whom

Meanings

1. 1
   pron

   What person or people; which person or people.

   Whom did you ask?

2. 2
   pron

   Used to refer to a previously mentioned person or people.

   That is the woman whom I spoke to earlier. (defining)

3. 3
   pron

   The person(s) whom; whomever.

   To whom it may concern, all business of John Smith Ltd. has now been transferred to Floggitt & Runne.

4. 4
   pron

   Also used with names of collective nouns that are groups of people, especially singularly-named musical groups or sports teams.

   Whom was Lemmy bassist for? Motörhead!

5. 5
   pron

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

Etymology

From Middle English whom, wham, from Old English hwām, hwǣm, from Proto-Germanic *hwammai, dative case of *hwaz (“who, what”). Cognate with Scots wham (“whom”), German wem (“whom, to whom”), Danish hvem (“who, whom”), Swedish vem (“who, whom”).