How (?), adv. [OE. how, hou, hu, hwu, AS. h&?;, from the same
root as hwā,
hwæt, who, what, pron. interrog.; akin to OS.
hwōw, D. hoe, cf. G. wie how, Goth. hwē wherewith, hwaiwa how.
√182. See Who, and cf. Why.]
1. In what
manner or way; by what
means or process.
How can a man be born when he
is old?
John iii. 4. 2. To what degree or extent, number or amount; in
what proportion; by what measure or quality.
O, how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.
Ps. cxix. 97.
By how much they would diminish the present extent of the
sea, so much
they would impair the fertility, and fountains, and rivers of the earth.
Bentley. 3. For what reason; from what cause.
How now, my
love! why is
your cheek so pale?
Shak. 4. In what state, condition, or plight.
How, and with what reproach, shall I return?
Dryden. 5. By what name, designation, or title.
How art thou called?
Shak.
6. At what price; how dear. [Obs.]
How a score of ewes now?
Shak. &fist; How is used in each
sense, interrogatively, interjectionally, and
relatively; it is also often
employed to emphasize an interrogation or exclamation. "How are the
mighty fallen!" 2 Sam. i. 27. Sometimes, also, it is used as a noun; -- as, the how, the when, the
wherefore. Shelley.
Let me beg you -- don't say "How?" for "What?"
Holmes.
Hear it pronounced