how

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English hou, also hu and how,^[2][3][4] inherited from Old English hū (“how”),^{[5][6][7][8][9]} from Proto-Germanic *hwō,^[5][9][10] which Hoad and Ayto describe as a West Germanic adverb formed on the base of who and what.^[8][11][12] It is cognate with Old Frisian hū and hō, Old Dutch huo, Dutch hoe, Old Saxon hwō and Old High German wuo.^[6][9][12] A parallel formation from the same stem gave Old High German hwio, German wie and Gothic 𐍈𐌰𐌹𐍅𐌰 (hwaiwa), although the OED notes that many details of these formations are uncertain.^[6][9][3] The word goes back ultimately to the Indo-European interrogative stem Proto-Indo-European *kʷo-,^[5][6][7][3] and Barnhart compares Latin quō (“whither”).^[9] Etymonline calls it practically a doublet of why, differentiated in form and use.^[5] Like the pronoun, it lost the /w/ sound of the Germanic cluster, but the pronoun lost it considerably later, so its spelling still shows wh.^[11][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

In what way, by what means, in direct questions: Barnhart dates Old English hū to about 725, in a version of Exodus.^[9] The OED's first quotation is from the Old English Genesis B,^[6] where Bosworth–Toller cites the question Hú sculon wit nú libban, "how are we to live?".^[13] The Middle English form hou appears probably before 1200, in Layamon's Brut.^[9]

Semantic evolution

Most of the main uses were already in place in Old English: in direct and indirect questions, "to what degree" before an adjective or adverb, "with what meaning", and "by what name" with verbs of naming.^[6][13] The construction with an infinitive, as in learn how to swim, is recorded from before 1375, in William of Palerne, and its use after nouns such as heed from 1387, in Trevisa.^[6] The Middle English spellings ranged from hu, hwu and heu to late howe, and a few late Middle English rhymes show the modern diphthong.^[2][14] Compounds followed: however is recorded from 1392 and howsoever from the 15th century.^[9][8] The noun, the way or manner in which something is done, dates from 1533.^[4][12] Johnson (1755) gave its senses as "in what manner" and "to what degree".^[15] How come?, for "why?", is recorded by 1848, in Bartlett, probably from fuller questions such as how come we to think... (1829).^[5] The emphatic and how! is recorded from 1865, in Bayard Taylor, who seems to have taken it for a German or German-American expression.^[5] In Scotland and Ireland the dialect form hoo was common, and phrases such as how are you coming on? were used for "how are you?".^[16]

Timeline

• c. 725 – Old English hū, in what way, in a version of Exodus.^[9]
• before 1200 – Middle English hou, in Layamon's Brut.^[9]
• before 1375 – with an infinitive, as in how to do it.^[6]
• 1392 – however, no matter how.^[9]
• 1533 – noun, the manner or method of doing something.^[4]
• 1848 – how come?, why?^[5]
• 1865 – and how!, an emphatic answer.^[5]

Meanings

Adverb

1. In what way or manner; by what means: How did they fix the roof?^[17][4][6]
2. To what degree or extent: How far is the station?^[17][4][6]
3. In what state or condition: How is your grandmother?^[17][4]
4. Used to stress the degree of something in an exclamation: How the children laughed!^[4][12]
5. how about...?: used to make a suggestion.^[17]
6. how come? (informal): for what reason; why?^[17][5]

Conjunction

1. The way or manner in which: She showed me how she plants tomatoes.^[4][6]
2. That, the fact that: He told us how he had lost his wallet.^[4]
3. In whatever way: Arrange the chairs how you like.^[4]

Noun

1. The manner or method in which something is done; a question about method: the hows and whys of the experiment.^[4][12]

Word family

• however
• howsoever
• howbeit

Related words

• who
• what
• why
• which
• where
• when

Usage notes

Several unrelated words are spelled how.^[4][6] The greeting how!, attributed since 1817 to Indigenous peoples of North America, was borrowed from a language of North America (compare Lakota háo); Ayto stresses that it is not the adverb.^{[6][5][11][4]} An exclamation how, to attract attention or as a sailors' cry in hauling, is recorded from 1377 and is a natural utterance.^[6][12] In northern English place names and dialect, how is a low hill or mound, from Old Norse haugr.^[4][3][18] Since 1915 how has also been a shortening of howitzer.^[6]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
8. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
10. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
11. ^ a b c Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
12. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
13. ^ a b Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement
14. ^ Mayhew, A. L.; Skeat, Walter W. (1888), A Concise Dictionary of Middle English from A.D. 1150 to 1580, Oxford: Clarendon Press
15. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
16. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
17. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
18. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray