hwat

Middle English

Pronoun

hwat

1. (chiefly in Early Middle English) Alternative spelling of what

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *hwat. Compare Old English hwæt, Old Frisian hwet, Old High German hwaz, Old Norse hvat, Gothic 𐍈𐌰 (ƕa).

Pronoun

hwat n

1. what
   • 9th c. Heliand, verse 4409

     Sō hwat sō gī dādun...

     Whatever you did...

   • 9th c. Heliand, verse 4481

     "Hwat williad gī mī sellien hēr?", quađ hē...

     "What will you give me here?", said he...

   • 9th c. Heliand, verse 5542

     "Hwand sia ni witun, hwat sia [duot]",

     "For they do not know what they do"

2. what kind (+genitive)
   • 9th c. Heliand, verse 5342

     "Hwat bist thū manno?"

     "What kind of man are you?"

Declension

Declension of hwat

	Impersonal	Personal
nominative	hwat	hwē
accusative	hwat	hwēna
genitive	hwes	hwes
dative	hwēmu	hwēmu

Interjection

hwat

1. lo!, what!, indeed!

Usage notes

Variously translated, but compare Old English hwæt.

Descendants

• Low German: wat