how

Etymology 1

From Middle English how, hou, hu, hwu, from Old English hū, from Proto-West Germanic *hwō, from Proto-Germanic *hwō (“through what, how”), from the same root as hwæt (“who, what”). /hw/ > /h/ due to wh-cluster reduction in Old English; compare who, which underwent this change later, and thus is spelt wh (Middle English spelling of /hw/) but pronounced /h/ (it previously had a different vowel, hence avoided the spelling and sound change in Old English). Vowel change per Great Vowel Shift. Akin to Scots hoo, foo (“how”), Saterland Frisian wo (“how”), West Frisian hoe (“how”), Low German ho, wo, wu (“how”), Dutch hoe (“how”), German wie (“how”), Swedish hur (“how”). See who and compare why.

adv

1. (interrogative) To what degree or extent.
   How often do you practice?
   The gauge indicated how hot the oven was.
   How damaged is her self-esteem? 2013, Diane Sullivan Everstine, Louis Everstine, Strategic Interventions for People in Crisis, Trauma, and Disaster: Revised Edition, Routledge
2. (interrogative) In what manner:
   1. By what means.
      How do you solve this puzzle?
      How else can we get this finished?
      She showed him how to do it.
   2. With overtones of why, for what reason.
      How should I know whether he likes raisins or not? Ask him!
   3. In what form, shape, measure, quantity, etc.
      How do you sell your brandy? We sell it by the gallon, and not by the bottle. 1831, Nicolas Wanostrocht, A Grammar of the French Language: With Practical Exercises, page 372
      How does God appear in these religions? Hinduism has a thousand faces for God, some likable, some horrible. You can pick and choose your preferred image. Buddhism does not even have an image of God, but concentrates on man. 2005, Tim Stafford, Knowing the Face of God, Revised Edition: Deepening Your Personal Relationship with God, Wipf and Stock Publishers, page 191
   4. With what meaning or effect.
      How the stock market interprets events has real consequences.
      A heap of stamps? Yes. Stamps they were indeed, hundreds of penny Queen's Heads neatly mounted on the original sheets. "Good God!" exclaimed Mr. Erskine as he turned to Mr. Sackville, "how am I to take this, sir?" said he severely. "Where are the real stamps? Were they ever inside, ever in your possession at all? If it is a joke, it is a very poor one." 1906, Gibbons Stamp Weekly, page 110
   5. By what title or what name.
      "How art thou called? Thy name make known; Thy father's name and family,—tell me thy father's and thine own." 1907, Edward Byles Cowell, The Jātaka: Or, Stories of the Buddha's Former Births, page 44
      Salutation—How does one address the recipient; what titles, greetings, and honorifics are preferred; how does one manage the problem of unknown gender;[…] 2015, Edmond H. Weiss, The Elements of International English Style: A Guide to Writing Correspondence, Reports, Technical Documents, and Internet Pages for a Global Audience, Routledge, page 111
   6. At what price, for what amount (of money).
3. (interrogative) In what state or condition.
   How are you?
   How was your vacation?
   How's the new apartment? — The new apartment is great! Audio (US) (file) 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
4. Used as a modifier to indicate surprise, delight, or other strong feelings in an exclamation.
   How very interesting!
   How wonderful it was to receive your invitation.
   Those were such happy times and not so long ago / How I wondered where they'd gone 1973, “Yesterday Once More”, in Now & Then, performed by the Carpenters
   How England had to fight for victory against this steely Denmark with an inspired keeper in Kasper Schmeichel, especially after conceding their first goal of the tournament to Mikkel Damsgaard's stunning free-kick after 30 minutes. July 7 2021, Phil McNulty, “England 2-1 Denmark”, in BBC Sport

conj

1. The manner or way in which.
   I remember how I solved this puzzle.
2. In any way in which; in whatever way; however.
   People should be free to live how they want.
3. That, the fact that.
   “There’s this real Al Capone fear that they’re going to get our guys, not on marijuana, but on something else,” Mr. Edson said, referring to how Capone was eventually charged with tax evasion rather than criminal activity. April 24 2010, Jesse McKinley, “Don’t Call It ‘Pot’ in This Circle; It’s a Profession”, in The New York Times, page A1
   She told me how her father was a doctor.

noun

1. The means by which something is accomplished.
   I am not interested in the why, but in the how.
   It is an a posteriori argument, evincing the fact, but not the how. 1924, Joseph Rickaby, Studies on God and His Creatures, page 102
   A wham-bam caper flick, efficiently directed by Roger Donaldson, that fancifully revisits the mysterious whos and speculative hows of a 1971 London bank heist. March 21, 2008, The New York Times, “Movie Guide and Film Series”, in New York Times

Etymology 2

From Middle English howe, hough, hogh, partly from Old English hōh (“promontory”), and partly from Old Norse haugr (“a how, mound”). Compare Old French höe (“hillock, hill”), from the same Germanic source.

noun

1. (dialectal) An artificial barrow or tumulus; in later folklore, associated with fairies.
   Fianlly, as regards the places in which these rites and mysteries may have been held, certain writers believe them to have been the "Fairy Hills" or "howes" in various parts of Scotland. 1928, Lewis Spence, Mysteries of Britain, page v. 136
   The fairy feast inside the howe (and this barrow is hill-sized) reminds one of nothing so much as a tale in the Icelandic Eyrbyggia saga, written in the mid thirteenth century. 1985, Jennifer Westwood, Albion, published 1992, page xi. 432
2. (dialectal) A small hill in northern England.

Etymology 3

From a Siouan language; compare Lakota háu. Alternatively from Wyandot haau.

intj

1. A greeting, used in representations of Native American speech.