▪ I. whom, pron.
(huːm)
Forms: α. 1 hwæm, 1–3 hwam, 3–5 wam, 3–5, 8–9 Sc. wham, 4–5 whame, whaym(e, wom, 4–7 whome, (3 ȝwam, whæm, Orm. whamm, 4 huam, whaam, whaime, 5 wome, hom(e, whem, waim, 6 hoom, Sc. vhom), 3– whom; north. and Sc. 3–4 quam, 4–6 quham, 4–6, 8 quhome, 4–7 quhom, (3 quuam, 4 quaym, quem, quhowm, 5 qwhom(e, qwom(e, qhom). β. 1 hwone, hwane, hwæne, 2 hwen, 2–3 hwan, 3 whæn, wan, ȝwan, wanne, 3–4 whan.
[Whom represents formally OE. hwám, later variant of hwǽm (:—*χwaimi), dat. of hwá who, hwæt what, corresp. (with variation of inflexion) to OFris. hwâm (WFris. wam, waam, NFris. hûm), OS. hwem(u), OHG. (h)wemu, -o (MHG., G. wem), ON. hveim (MSw. hwem used as dat. and acc., early Da. also hwam), Goth. hwamma. In its usage whom combines the functions of OE. hwǽm and OE. hwone, hwane, hwæne, acc. masc. of hwá, corresp. to OFris. hwane, hwene, OS. hwena (MDu., Du. wien), OHG. (h)wenan, wen(en (MHG., G. wen), ON. (eastern) hwan, Goth. hwana. The history of OE. hwone, ME. (h)wan is therefore illustrated under this heading in order to exhibit the merging of the original acc. and dat. under the forms of the latter. (The form-history is complicated in the 12th and 13th centuries by the fact that in weak positions (h)wam often became (h)wan, and the latter when neuter is indistinguishable from whon1.)
The earliest instance here recorded of the use of the dat. form as an acc. or direct object is in the indef. relative swa hwam swa swa = whomsoever (Laud Chron. an. 1123): see sense 6. By 1200 this shift had extended to the relative and dependent interrogative uses, but examples of the independent interrogative use are hardly earlier than 1300: see sense 1 b.]
The objective case of who: no longer current in natural colloquial speech.
1. In an independent question. a. as indirect object (dative) or as object of a preposition (or after than).
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. John vi. 68 Drihten to hwam ga we? a 1300 Cursor M. 8353 O mi kingrike quat redes þou? Quam sal i giue it for to ledd? a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 463 To quam has þou þe tane till, tell me þe sothe. 1535 Coverdale Ezek. xxxi. 2 Whom art thou like in thy greatnesse? ― Isa. xl. 18 To whom then will ye licken God? 1539 Bible (Great) Isa. xxviii. 9 Whom then shal such one teach knowlege? 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. ii. i. 153 Speed. To be a Spokes-man from Madam Siluia. Val. To whom? 1603 Dekker & Chettle Grissil iv. i. (Shaks. Soc.) 52 Seek'st thou a better nurse? A better nurse than whom? 1780 Warner in Jesse Selwyn & Contemp. (1844) IV. 369 For whom in the world do you think that I was kept so long kicking my heels? 1842 Ruskin Lett. to a College Friend (1894) 129 To whom should I write if not to the only one of my friends whom I cannot see? 1866 Le Fanu All in Dark viii, I played to-day..two rubbers of fives; with whom do you think? |
b. as direct object (accusative).
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 45 Hwane manaþ God maran gafoles þonne þone biscop? c 1000 Ags. Gosp. John xviii. 4 Hwæne sece ᵹe? |
| a 1300 E.E. Psalter xxvi[i]. 1 Wham sal I drede? c 1320 Cast. Love 206 Whom mai he to helpe crauen? 1382 Wyclif Matt. xvi. 15 Whom seien ȝe me to be? Ibid. xxvii. 21 Whom of the two wolen ȝee to be left? c 1450 Holland Howlat 69 Quhom sall I blame? 1513 Douglas æneis i. vi. 38 Bot, O thou virgine, quham sall I call the? 1535 Coverdale Isa. vi. 8 Whom shall I sende, and who wilbe oure messaunger? 1539 Bible (Great) Ps. lxxiii. 25 Whom haue I in heauen but the? 1704 Taverner Faithf. Bride iii. 27 Whom wou'dst thou injure with a Villains Name? 1855 Tennyson Maud i. vi. ii, Whom but Maud should I meet? 1870 Morris Earthly Par. III. 489 Whom think you she has seen? |
2. In a dependent question, or clause of similar meaning. a. as indirect object or as object of a preposition.
The prep. regularly precedes, but often followed in obs. Sc. use (cf. 10); in mod. use it occas. appears at the end of the clause, but in such cases in colloq. speech who is commonly substituted (see who 5).
| α Beowulf 1696 Swa wæs..ᵹemearcod..hwam þæt sweord ᵹeworht..ærest wære. c 825 Vesp. Ps. xxxviii[i]. 7 [6] Thesaurizat et ignorat cui congregat ea, goldhordað & nat hwæm ᵹesomnað ða. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 145 Þe holi gost þe him dide..to understonden þat ure drihten wolde man bicumen and ware and wanne and of wam ben boren. c 1200 Ormin 12612, I sahh cumenn Godess Gast Inn aness cullfress like, & I sahh uppo whamm he comm. c 1205 Lay. 11404 Þe king..bæd heom ræden him ræd whæm [c 1275 wan] he mihte bi-tæche al his kine-riche. 13.. Cursor M. 10718 (Gött) Thoru þis prophete sal ȝe se Til quham þe may sal spousid be. 1338 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 93 Ne he ne wist to wham þat he mot mak his mone. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. i. 43 Tel me to whom þat Tresour appendeþ? Ibid. 47 He asked..whom þe ymage was lyk. 1375 Barbour Bruce iv. 111, I wat nocht for quhat enchesoun, Na quham with he maid the cowyne. 1448 Marg. Paston in P. Lett. I. 69, I fell hym so disposyd that he wold..asett to morgage all that he hath, he had nowth rowth to qhom. c 1470 Gol. & Gaw. 259 Quha is lord of yone land,..Or quham of is he haldand, Fayne wald I wit. 1504 C'tess Richmond tr. De Imitatione iv. v. (1893) 267 Se from whom this mysterye is gyuen vnto the. 1513 Douglas æneis xi. xiii. 133 Thar sall thou knaw onone, Quhamto this wyndy glore, voust, or avantis, The honor, or, with pane, the loving grantis. c 1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) xxiii. 42 Tak heid Quhomefor thow suffer pane. 1600 Fairfax tr. Tasso viii. liii, To spie at whom to aske we gazed round. 1671 Milton Samson 1088, I..am come to see of whom such noise Hath walk'd about. 1748 Richardson Clarissa (1768) VIII. 189 They let me go..They little thought with whom. 1848 Dickens Dombey vi, Not that he cared to whom his daughter turned, or from whom turned away. 1859 Sporting Mag. Feb. 77 When he found Gemmy knocked down to him (he knew not whom for). 1905 E. Glyn Viciss. Evang. 203 Getting a note, she did not tell me whom it was from, or what it was about. |
| β c 897 ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xliv. 331 Ac ðu findst wið hwone ðu meaht flitan. a 1200 Moral Ode 326 in O.E. Hom. I. 179 We scolden..us bi-þenche..hwet we beð, and to wan we sculle and of wan we come. a 1250 Owl & Night. 1509 Ȝef he biþencþ bi hwan [v.r. hwam] he lai, Al mai þe luue gan a-wai. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xiv. 158 Ich hadde wonder at wham [v.r. whan] and wher þat þe pye Lernede legge styckes þat leyen in here neste. |
b. as direct object.
| α c 1205 Lay. 27487 Þeo at þan laste nuste nan kempe Whæm [MS. whǣ] he sculde slæn on [c 1275 wam he solde smite] and wham [MS. whā; c 1275 wan] he sculde sparien. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 6417 Þo bed he þe court..riȝt vnderstonde Wat vorewarde þer were ymad..Bituene him & king edmund..& wan [v.rr. wam, wham] edmond made is eir. a 1352 Minot Poems (ed. Hall) xi. 4 Haue minde of þi man, þou whote wham I mene. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. I. 348 Crist axide his disciplis whom þei seiden him to be. 1526 Tindale Luke xii. 5, I will shewe you whom ye shall feare. ― John xiii. 18, I knowe whom I have chosen. 1535 Coverdale Josh. xxiv. 15 Chose you this daye whom ye wyll serue. 1582 N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. i. ix. 22 b, He..coulde not tell whom he might trust. 1610 Shakes. Temp. i. i. 20 Remember whom thou hast aboord. 1693 Congreve Old Bach. v. xv, I suppose you know whom I have got—now. 1737 Pope Hor., Epist. i. vi. 102 Hire a Slave..To..Tell at your Levee..To whom to nod, whom take into your Coach. Mod. I don't know whom to ask. |
| β c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 127 Þe deofel..geð abutan..sechinde hwen he maȝe fordon. c 1275 [see c 1205 in α]. |
¶ 3. Used ungrammatically for the nominative who, esp. as predicate in a dependent clause (being erroneously taken as object of the verb in the principal clause; sometimes app. from confusion with the Latin acc. and inf.).
| [c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xvi. 13 Hwæne secgeað menn þæt sy mannes sunu?] 1526 Tindale Matt. xvi. 13 Whom do men saye that I the sonne of man am? Ibid. 15 But whom say ye that I am? [So 1611; R.V. 1881 who.] c 1530 Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Brit. x. (1814) 20, I cannot thinke whome it should be. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. i. i. 205 (Qo. 1) Tel me in sadnes whome she is you loue. 1654–66 Earl of Orrery Parthen. (1676) 574 The Horse seem'd to know whom 'twas he carri'd. 1817 W. Beloe Sexagenarian II. 227 Whom is it you mean? 1861 Mrs. H. Wood East Lynne iii. i, Not having the least idea of whom Afy might be. |
II. Indefinite (non-relative) use.
† 4. The indefinite use of OE. hwá (hwǽm, etc.) ‘some one’ did not survive, but, on the analogy of otherwhat, somewhat, ME. has sum oþer wham = some one else. (Cf. somewho.)
| 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 6694 Þan preyde þe ryche man Abraham, Þat he wlde sende Lazare, or sum oþer wham, To hys breþryn. |
III. Relative uses.
Also formerly with that following (see that conj. 6).
5. As compound relative, or with ellipsis of antecedent (= he, him, those, etc. whom), of a person or persons: as direct object, or object of a preposition. arch. (Cf. who 8.) Often approaching the indefinite sense 6.
| [c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Luke x. 22 Filius et cui uoluerit filius reuelare, se sunu & huæm wælle se sunu ædeaua.] c 1200 Ormin 12888 Ne þarrf ȝuw nohht nu follȝhenn me, Her iss whamm ȝuw birrþ follȝhenn. 13.. Eufrosyne 424 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1878) 179/1 Whom he loueþ, he wol chastise. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 70 Wam þat ȝe þus bynd, schal be bound, and wam þat ȝe bring out of synne, þe peyn schal be forȝeuen hem. 1507 Registr. Aberdon. (Maitl. Cl.) I. 352 And shuld present nain therto bot quhom that pleiss the said Mr. Alexander. 1526 Tindale John xvii. 3 That they myght knowe the that only very God; and whom thou hast sent Iesus Christ. 1579 Fulke Heskins' Parl. 347 There were there, to whom Christe sauoured better in their heart, then Manna in their mouth. a 1600 Hooker Eccl. Pol. vi. iii. §1 We are by repentance to appease whom we offend by sinne. 1713 Addison Cato ii. v, I've offer'd to..gain you whom you love at any price. 1810 Crabbe Borough iii, A common bounty may relieve distress, But whom the vulgar succour, they oppress. 1820 Byron Juan iv. xii, ‘Whom the gods love die young’ was said of yore. 1842 Tennyson Sir Galahad ii, How sweet are looks that ladies bend On whom their favours fall! 1876 Swinburne Erechtheus 1315 Shall the sea give death whom the land gave birth? |
b. with correlative in following clause. Cf. who 6 a. arch.
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 1768 Ðat is min red, Wið quam ðu is findes, ðat he be dead. c 1275 Passion our Lord 103 in O.E. Misc. 40 Hwam ich biteche þat bred..He me schal bitraye. 1382 Wyclif Matt. xxi. 44 Vpon whom it shal falle, it shal togidre poune hym. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 770 Whayme that he towchede he was tynt for euer! c 1400 [see 5 above]. 1526 Tindale Luke vii. 47 To whom lesse is forgiuen, the same doeth lesse loue. 1539 Bible (Great) Rom. viii. 30 Whom he appoynted before, them also he called [1611 Whom he did predestinate, them he also called]. 1883 Whitelaw Sophocles, Oed. Col. 1332 Unto whom..Thou shalt be friend, the victory is his. |
6. In general or indefinite sense: Any one whom, whomsoever. Cf. who 6. arch. or literary.
† Also with the indefinite sense indicated by ever following: see also whomever.
| a 1154 O.E. Chron. an. 1123 Þæt hi mosten cesen of clerchades man swa hwam swaswa hi wolden to ercebiscop. c 1275 Lay. 9081 Þe holi gost..hine dealeþ to wam him beoþ lofue. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 4935 He ne sparde old ne ȝonge... Þat he ne slou wanne [v.r. wham] he vond. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xvi. (Magdalena) 601 God mychty is..al temporale thinge to gyf & tak to quham he wil. 1429 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 343/1 No persone..shal conceyve indignation..azeins any other of the seide Counseill, for saiyng his advys..to any request..that shal be spoken..in the seide Counseill, whome that ever it touche. 1449 Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 70/2 Payand thereof yerely..to me or quhom that I assign fourti markis. 1515 in Leadam Sel. Cases Star Chamber (Selden) II. 77 Your most honorable Counsaill or whome it shall please your highnes to..appoynte. 1535 Coverdale Dan. v. 19 Whom he wolde, he set vp: & whom he list, he put downe. 1664 in Extr. St. Papers rel. Friends Ser. iii. (1912) 215 To leaue order with Mr. Williamson, or whom elce you please, to minde my Lord Chansellour tomorrow of this letter. 1744 Berkeley Siris §354 Atheism, be it of Hobbes, Spinosa, Collins, or whom you will. 1865 Ruskin Sesame i. §6 We cannot know whom we would. 1866 Mrs. Whitney Leslie Goldthwaite vii, By-and-by she would be making up her own excursions, and asking whom she would. |
7. As simple relative introducing a defining or restrictive clause, completing the sense: cf. who 9.
† Also formerly as correlative to such: cf. who 9 b.
a. As object of a preposition (usually preceding, occas. following at end of clause). See also 10.
| a 1175 Cott. Hom. 233 Al þat we habbeð of þese feder we habbeð, of wam we alle ur [?] sielþe habbeð. c 1200 Vices & Virtues 49 He ðurh hwam kinges rixit. c 1200 Ormin 6995 Jesu Crist wass..Þatt illke, off whamm profetess Haffdenn forrlannge cwiddedd ær, Þatt [etc.]. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 131 Þe wyȝ, to wham her wylle ho waynez. c 1386 Chaucer Frankl. T. 258, I wol been his to whom þat I am knyt. a 1400 Relig. Pieces fr. Thornton MS. (1914) 27 If þou will be of lange lyfe, it es reson þat þou honoure thaym of whaym þou hase þe lyfe. c 1400 Rule St. Benet (Prose) 17 Yef it fallis yu ani time, On waim þe for-getilnes es on-long [etc.]. 1428 Munim. de Melros (Bann.) 519 Til all & syndry to quham þe knawlage of þir present lettris sall to cum. 1452–3 Paston Lett. Suppl. (1901) 47 The personez quom thei laboryd fore. 1526 Tindale Luke xiii. 4 Those xviij. apon whom the toure in siloe fell. 1539 Bible (Great) 1 Sam. ix. 17 This is the man, whom I spake to the of. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. ii. 8 The roynish Clown, at whom so oft, Your Grace was wont to laugh. c 1730 Ramsay Eagle & Robin 60 By sic with quhome they ar opprest. 1829 [see such B. 12]. 1840 Marryat Poor Jack xix, The boy with whom I had fought. 1882 Besant All Sorts xix, Here was a woman the like of whom he had never imagined. |
b. As direct or indirect object.
| c 1200 Ormin 6521 He maȝȝ wel bitacnenn himm whamm he stod inn to follȝhenn. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 68 Þe disciplis lowsid him liuing, wam dead þe maister had reisid. c 1420 Prose Life Alex. 46 He sall be my helpere, wham in dremez I sawe appere vn-to me. 1507 Reg. Privy Seal Scot. I. 227/2 Ȝe and ilk ane of ȝow quham it efferis. 1582 N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. i. ix. 22 b, Those whom he gaue license to enter aboorde his ship. a 1600 Montgomerie Sonn. lvii. 2 Vha wald behold him vhom a god so grievis? 1632 Milton L'Allegro 124 To win her Grace, whom all commend. 1680 in Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot. (1911) XLV. 233 These men quhom blesed King Jesus delighteth to honour. 1751 Johnson Rambler No. 178 ¶9 Knowledge is praised and desired by multitudes whom her charms could never rouse from the couch of sloth. 1850 Gladstone Glean. (1879) II. 65 He was one of the most extraordinary men whom this century has produced. 1871 ‘Mark Twain’ Lett. (1920) 112, I think I shall call it ‘Reminiscences of Some Pleasant Characters Whom I Have Met,’ (or should the ‘whom’ be left out?). |
8. Introducing an additional statement; thus sometimes = ‘and him (her, them)’: cf. who 10. † Formerly occas. preceded by the (cf. the which, which B. 13). a. As direct or indirect object.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 10 Kyng arthour..Quam non in hys tim was like. 1382 Wyclif Gen. xxii. 2 Tak thin oonli gotun sone, whom thow louest. c 1386 Chaucer Friar's T. 103 Witnesse on Iob whom that we diden wo. c 1420 ? Lydg. Assembly of Gods 854 Grace was the guyde of all thys gret meyny. Whom folowyd Konnyng with hys genalogy. ? 1472 Stonor Papers (Camden) I. 125, I trust to alle myty Jhesu to know more to my hertes ese than I do now, hom I beseche to preserve [you]. 1526 Tindale 1 John iv. 20 Howe can he that loveth nott his brother whom he hath sene, love god whom he hath not sene? 1556 Lauder Tractate of Kyngis 95 The kyng had..The rewle of hunders and thousandis, Quhome that he sufferit..To tyne and perysche. 1566 W. P. tr. Curio's Pasquine in Traunce 108 Peter Luis..whom all men say to be a moste filthy Sodomite. 1645 Row Hist. Kirk (1842) p. xxx, Otheris had gon out befor, quhom we thocht now to be slain. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 438 Astoreth, whom the Phœnicians call'd Astarte. 1681 Dryden Abs. & Achit. 580 The Rascal Rabble..Whom Kings no Titles gave, and God no Grace. 1781 Cowper Retirement 742 Grant me still a friend in my retreat, Whom I may whisper—solitude is sweet. 1793 Burns Scots! wha hae 2 Scots! wham Bruce has aften led. a 1849 H. Coleridge Ess. (1851) II. 84 Warburton (whom I presume to have been the annotator). |
b. As object of a preposition (usually preceding, occas. following after the verb); also after than (see than 2 b). See also 10.
As to details of construction see note s.v. which B. 7 a.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 179 For eues gulte to wan ure drihten sede. In dolore paries filios. Ibid. 181 For adames gulte, to hwam ure drihten seide:..On þine nebbes swote þu shalt þin bred noten. c 1200 Ormin 1976 Allmahhtiȝ Godd, þurrh whamm ȝho wass wiþþ childe. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 220 Ascayn biȝet silvi, of ȝwan þe brut com. a 1300 Cursor M. 736 A messager he send, Wit quam best to spede he wend. Ibid. 5342 Eue, o quam we al began. Ibid. 9530 Doghtres four..To quam ilkan he gaf sum-thing. c 1325 Metr. Hom. 17 This Symond, of quaym I spak are. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 99 Þe Holy Gost, to wham is apropryed love. c 1400 Rule St. Benet (Prose) 19 To god, of whaim þat al þe gude cumis. c 1400 tr. Secr. Secr., Gov. Lordsh. 88 Oon god, ffro whem ilke merueylouse werk descendys. c 1460 J. Metham Wks. (1916) 96 Yt sygnyfyith that..that persone schuld haue a frend vpon home he schuld trost, the qwyche schuld dysseyve hym qwan he hath most nede. 1537 Latimer Let. to Cromwell in Facs. Nat. MSS. (1866) ii. xxxi, The byrth of our prynce, hoom we hungurde for so longe. 1548–1876 [see than 2 b]. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. iv. iv. 539 Your Mistris; from the whom, I see There's no disiunction to be made. 1667 Milton P.L. v. 468 His wary speech Thus to th' Empyreal Minister he [sc. Adam] fram'd. Inhabitant with God [etc.]..To whom the winged Hierarch repli'd. 1796 H. Hunter tr. St. Pierre's Study Nat. (1799) I. 433 His neighbours, the number of whom is restricted to four or five, according to the extent and form of his domain. 1872 Tennyson Gareth & Lynette 878 Haughtily she replied. ‘I fly no more...’ To whom Sir Gareth answer'd courteously, ‘Say thou thy say, and I will do my deed.’ |
9. a. Used in reference to a thing or things: orig. dative of what (sense C. 7), later as a general objective case of which (sense B. 7 or 8). Obs. exc. with personification: cf. who 11 c.
With the examples in β cf. whon1.
| α c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 129 Ðis is sunfulla monna leddre þurh hwam ure drihtan teh to him al moncun. Ibid. 153 Þis beoð þe fif ȝeten þurh hwam kimð in deðes wurhte. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 696 Ydolatrie ðus was boren, For quuam mani man is for-loren. c 1320 Cast. Love 1086 Algate he haþ mis-don, Þorw whom he is in my prison. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 3 It is the cuppe whom he serueth, Which alle cares from him kerveth. c 1400 tr. Secr. Secr., Gov. Lordsh. 106 My lawe & my fayth, yn whom y am norshyd. 1432–50 tr. Higden (Rolls) I. 27, I haue studiede that hit schal be called Policronicon of the pluralite of tymes whom it dothe conteyne. 1448–9 J. Metham Amoryus & Cleopes 1263 A ston..The name off home serpentyne ys. 1513 Douglas æneis vii. vii. 89 The round top of tre,..Quham childer drivis byssy at thair play. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. (Rolls) II. 334 He..left the way in quhome he first began. 1551 Turner Herbal i. K v, We haue no herbe in Englande that I knowe to whome all thes hole descriptions do agre. 1562 Ibid. ii. 81 Peplis whome som call wild porcellayn. 1608 Dekker Dead Tearme C 3, What a rare inuention..was pen and Incke, out of whom (as streames from a Fountaine) flow all these wonders. 1611 Speed Theat. Gt. Brit. 11/1 Redrith and Frensham..betwixt whom are extended thirty foure miles. 1648 tr. Senault's Paraphr. Job 163 Those trees, whom the thunder hath beaten down. 1770 Luckombe Hist. Printing 466 The vowels..are seventeen in number; five of whom are pronounced long. |
| β c 1200 Vices & Virtues 127 Tach me godnesse ðurh wan ich god muȝe bien. c 1275 Lay. 7220 He makede þane kalender bi wan geoþ al þe ȝer. Ibid. 7633 Þat ilke swerd..þorh wan his bane he hadde. c 1290 St. Brandan 580 in S. Eng. Leg. 235 Fewe goddedes ich haue i-don of ȝwan ich nouþe may telle. a 1300 Leg. Rood (1871) 24/72 An vaire welle Of wan alle þe wateres þat beþ anerþe comeþ. |
b. Used in reference to a number of persons collectively: cf. who 11 a.
| c 1230 Hali Meid. 10 Al is nawt þet ti folc—of hwam i spec þruppe—biheten þe to ifinden. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1315 Þe kunde blod of þis lond of wam we boþe come. 1592 Kyd Sp. Trag. iii. i, The world, With whome there nothing can prenaile but wrong. 1606 G. W[oodcocke] Hist. Ivstine xxx. 102 The very same Army whom he had there standing in battell arraye. 1608 Shakes. Per. i. iv. 22 A Cittie on whom plentie held full hand. 1671 Milton Samson 1100 The unforeskinn'd race, of whom thou bear'st The highest name for valiant Acts. |
c. Used in reference to animals: cf. who 11 b.
| 1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 793 Tri-cerberus þe tenful of wham i tolde haue. 1456 Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 85 His gude hors, in quham he traistis sa mekle. 1667 Milton P.L. iv. 184 A prowling Wolfe, Whom hunger drives to seek new haunt for prey. 1770 Goldsm. Des. Vill. 93 A hare whom hounds and horns pursue. 1783 Johnson in Boswell (1904) II. 478, I have had cats whom I liked better than this. 1849–52 Todd's Cycl. Anat. IV. ii. 833/2 In the Horse, in whom the supra-renal corpuscles are yet richer in nerves. |
† 10. With a preposition immediately following, the two being often written as one word, forming compounds like those with where- (where 15 b), but used in reference to persons (occas. to things). Obs. (chiefly Sc.).
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxxi. (Eugenia) 300 Þe abbot of þat abbay, Quham-of before ȝe herd me say. 1461 Rolls of Parlt. V. 477/1 William Lord Bonvile, and Sir Thomas Kiryell,..whom to he made feith and assurans..to kepe and defend theym. 1508 Dunbar Gold. Targe 85 May, of myrthfull monethis quene,..Quham of the foulis gladdith al bedene. 1526 in M. A. E. Green Lett. Royal Ladies (1846) II. 7 His grace's lieges..whom at the said earl..has displeasure. 1551 Robinson tr. More's Utopia ii. (1895) 253 For them, whomewyth they be in wayges, they fyghte hardelye. 1583 Rot. Scacc. Reg. Scot. XXI. 560 Samekle thairof to ather of thame quhomunto it appertenis. 1660 Nicholas Papers (Camden) IV. 252 The saide Sir Rob. Walsh, whome concerning I haue giuen sufficient precautions. |
¶ 11. Used ungrammatically for the nominative who, as subj. or pred. in the relative clause, esp. (in later use only) when erron. taken as obj. of a verb of which the whole clause is really the obj.: cf. 3.
| 1467 Stonor Papers (Camden) I. 96, I schall se..yow..with Godes Grase, whome evyr preserve yow and yowrs for his mersy. c 1540 tr. Pol. Verg. Engl. Hist. (Camden 1846) 271 Certayne of them..(whome mie minde geeveth mee are to bee folowed). 1557 North Gueuara's Diall Pr. iv. xix. (1568) 169 b, I counsel..all wise..men, that they doo not accompany wyth those whom they know are not secret. 1603 Dekker & Chettle Grissil iv. ii. (Shaks. Soc.) 65 Let him be whom he will. 1653 Walton Angler 30 Comparing the..humble epistles of S. Peter, S. James and S. John, whom we know were Fishers, with the glorious language..of S. Paul, who we know was not. 1752 C. Lennox Female Quix. vii. ii, Are they yonder Knights whom you suppose will attack us? 1837 Dickens Pickw. xxix, A strange unearthly figure, whom Gabriel felt at once, was no being of this world. 1906 R. H. Benson Richard Raynal 81 He saw the man whom he knew must be the King. |
¶ 12. In irregular constructions. a. With pleonastic personal pronoun in the latter part of the relative clause; often also with anacoluthon, whom serving as apparent obj. to a verb whose real obj. is a dependent clause of which the pron. is subj. (cf. 11). b. Preceded by redundant and: cf. who 12 b.
| 1556 Chron. Grey Friars (Camden) 46 The erle of Angwyche..whome the kynge had kepte hym with his brother and dyvers other here in Ynglond. 1567 Painter Pal. Pleas. II. 92, [He] asked..what hee shoulde doe to a woman, whome hee suspected that she hadde falsified hir fayth. 1606 G. W[oodcocke] Lives Emp. in Hist. Ivstine K k 2, Otho the third..was crowned Emperour by Gregory the fifth, his kinsman,..and whom he had preferred to the papacy. 1608 Topsell Serpents 23 Cælius Rhod..termeth the great deuill Ophioneus, whom both holy Scripture, and auncient Heathen say, that hee fell out of Heauen. |
¶ 13. with genitive inflexion: whomes = whose. [Cf. (M)Du. wiens, WFris. hwiens.] Obs. rare.
| c 1489 Plumpton Corr. (Camden) 83, I purpasse to persew the law against him in their names, whomes cattell he heretofore helped to stele. |
▪ II. whom
obs. form of hum n.1
| a 1529 Skelton Bouge of Court 191 Wyth whom and ha, and with a croked loke. |
▪ III. whom, whome
obs. forms of home n.1