whose meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

whose

detalso spelled Whose

UK, US /huːz/

Etymology From Middle English whos, from Old English hwæs, from Proto-Germanic *hwes, genitive case of *hwaz (“who”) *hwat (“what”).

Interrogative Of whom, belonging to whom; which person's or people's.

Whose (wallet) is this?
We should buy a house. ~ With whose money?

1 more example

For whose benefit are you acting.?

Relative Of whom, belonging to whom.

This is the man whose dog caused the accident.
Venus, whose sister is Serena, won the latest championship.

4 more examples

I dedicate this award to my parents, without whose help I wouldn't have made it this far.
The victim was a youngster, both of whose eyes were missing.
It is Marconi whose name is associated with the development of radio.
Ammon is an Egyptian god near whose temple ammonia and ammoniac were said to come.

Relative Of which, belonging to which.

We saw several houses whose roofs were falling off.

Derived terms: whose foot the shoe is on, whose ox is gored, you and whose army

whose

pron

Etymology From Middle English whos, from Old English hwæs, from Proto-Germanic *hwes, genitive case of *hwaz (“who”) *hwat (“what”).

Interrogative That or those of whom or belonging to whom.

Several people have lost their suitcases. Whose have you found?
He asked whose the umbrella was.

Relative That or those of whom or belonging to whom.

This car is blocking the way, but Mr Smith, whose it is, will be here shortly.
For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 27:23:

2 more examples

If he starts it on another man's lands, and kills it there, it belongs to the owner of the land; but if he start game on one man's lands, and pursue it to those of another, and kill it there, it is neither the property of the man on whose lands it is started, nor of him on whose it is killed, but belongs to the killer.1833, Tait's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 3, page 637 (Google Books view)
The notes on authors are extremely brilliant and incisive, not always in good perspective and sometimes freaky in their wit, as, for instance, the reference to Mrs. Holmes, of whose books it is said, "The secret of their long popularity has never been divulged by their readers," and Mrs. Harris, of whose it is said, "To a lively mind they should be conducive of profound sleep," which, whatever its faults, is by no means true of "Rutledge."1895, Library Journal, Volume 20, page 397 (Google Books view)

Whose

det

Honorific Honorific alternative letter-case form of whose, sometimes used when referring to God or another important figure who is understood from context.

Saviour, Whose love constrained them / To toil with zeal untired,1931 January, Frank Houghton, “The Unfinished Task”, in China’s Millions, volume LVII, number 1, page 6:

Related terms: Who, Whom

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — authors: page histories for whose and Whose.