English

you-know-who

Person or entity whose name one does not want to mention but which is known to the person to whom one is speaking.

    Etymology graph

    • inherited
    • borrowed
    • derived
    • parts
    • meaning component
    • sound component
    • related
    React Flow

    Click a node to zoom in · double-click to open it

    Origin

    From you + know + who.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • partEnglishyou “The people spoken, or written to, as an object.”
      • inheritedMiddle Englishyow
        • inheritedOld Englishēow “Wo!, Alas!”
    • partEnglishknow “To perceive the truth or factuality of; to be certain of; to be certain that.”
      • inheritedMiddle Englishknowen
        • inheritedOld Englishcnāwan “to know, perceive, recognise”
        • inheritedOld Englishcnāwen
    • partEnglishwho “What person or people; which person or people; asks for the identity of someone; used in a direct o…”
      • inheritedMiddle Englishwho
        • inheritedOld Englishhwā

    Sources