reinforce a disagreeing opinion.
pos: particle
tags: Manglish
Singlish
examples: Pitch contour: low [wʌt˩], low-dipping [wʌt˨˩]
The lava cakes are not that bad what.
Related words: wat
wha
whuh
woat
wot
wuh
wut
lah1–14
lor2–3
lor1
ah6
leh1–2
mah
leh3–6
one1–3
hor1
know
nia
only
sia
hor2
ah1–3
hah1–3
meh
ba2
leh7–11
ba1
liao
already
Gupta
A. F. (1992)
in
volume 18
number 1
→DOI
Translations:
lang: Finnish
word: mikä
lang: Swedish
word: den
lang: Catalan
word: quin
lang: Catalan
word: quina
lang: Finnish
word: millainen
lang: Finnish
word: mikä
lang: Finnish
word: mitä
lang: German
word: welch
lang: German
word: was für
lang: Hungarian
word: melyik
lang: Hungarian
word: milyen
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: hvilken
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: hvilket
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: hva for en
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: hva for et
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: hva for
lang: Spanish
word: lo
lang: Swedish
word: vilken