Webster's English Dictionary

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which

1. which \(')hwich, (')wich\ aj [ME, of what kind, which, fr. OE hwilc; 
   akin to OHG wili-h of wh]at kind, which; both fr. a prehistoric Gmc 
   compound whose first constituent is akin to OE hwa- who & whose second 
   constituent is represented by OE -li-c -ly - more at WHO, -LY 1: being what 
   one or ones out of a group - used as an interrogative {(R@ tie should I 
   wear} {kept a record of ~ employees took their vacations in July} 2: 
   WHICHEVER {it will not fit, turn it ~ way you like}  3: - used as a 
   function word to introduce a nonrestrictive relative clau se and to modify 
   a noun in that clause and to refer together with that noun to a word or 
   word group in a preceding clause or to an entire preceding clause or 
   sentence or longer unit of discourse {in German, ~ language might ... have 
   been the medium of transmission -Thomas Pyles} {that this city is  a 
   rebellious city ... for ~ cause was this city destroyed -Ezra 4:15 (AV)}
2. which pn 1: what one or ones out of a group - used as an interrogative 
   {~  of those houses do you live in} {~ of you want tea and ~ want lemonade} 
   {he is swimming or canoeing, I don't know ~} 2: WHICHEVER {take ~ you like} 
    3: - used as a function word to introduce a relative clause; used in any  
   grammatical relation except that of a possessive; used esp. in reference to 
   animals, inanimate objects, groups, or ideas {the bonds ~ represent the 
   debt -G.B. Robinson} {the Samnite tribes, ~ settled south and southeast of 
   Rome -Ernst Pulgram}; used freely in reference to persons as recently as 
   the 17th century {our Father ~ art in heaven -Mt 6:9 (AV)}, and still 
   occas. so used but usu. with some implication of emphasis on the function 
   or role of the person rather than on the person himself {chiefly they 
   wanted husbands, ~ they got easily -Lynn White}; used by speakers on all 
   educational levels and by many reputable writers, though disapproved by 
   some grammarians, in reference to an idea expressed by a word or group of 
   words that is not necessarily a noun or noun phrase {in August of that year 
   he resigned that post, after ~ he engaged in ranching -Current Biog.}