See Also:

how(1) (iou)



how adverb.
[Old English hu = Old Frisian hu, ho, Old Saxon (h)wo, hwuo (Middle Low German woe, Dutch hoe), Old High German wuo, from West Germanic adverb from base of WHO, WHAT.]
An adverb primarily interrog., used also in exclams., and in conjunctive and relative constructions.
In what way or manner; by what means; in whatever way; by whatever means. Used in qualifying verbs in dependence on verbs of saying, asking, perceiving, etc., on nouns like heed, care, and related adjectives, on prepositions, and following an infinitive. OE.
T. Hardy He does not love you, but you love himis that how it is? W. S. Maugham She asked herself..how on earth she was to endure the slow passing of the hours. Scott Fitzgerald Well, how can any one tell what's eccentric and what's crazy? J. Krantz No gigolo..was going to tell him how to run his business. H. Carpenter He wanted to understand machinery and to know how it worked. W. Golding What an audience wants to hear from a novelist is how he writes. P. Roth Look at him! Look at how he dresses. ellipt.: E. Bowen 'I say, Father, about tomorrow, how if I telephoned H.Q. for a lay reader?' A. MacLean 'A mistake, but easy enough to put right.' 'How?' Independent There is likely to be uncertainty..over what to assess and how.
b. Used in weakened sense 'that' following verbs of saying, perceiving, etc. OE.
D. Welch He told us how, as a child, he had once eaten swan for dinner. I. Murdoch Did she show you her rings, how they were diamonds my father got for us?
To what degree or extent. Used in qualifying adjectives or adverbs, or verbs of liking. OE.
T. Hardy Why, how late you are, Ethelberta, and how heated you look! W. S. Maugham If he only knew how I adore him! M. Sinclair Her mother sat down to show how tired she was. I. Murdoch How long are you planning to stay with us? K. Vonnegut I suppose I should tell you how old I am too.
b. = HOWEVER 2. In later use, only correlative to so. ME-L19.
T. Venner By how much the younger they are, by so much the moyster they are. W. Goodall Cecil..had all in readiness to be published how soon the Duke should be beheaded.
c. As...as. LME-M18.
interrog. What. Used esp. as a request for repetition of a question or statement. arch. & US dial. exc. in how about, how's about s.v. ABOUT preposition 6. OE.
A. Price How's that again, Elizabeth?..This fellow you talked to?
b. interrog. By what name; to what effect, with what meaning. Now chiefly, what, why (colloq.). ME.
J. Conrad How is it that you let Tait's people put us off with a defective lock?
In what condition or state; in whatever condition or state. Used in qualifying verbs. ME.
T. Hardy But I had a great wish to see you, and inquire how you were. R. Lehmann How are you?..You're looking awfully well. L. W. Meynell 'How's tricks?' he enquired. 'I'm fine. I slept like a top.'
At what rate or price. arch. LME.
Shakespeare 2 Henry IV 'How a score of ewes now?'..'A score of good ewes may be worth ten pounds.'
Phrases & comb.: and how! colloq. (iron. or emphatic) very much so; and no mistake. as how: see AS adverb etc. here's how! I drink to your good health. how about, how about that?: see ABOUT preposition 6. how come? colloq. how did (or does) it come about (that). how do? colloq. how do you do; hello. how do you do?, (arch. & dial.) how do ye? or how d'ye?: a formal greeting enquiring as to a person's health etc. how-do-you-do, how-d'ye-do (a) an enquiry of 'how do you do?'; (b) an awkward or embarrassing situation. how goes it, how is it going, how are things going?: see GO verb. how is that for high?, how is that for queer? colloq. isn't that amazing?, isn't that surprising? how many what number. how much (a) what amount; (b) what price; (c) joc. what? pardon? how now? arch. how is it now? what is the meaning of this? how say you?: see SAY verb1. how so? how can you show that that is so? how soever to whatsoever degree or extent. how's about: see ABOUT preposition 6. how's that? (a) what is your opinion of that?; (b) Cricket (said to an umpire) is the batsman out or not? (cf. OWZAT). how the other half lives: see HALF noun. how the wind blows, how the wind lies: see WIND noun1. how the world wags: see WAG verb. how-to adjective (colloq.) instructive; of the nature of a manual.