Meanings
nounwh-in-situ (uncountable)
- uncountablehuman sciencesThe occurrence of a wh-word in its typical syntactic position when forming a wh-question.
Origin
Coined by American linguist Joseph E. Aoun in 1981.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
wh-in-situ. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wh-in-situ
MLA
“wh-in-situ.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wh-in-situ. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wh-in-situ,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wh-in-situ.
Source: wh-in-situ on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.