pron. Forms: α. 1 hwæm, 13 hwam, 35 wam, 35, 89 Sc. wham, 45 whame, whaym(e, wom, 47 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. 34 quam, 46 quham, 46, 8 quhome, 47 quhom, (3 quuam, 4 quaym, quem, quhowm, 5 qwhom(e, qwom(e, qhom). β. 1 hwone, hwane, hwæne, 2 hwen, 23 hwan, 3 whæn, wan, ȝwan, wanne, 34 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 hwan 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examples of the independent interrogative use are hardly earlier than 1300: see sense 1 b.] The objective case of WHO: no longer current in natural colloquial speech.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. 140050. 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? Ibid., Isa. xl. 18. To whom then will ye licken God?
1539. Bible (Great), Isa. xxviii. 9. Whom then shal such one teach knowlege?
1591. Shaks., 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. Seekst 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 ʓe?
a. 1300. E. E. Psalter xxvi[i]. 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 woudst 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 ʓemearcod hwam þæt sweord ʓeworht ærest wære.
c. 825. Vesp. Psalter, xxxviii[i]. 7 [6]. Thesaurizat et ignorat cui congregat ea, goldhordað & nat hwæm ʓesomnað 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. Golagros & Gaw., 259. Quha is lord of yone land, Or quham of is he haldand, Fayne wald I wit.
1504. Ctess Richmond, trans. 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, trans. 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 walkd 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. Elin. Glyn, Viciss. Evangeline, 203. Getting a note, she did not tell me whom it was from, or what it was about.
β. c. 897. K. Ælfred, Gregorys 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. Ibid., 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, trans. Castanhedas Conq. E. Ind., I. ix. 22 b. He coulde not tell whom he might trust.
1610. Shaks., Temp., I. i. 20. Remember whom thou hast aboord.
1693. Congreve, Old Bach., V. xv. I suppose you know whom I have gotnow.
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 dont 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 saye ye that I am? [So 1611; R. V. 1881 who.]
c. 1530. Ld. Berners, Arth. Lyt. Bryt., x. (1814), 20. I cannot thinke whome it should be.
1592. Shaks., Rom. & Jul., I. i. 205 (Qo. 1). Tel me in sadnes whome she is you loue.
165466. Earl Orrery, Parthen. (1676), 574. The Horse seemd to know whom t was he carrid.
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), 170/1. 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. Ive offerd 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, be 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. Till all & syndry to quham þe knawlage of þir present lettris sall to cum.
14523. 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. Shaks., 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, trans. Castanhedas 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, LAllegro, 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, Friars T., 193. 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., trans. Curios 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 calld 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 whispersolitude 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. trans. Secr. Secr., Gov. Lordsh., 88. Oon god, ffro whem ilke merueylouse werk descendys.
c. 1460. 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, Lett. to Cromwell, in Facs. Nat. MSS. (1866), II. xxxi. The byrth of our prynce, hoom we hungurde for so longe.
15481876. [see THAN 2 b].
1611. Shaks., Wint. T., IV. iv. 539. Your Mistris; from the whom, I see Theres no disiunction to be made.
1667. Milton, P. L., V. 468. His wary speech Thus to th Empyreal Minister he [sc. Adam] framd. Inhabitant with God [etc.] To whom the winged Hierarch replid.
1796. H. Hunter, trans. St.-Pierres 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 answerd 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 personifcation: 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 ten to him al moncun. Ibid., 153. Þis beoð þe fif ȝeten þurh hwam kinið 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. trans. Secr. Secr., Gov. Lordsh., 106. My lawe & my fayth, yn whom y am norshyd.
143250. trans. Higden (Rolls), I. 27. I haue studiede that hit schal be called Policronicon of the pluralite of tymes whom it dothe conteyne.
14489. 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. Ibid. (1562), II. 8. 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. trans. Senaults 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. 1330. Hali Meid., 10. Al is nawt þet ti folcof hwan i spec þruppebiheten 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 preuaile but wrong.
1606. G. W[oodcocke], Hist. Ivstine, xxx. 102. The very same Army whom he had there standing in battell arraye.
1608. Shaks., Per., I. iv. 22. A Cittie on whom plentie held full hand.
1671. Milton, Samson, 1100. The unforeskinnd race, of whom thou bearst The highest name for valiant Acts.
c. Used in reference to animals: cf. WHO 11 b.
134070. 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.
184952. Todds 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 graces lieges whom at the said earl has displeasure.
1551. Robinson, trans. Mores Utopia, II. (1895), 253. For them, whomewyth they be in wayges, they fyghte hardelye.
1583. Rot. Scacc. Reg. Scot., XXI. 569. 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. trans. Pol. Virg. Engl. Hist. (Camden, 1846), 271. Certayne of them (whome mie minde geeveth mee are to bee folowed).
1557. North, trans. Gueuaras 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. Mrs. 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 feil 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 ther names, whomes cartell he heretofore helped to stele.