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whose

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Whose is the question word used to ask to whom a thing or things belongs.

(pronoun)

An example of whose is when you find a dog without an owner and you ask who the owner is.

See whose in Webster's New World College Dictionary

pronoun

that or those belonging to whom: used without a following noun: whose is this? whose will look best?

Origin: ME whos, hwas < OE hwæs, gen. of hwa, who

possessive pronominal adjective

of, belonging to, made by, or done by whom or which: whose book is lost? a song whose popularity endures

See whose in American Heritage Dictionary 4

adjective

The possessive form of who.
The possessive form of which.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English whos

Origin: , from Old English hwǽs; see k^wo- in Indo-European roots

Usage Note: It has sometimes been claimed that whose is properly used only as the possessive form of who and thus should be restricted to animate antecedents, as in a man whose power has greatly eroded. But there is extensive literary precedent for the use of whose with inanimate antecedents, as in The play, whose style is rigidly formal, is typical of the period. In an earlier survey this example was acceptable to a large majority of the Usage Panel. Those who avoid this usage employ of which: The play, the style of which is rigidly formal, is typical of the period. But as this example demonstrates, substituting of which may produce a stilted sentence. See Usage Notes at else, which, who.

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