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(), pron., a., & adv.[AS. hwt, neuter of hw who; akin to OS. hwat what, OFries. hwet, D. & LG. wat, G. was, OHG. waz, hwaz, Icel. hvat, Sw. & Dan. hvad, Goth. hwa. 182. See Who.] 1. As an interrogative pronoun, used in asking questions regarding either persons or things; as, what is this? what did you say? what poem is this? what child is lost? What see'st thou in the ground? Shak. What is man, that thou art mindful of him? Ps. viii. 4. What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him! Matt. viii. 27. Originally, what, when, where, which, who, why, etc., were interrogatives only, and it is often difficult to determine whether they are used as interrogatives or relatives. What in this sense, when it refers to things, may be used either substantively or adjectively; when it refers to persons, it is used only adjectively with a noun expressed, who being the pronoun used substantively. 2. As an exclamatory word: -- (a) Used absolutely or independently; -- ofte What (), n.Something; thing; stuff. [Obs.] And gave him for to feed, Such homely what as serves the simple lown. Spenser. What interrog. adv.Why? For what purpose? On what account? [Obs.] What should I tell the answer of the knight. Chaucer. But what do I stand reckoning upon advantages and gains lost by the misrule and turbulency of the prelates? What do I pick up so thriftily their scatterings and diminishings of the meaner subject? Milton. スポンサード リンク
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