what 
(6) What sort of ; such ... as. 
Thorow his prayer they may be clensed of synne 
What tyme they entre the chapelle with-In. 
Political P(*eim, etc. (ed. Funiivall), p. 126. 
Anno 1^76, at what time the Switzers took their revenge 
upon Charles Duke of Burgundie. Coryat, Crudities, 1. 4*2. 
And heavenly quires the hymensean sung, 
What day the genial angel to our sire 
Brought her, in naked beauty. 
Milton, l\ L., iv. 712. 
Now a mercliant may wear trhat boots he pleases. 
Thackeray, Book of Snobs, xiii. 
(c) Any who or which; whatever; whoever. 
Also qwat brother or sustre die, and he may noughte be 
broughte . . . wyt his owne catelle, he sal be brouglite wyt 
the broderhedes. Etujlish Gilds (E. E. T. S.), p. no. 
I love thee not a jar o' the clock behind 
What lady-she her lord. Shak., W. T., i. 2. 44. 
I never said aught but this. That what rule, or laws, or 
custom, or people were flat against the word of God are 
diametrically opposite to Christianity. 
Hunyan, Pilgrim's I'rogress, i. 
id) How much. fC^Iloq.] 
When a man bets he doesn't well know what money he 
uses, Trollope, Last Chronicle of Barset, xxxvii. 
But What, but that; but who ; who or that . . . not. 
There was scarce a farmer's daugliter within ten miles 
round but what had found him successful. 
Goldgmith, Vicar, iii. 
Not a writer . . . that mentions his name but wfiat 
tells the story of him. Bentley, Diss, on Euripides, § 4. 
There are few madmen but what are observed to be 
ftfraid of the strait waistcoat. 
Bentham, Introd. to Morals and Legislation, xiv. 28, note. 
What ast, that which. 
Here I do bequeathe to thee, 
In full possession, half that Kendal hath 
And what an Bradford holds of me in chief. 
Old Plays, 11. 47. 
Whatdonest [what dones is literally 'what made,' duties 
being the genitive of don, E. d<nie, pp. of do, make, used 
in the genitive in imitation of kiniien in what kinnes, of 
what kind j, uf what sort; what kind. 
And whan I seighe it was so slepyng, I went 
To warne HIates wyf what doiies man was lesus; 
For luwes hateden hym and ban done hym to deth. 
IHers Ploinnan(b), xviii. 298. 
What thatt^ whatsoever; whatever; what. Also t/tat 
tpkat. 
Hini ne dret (dreadeth) naat to do zenne, huet thet hit 
by l»>e]. AyenbUe of Inwyt (E. E. T. S.), p. a4. 
What lutles (little] that he et. 
Poems and Lives of Saints (ed, FumivallX p. 300. 
What schulde I telle . . . 
And of moche other thing what that then was? 
Jtob. of Srunne, Prol. 
What that a king himselfe bit [bids]. 
Goicer, Conf. Araant, I. 4. 
That what ia extremely proper in one company may be 
highly improper in another. Chesterjield. 
0. indef. (a) Something; anj-tbing: obsolete 
except in such colloquial phrases as /'// tell 
you tchat (by abbreviation for uhat it iti, wfutt 
I thittkj or the like). 
Al was us never broche ne rynge, 
Ne ellia what (var. nouyht and ought] fro women sent. 
Chaucer, House of Fame, 1. 1741. 
Wot you what, my lord ? 
To-day the lords you talk of are beheaded. 
.S'Afl*., Rich. III., iii. 2.92. 
11! tell you what now of the devil. 
Massinger and iJeiktr, Virgin-Martyr, iii. 3. 
I tell you what— Eller>' Daveni)ort lays out to many a 
real angeL He s to swear and she 's to pray ! 
//. B. Stowe, Oldtown, p. filS. 
(frt) Athing; a portion ; an amount; a bit: as, 
a little what. 
Thanne she a lytel what smylynge seyde. 
Chaucer, Boethiup, iv. prose 0. 
Then the kynge anone called his seruaunt, that hadde 
but one lofe and a lytell whatte of wyne. 
Fabyan, Chron., clxxii. 
They prayd hini sit, and gave him for to feed 
Such homely what as serves the simple clowne. 
Spenser, F. y., VI. ix. 7. 
To know what 's what. See knme^. 
What^ (hwot), adr. and conj. [< ME. irhdt ; < 
u-ftat, proit.] I. adv. 1. Why? 
What sholde he studie, and make himselven wood. 
Upon a book in cloistre alwey topoureV 
Chaucer, Oen. l*iol. to C. T., 1. 1S4. 
What is the shepe to tdame iti youre syght 
Whane he is shorne of liis tlees it niaade alle bare, 
Thoughe folke of nialyce for her wollis fyght? 
Political Poem*, etc. (eii. Farnivall), p. 20. 
Ahlas what should she fight? 
Fewe women win by Ilglit. 
OaJteoigne, Fhlloniene (Steele (ilas, etc., ed. ArberX p. !f7. 
What should I don tliis (imperial) robe, and trouble you ? 
Shak., Tit. And., i. 1. \H'.K 
6887 
For wnat is a man advantaged if he gain the whole 
world and lose himself? Luke ix. 25. 
For what are men better than sheep or goats . . . 
If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer? 
Tennyson, Passing of Arthur. 
3t. How; how greatly; to what an extent or 
degree; how remarkably : exclamatory and in- 
tensive. 
O ! u'hat I am fetys and fayre and fygured full fytt ! 
York Plays, p. 3. 
What . . . what, in some measure ; in part; partly by; 
in consequence of ; partly: now followed by wi(A; indefi- 
nite and distributive in value. 
Lordinges, the tyme wasteth nyght and day, 
And steleth from us, u'hat prively slepinge, 
And what thurgh necligence in our wakinge, 
As dooth the streeni, that turneth never agayn, 
Descending fro the montaigne into playn. 
Chaucer, ITol. to Man of Law's Tale, I. 21. 
Than woot I wele she myghte nevere fayle 
For to ben holpen, what at youre instaunce. 
What with hh'e other frendes generaunce. 
Chaucer, Troilus, ii. 1441. 
Than sente Gawein abouto to euei-y garnyson thourgh 
the reame of Logres, and assembled xxx'"' what oon what 
other. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), ii. 277. 
Most men, as it happens in this world, either weakly, 
or falsly principl'd, what through ignorance, and ichat 
whatsom 
II. a. rel. Of what kind or sort it may be ; 
no matter what; any or all that: applied to 
persons and things: as, whatever person is ap- 
pointed must be satisfactory to the court. 
I'll forgive you. 
Whatever torment you do put me to. 
Shak., K. John, iv. 1. 84. 
The knowledge of the theory of logic has no tendency 
whatever to make men good reusoncrs. 
Macaulay, Ix)rd Bacon. 
Whatever &\<\q he was on, lie could always find excellent 
reasons fur it. Lowell, Among my Books, 1st ser., p. 30. 
What-like (hwot'lik), indcf. rel. a. Of what 
appearance or character. [Colloq. or provin- 
cial.] 
She knows Miss Abbey of old, remind her, and she knows 
what-like the home and what-like the friend is likely to turn 
out. Dickens, Our Mutual Friend, iii. 2. 
Whatman paper. See paper. 
whatna (hwot'nii), a. Same as whaten. 
[Scotch.] 
There was a lad was born in Kyle, 
But whatna day o' whatna style, 
I doubt it 's hardly worth the while 
To be sae nice wi' Robin. 
Burtis, There was a Lad. 
iwTi^^t ''^^V"l"^ *'f r?' ''**";**" dlscours and writing whatnCSS (hwot'nes), )i. [< ivhat^ + -Hess.-] In 
by what hath bin of late written ni vulgar, have not ,.,,,/„>w. « ^..,j,i,iu,r ttj n 
seem'd to attain the decision of this point. metaph., a quiddity. [Rare.] 
MUton, Church-Government, ii. 3. Wnat-not(hwot'not),7^ [< ivhat}iot(seewhat'^); 
With omission of the second ivhat (so freciuently): tlie stand being so called as used to hold shells, 
H'AaMor hire kynrede and hir nortelrie. photographs, bric-a-brac, **and whatnot": see 
Chaucer, Reeve's Tale, 1. 47, under what^.^ 1. A stand or set of shelves on 
What with pride, projects, and knavery, iKwr Peter was which to keej) or display small articles of CU- 
grown distracted. Sicij% Tale of a Tub, iv. riosity or ornament, as well as books, papers, 
II. eonj. 1. So much as; so far as. 
Ector, with ful many a bolde baroun, 
< 'ast on a day witli (Jrekesfor to flghte. 
As he was wont to greve hem tchat he myghte. 
Chaucer, Troilus, iv, 
To helpe youre freendis what I may. 
Itmn. of the Rose. 
Mr. Brown, being present, observed them (Indians) to 
be much alfected, and one especially did weep very mucli, 
though covered it what hee could. 
T. Shepard, Clear Sunshine of the Gospel, p. 36. 
etc. ; an etag^re. 
What cheerfulness those works of art will give to the 
little parlors up in the country, when they are set up with 
other shells on the ivhat-not in the corner! 
C. D. Warner, Their Pilgrimage, p. 51. 
2. Anything; no matter what; what you please. 
See what not, under what'^, A. [Colloq. J 
I profess to be an impartial cbi-onieler of poor Phil's 
fortunes, misfortunes, friendships, and ^vhat-iwts. 
Thackeray, Pliilip, ix. 
2. That, (at) In a/a'A(((, until (compare fl/(A(m<7/(, etc.). whatreck (hwot'rek), adv. [Short for what 
j'6rA-7?' * whatcare I?'] Nevertheless. [Scotch.] 
. 35. 
.0300. 
Tho kinges hem wenten and hi seghen |they sawj tlio 
sterre thet yede bi-fure hem. al-uat hi kam over tho husc 
war ure louerd was. Old Eng. Misc. (ed. Morris), p. 27. 
Thet heaued me akth ; ich ne ssel by an eyse [I shall 
not be at easel alhuet iih babbe ydronke. 
Ayenbite of Inwyt (E. E. T. S.), p. 51. 
(6) In the phrase but tvhat : but that; that . . . not. 
The Abbot cannot be humbled but what the community 
^must be humbled in his person. Scott, Monastery, x. 
Not a thing stolen hut what the sea gave it up. 
J. II. Newman. 
What'-^t (hwot), a. [< WE. hwaty (luiek, < AS. 
hwicty keen, sharp, bold (= OS. hwat = Icel. 
hvatr^kveu). Cf. whet^.l i^uick; sharp; bold. 
Tiler weoren eorles swithe whaete. Layamon, 1. 1137. 
whatabouts (hwot'a-bouts''')* "• The matters 
which one is about or occupied with. [Colloq.] 
You might knowof all my goings on, and M7ia^a?>o«(« and 
wherealxjuts, from Henry Taylor. 
Soxithey, To G. C. Bedford, March 3, 1830. 
what-d'ye-call-it, what-d'ye-call-'em (hwof- 
dye-karit, -em). A word substituted for the 
name of a thing, because of forgetfulness or 
ignorance, or in slight contempt. [Colloq.] 
I wot he was na slaw, man ; . . . 
But yet, tohat-reck, he, at (Quebec, 
Montgomery-like did fa', man. 
Burns, The American War. 
WhatSOt (hwot'so), a. and pron. [< ME. what- 
^■<^ what.siva, whatse, hwatse, quat so, what so, < 
whaf^ 4- A-oi. Of. whoso.'] I. a. Of whatever 
character, kind, or sort; no matter what (per- 
son or thing) : an indefinite relative use. 
What man so vs metes may vs sone knowe. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), 1. 2565. 
II, j>n>«. No matter what or who; whatso- 
ever; whosoever. 
But it were any persone obstinat, 
What-io he were, of heigh or lowe estat. 
Him wolde he sTiibben sharply for the nones. 
Chaucer, Gen. Piol. to C. T., 1. 522. 
" In exitu Israel de ^iCgypto ! " 
Thus sang they all together in one voice, 
With whatso in that Psalm is after written. 
Longfellow, tr. of Uante's Purgatorio, ii. 
Sometimes written as two separate words. 
Quyt is she 
From yow this yer, ivhat after so befalle. 
Chaucer, Parliament of Fowls, 1. 664, 
But what do we suffer misshaped and enormous pn-la- 
tism, as we do, thus to blanch and varnish her deformi- 
tlea with the fair colours, as before of martyrdom, so now 
of episcopacy ';* Miltoji, Reformation in ling., i. 
2. To what degree? in what respect ? 
I'here is no part of the body, an' please youi- honour, , 
where a wound occasions more intolerable anguish than whatSOe 61 (hwot-so-ar' ), j>ro«, A contracted 
*'"' '■""" *'""■" ''"""- "" * ' ■— ' form of whatsoever. ' 
whatsoever (hwot-so-ev'er), a. and pron. [< 
ME. whatsoever ; < whaf^ + so^ + ever. Cf. what- 
so and whatsom ever.'] I. a. Of whatever na- 
ture, kind, or sort; whatever: an intensive form 
of whatever^ still separable and used as a cor- 
relative phrase. 
I have learned In ivhatsoever state I am tlierewith to be 
content. I'hil. iv. 11. 
Goodness guide thy actions whatsoever ! 
Beau, and Fl. (?), Faithful Friends, iii. 3. 
The Meridians, which are Circles passing oner our heads, 
in what part of the World soeuer we be. 
Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. fiO. 
Marauding thieves, to be destroyed by i(?/t«?*oeu*'r method 
possible. The Academy, March 28, 1891, p. 298. 
II, pro)i. What thing or things soever; no 
matter what thing or things ; wliatever or who- 
ever. 
I will knowe the soth [truth], what-so-eiicr it coste. 
Merlin iV.. E. T. S.), i. 37. 
Youth, u'fuitsoever thou art, thou art but a scurvy fellow. 
Shak., T. X., iii. 4. 163. 
For, 'tis not Courage {whatme'r men say). 
But Cowardize, to make ones Self away. 
Sylvester, tr. of Uu Bartas's Weeks, ii., The Trophies. 
whatsomt, a. and jtron. Same as whatsom- 
rwr. 
upon the knee, . . . there being so many tendons and 
what-d'ye-call-ems all about it. 
Sterne, Tristram Shandy, viii. 19. 
whate'er (hwot-ar'),7>roM. A contracted form 
of whatever. 
He strikes whate'er is in his way. 
Shak., Venus and Adonis, 1. 623. 
whaten, whatten (hwot'n), a. [Sc. also what- 
(tii, :uid (witii tlie indef. article) whatna: < 
whai'^ + -en, orig. adj. inflection.] What; what 
kiml of. [Prov. Eng. and Scotch.] 
L<ird safe usl only look at him sitting asleep. Whatan 
a face I Noctes Ambrosiame, Oct., 1828. 
whatever (hwot-ev'er), jrron. and a. [< what^ 
+ fver.] I. proit. A. hidef. rel. Anything 
which; no matter wliat ; all that. 
To effect 
Whatever I shall happen to devise. 
Shak., Kich. II., iv. 1. 330. 
The veiy best will variously incline. 
And what rewards yijur virtue, punish mine. 
Whatever is, is right. J*ope, Essay on Man, iv. 145. 
The board was expected to make itself thoroughly ac- 
([uainted with whatcrer CDUcerned the colonies. 
Prescott, Kerd. and Isa., ii. 9. 
B. htterrtxj. What f as, whafevcv shall I do"? 
[Vulgar, Itut coiiinion in recent Hritish collo- 
quial use.] 
