whence [ -vcwfm ] name ...
For each name, indicate how it would be interpreted if used as a command name.
| Option | Description | 
|---|---|
-v  | 
 Produce a more verbose report.  | 
 
-c  | 
 Print the results in a csh-like format. This takes precedence over -v.  | 
 
-w  | 
 For each name, print name: word where word is one of alias, builtin, command, functions, reserved or none, according as name corresponds to an alias, a built-in command, an external command, a shell function, a reserved word, or is not recognised. This takes precedence over -v and -c.  | 
 
-f  | 
 Causes the contents of a shell function to be displayed, which would otherwise not happen unless the -c flag were used.  | 
 
-m  | 
 The arguments are taken as patterns (should be quoted), and the information is displayed for each command matching one of these patterns.  | 
 
Note: Due to capability limitations of Zsh, external commands are not recognised by the whence command and its derivatives.