Etimology
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 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”).
determiner
what
(interrogative) Which, especially which of an open-ended set of possibilities.
(relative) Which; the ... that.
(relative) Any ... that; all ... that; whatever.
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'.
Examples
What colour are you going to use?
What time is it?
What kind of car is that?
I know what colour I am going to use.
That depends on what answer is received.
He seems to have lost what sense he had.
What money I earn is soon spent.
This shows what beauty there is in nature.
You know what nonsense she talks.
I found out what a liar he is.
Synonym: such
What nonsense!
Wow! What a speech.
What beautiful children you have.
With what passion she sings!
“Oh Granny, what big eyes you have,” said Little Red Riding Hood.
pronoun
what
(interrogative) Which thing, event, circumstance, etc.: used in asking for the specification of an identity, quantity, quality, etc.
(fused relative) That which; those that; the thing(s) that.
(fused relative) Anything that; all that; whatever.
(relative, nonstandard) That; which; who.
Examples
What is your name?
Ask them what they want.
The gym is across from … what? — The gym is across from the lounge. — Across from the lounge. Right. Thanks! Audio
Audio
He knows what he wants.
What is amazing is his boundless energy.
And, what's even worse, I have to work on Sunday too.
I will do what I can to help you.
What is mine is yours.
'Ere! There's that bloke what I saw earlier!
That’s her; that’s the thing what has stole his heart from me.
For, it is a name what strikes fear in the heart of anyone what hears it.
adverb
what (not comparable)
(interrogative) In what way; to what extent.
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.
Examples
What does it matter?
What do you care?
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 [...]
interjection
what
An expression of surprise or disbelief.
What do you want? An abrupt, usually unfriendly enquiry as to what a person desires.
(British, colloquial, dated) Clipping of what do you say? Used as a type of tag question to emphasise a statement and invite agreement, often rhetorically.
What did you say? I beg your pardon? This usage is often considered impolite, with the more polite "Pardon?" or "Excuse me?" preferred.
Indicating a guess or approximation, or a pause to try to recall information.
Examples
What, have his daughters brought him to this pass?
What! That’s amazing!
What? I'm busy.
“That’s riled them,” said my compaion. “Good work, what?”
Chuffy: WHAT? No, no, no, no, no. My casa is your casa, what?
It’s a nice day, what?
— Could I have some of those aarrrrrr mmmm ...— What?
I must have been, what, about five years old.
Related words
synonyms
(colloquial British interjection): what-what, wot
(what did you say?): come again, pardon; see also Thesaurus:say again
noun
what (countable and uncountable, plural whats)
(obsolete, uncountable) Something; thing; stuff.
(countable) The identity of a thing, as an answer to a question of what.
(countable) Something that is addressed by what, as opposed to a person, addressed by who.
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 […]
The emphasis on the interplay between the hows and whats of interpretive practice is paramount.
Regina: What are you?
Rumplestiltskin: What? What? What? My, my, what a rude question! I am not a what.