- pronoun
- 1530, from pro- and noun; modeled on M.Fr. pronom, from L. pronomen, from pro- "in place of" + nomen "name, noun." A loan-translation of Gk. antonymia. Adj. pronomial is recorded from 1644.
- she
- c.1154, probably evolved from O.E. seo, sio (acc. sie), fem. of demonstrative pronoun se "the." The O.E. word for "she" was heo, hio, however by 13c. the pronunciation of this had converged by phonetic evolution with he "he," so the fem. demonstrative pronoun probably was used in its place (cf. similar development in Du. zij, Ger. sie, Gk. he, etc.). The original h- survives in her. A relic of the O.E. pronoun is in Manchester-area dial. oo "she." She-devil "difficult woman" first recorded 1840.
- they
- c.1200, from O.N. žeir, originally masculine plural demonstrative pronoun, from P.Gmc. *thai, nom. pl. pronoun, from PIE *to- (see that). Gradually replaced O.E. hi, hie, plurals of he, heo, hit (see he, she, it) by c.1400. Colloquial use for "anonymous people in authority" is attested from 1886.
- thou
- 2nd nominative singular personal pronoun, O.E. žu, from P.Gmc. *thu (cf. O.Fris. thu, M.Du., M.L.G. du, O.H.G., Ger. du, O.N. žu, Goth. žu), from PIE *tu-, second person singular pronoun (cf. L. tu, Ir. tu, Welsh ti, Gk. su, Lith. tu, O.C.S. ty, Skt. twa-m). Superseded in M.E. by plural form you (from a different root), but retained in certain dialects (e.g. Philadelphia Quakers). The plural at first was used in addressing superior individuals, later also (to err on the side of propriety) strangers, and ultimately all equals. By c.1450 the use of thou to address inferiors gave it a tinge of insult unless addressed by parents to children, or intimates to one another. Hence the verb meaning "to use 'thou' to a person" (c.1440).
"Avaunt, caitiff, dost thou thou me! I am come of good kin, I tell thee!" ["Hickscorner," c.1530]
A brief history of the second person pronoun in Eng. can be found here. - his
- O.E. his (gen. of he), from P.Gmc. *khisa (cf. Goth. is, Ger. es). Originally also the neut. possessive pronoun, but replaced in that sense c.1600 by its. In M.E., hisis was tried for the absolute pronoun (cf. her/hers), but it failed to stick. For dialectal his'n, see her.
- thine
- O.E. žin, possessive pronoun (originally gen. of žu "thou"), from P.Gmc. *thinaz (cf. O.Fris., O.S. thin, M.Du. dijn, O.H.G. din, Ger. dein, O.N. žin), from PIE *t(w)eino-, suffixed form of second pers. sing. pronomial base *tu-. A brief history of the second person pronoun in Eng. can be found here; see also thou.
- thee
- O.E. že (accusative and dative singular of žu "thou"), from P.Gmc. *theke (cf. O.Fris. thi, M.Du. di, O.H.G. dih, Ger. dich, O.N. žik, Norw. deg, Goth. žuk), from PIE *tege-. A brief history of the second person pronoun in Eng. can be found here. The verb meaning "to use the pronoun 'thee' to someone" is recorded from 1662, from the rise of Quakerism (see thou).
"This was the Bottom upon which the Quakers first set up, to run down all worldly Honour ...; to Thee and Thou; to call no Man Master, or Lord, and not to take off their Hats, or Bow to any." [Charles Leslie, "The Snake in the Grass," 1696]
- 'em
- M.E., now taken as an abbreviation of them, but originally a form of hem, dative and accusative of the third person plural pronoun.
- I
- 12c. shortening of O.E. ic, first person sing. nom. pronoun, from P.Gmc. *ekan (cf. O.Fris. ik, O.N. ek, Norw. eg, Dan. jeg, O.H.G. ih, Ger. ich, Goth. ik), from PIE *ego(m) (cf. Skt. aham, Hitt. uk, L. ego, Gk. ego, Rus. ja). Reduced to i by 1137 in northern England, it began to be capitalized c.1250 to mark it as a distinct word and avoid misreading in handwritten manuscripts.
"The reason for writing I is ... the orthographic habit in the middle ages of using a 'long i' (that is, j or I) whenever the letter was isolated or formed the last letter of a group; the numeral 'one' was written j or I (and three iij, etc.), just as much as the pronoun." [Otto Jespersen, "Growth and Structure of the English Language," p.233]
The form ich or ik, especially before vowels, lingered in northern England until c.1400 and survived in southern dialects until 18c. The dot on the "small" letter -i- began to appear in 11c. L. manuscripts, to distinguish the letter from the stroke of another letter (such as -m- or -n-). Originally a diacritic, it was reduced to a dot with the introduction of Roman type fonts. The basic word for "I" in Japanese is watakushi, but it is not much used. Words that boys usually use are boku (polite) or ore (OH-ray), a rougher word, which can be rude depending on the situation. Girls usually use atashi (a feminine-sounding word) or the neutral watashi, but a tomboy might use boku like boys do. - each other
- reciprocal pronoun, originally in late O.E. a phrase, with each as the subject and other inflected (as it were "each to other," "each from other," etc.).
- this
- O.E. žis, neuter demonstrative pronoun and adj. (masc. žes, fem. žeos), probably from a North Sea Gmc. pronoun formed by combining the base *ža- (see that) with -s, which is probably identical with O.E. se "the" (representing here "a specific thing"), but it may be O.E. seo, imperative of see (v.) "to behold." Cf. O.S. these, O.N. žessi, Du. deze, O.Fris. this, O.H.G. deser, Ger. dieser. Once fully inflected, with 10 distinct forms (see table below); the oblique cases and other genders gradually fell away by 15c. The O.E. plural was žęs (nom. and acc.), which in Northern M.E. became thas, and in Midlands and Southern England became thos. The Southern form began to be used late 13c. as the plural of that (replacing M.E. tho, from O.E. ža) and acquired an -e (apparently from the influence of M.E. adj. plurals in -e; cf. alle from all, summe from sum "some"), emerging early 14c. as modern those. About 1175 thes (probably a variant of O.E. žęs) began to be used as the plural of this, and by 1200 it had taken the form these, the final -e acquired via the same mechanism that gave one to those.
Masc. Fem. Neut. Plural Nom. žes žeos žis žas Acc. žisne žas žis žas Gen. žisses žisse žisses žissa Dat. žissum žisse žissum žissum Inst. žys žisse žys žissum - thy
- possessive pronoun of 2nd person sing., c.1175, reduced form of žin (see thine), originally used before consonants except H. In 15c., used before vowels, too.
- u
- for historical evolution, see V. Used punningly for you by 1588 ["Love's Labour's Lost," V.i.60], not long after the pronunciation shift that made the vowel a homonym of the pronoun. As a simple shorthand (without intentional word-play), it is recorded from 1862. Common in business abbreviations since 1923 (e.g. U-Haul, attested from 1951).
- sui generis
- 1787, from L., lit. "of one's own kind, peculiar." First element from sui, gen. of suus "his, her, its, one's," from Old L. sovos, from PIE base *swe-, pronoun of the third person (see idiom).
- its
- see it. Developed late 16c. from it + 's, gen. or possessive ending, to replace his (which is used throughout the K.J.V.) as the neut. possessive pronoun. Originally written it's, and still deliberately spelled thus by some writers until early 1800s.
- demonstrative
- late 14c., "that shows something," from Fr. démonstratif (14c.), from L. demonstrativus, from pp. stem of demonstrare (see demonstration). Meaning "given to outward expressions of feelings" is from 1819. Demonstrative pronoun is late 16c.
- interim
- 1548, from L. interim (adj.) "in the meantime," originally "in the midst of that," from inter- "between" + im, ancient adv. from stem of pronoun is "this, that."
- her (objective case)
- O.E. hire, third pers. sing. fem. dat. pronoun, which beginning in 10c. replaced acc. hie (see he). Cognate with O.Fris. hiri, M.Du. hore, Du. haar, O.H.G. iru, Ger. ihr.
- -sk
- reflexive suffix in words of Dan. origin (e.g. bask, lit. "to bathe oneself"), contracted from O.N. sik, reflexive pronoun corresponding to Goth. sik, O.H.G. sih, Ger. sich "himself, herself, itself," from PIE base *se- (cf. L. se "himself").
- our
- O.E. ure "of us," genitive plural of the first person pronoun, from P.Gmc. *ons (cf. O.S. usa, O.Fris. use, O.H.G. unsar, Ger. unser, Goth. unsar "our"). Ours, formed c.1300, is a double possessive, originating in northern England, and has taken over the absolute function of our. Ourselves (1495), modeled on yourselves, replaced original construction we selfe, us selfum, etc.
- relative (n.)
- 1388, "a relative pronoun," from O.Fr. relatif (13c.), from L.L. relativus "having reference or relation," from L. relatus, pp. of referre "to refer." Meaning "person in the same family" first recorded 1657; the adj. is attested from 1530. Relatively "in relation to something else" is recorded from 1561. Relativism in philosophy first recorded 1865 (relativist is from 1863).
- me
- O.E. me (dat.), me, mec (acc.; oblique cases of I), from P.Gmc. *meke (acc.), *mes (dat.), cf. O.N., Goth. mik, O.H.G. mih, Ger. mich; from PIE base *me-, *eme-, the bare stem of the pronoun (cf. Skt., Avestan mam, Gk. eme, L. me, O.Ir. me, Welsh mi "me"). Erroneous or vulgar use for nom. (e.g. it is me) attested from c.1500. Dative preserved in obsolete meseems, methinks.
- yon
- O.E. geon (adj.) "that (over there)," perhaps from P.Gmc. *jenaz (cf. O.Fris. jen, O.N. enn, O.H.G. ener, M.Du. ghens, Ger. jener, Goth. jains "that, you"). Outside Gmc., cognates include Skt. ena-, third person pronoun, anena "that;" O.C.S. onu "he;" Lith. ans "he."
- though
- c.1200, from O.E. žeah, and in part from O.N. žo "though," both from P.Gmc. *thaukh (cf. Goth. žauh, O.Fris. thach, M.Du., Du. doch, O.H.G. doh, Ger. doch), from PIE demonstrative pronoun *to- (see that). The evolution of the terminal sound did not follow laugh, tough, etc., though a tendency to end the word in "f" existed c.1300-1750 and persists in dialects.
- we
- O.E. we, from P.Gmc. *wiz (cf. O.S. wi, O.N. ver, Dan. vi, O.Fris. wi, Du. wij, O.H.G., Ger. wir, Goth. weis "we"), from PIE *wei- (cf. Skt. vayam, O.Pers. vayam, Hitt. wesh "we," O.C.S. ve "we two," Lith. vedu "we two"). The "royal we" (use of plural pronoun to denote oneself) is at least as old as "Beowulf" (c.725); use by writers to establish an impersonal style is also from O.E.; it was especially common 19c. in unsigned editorials, to suggest staff consensus, and was lampooned as such since at least 1853 (cf. also wegotism).
- then
- adverb of time, from O.E. žanne, žęnne, žonne, from P.Gmc. *thana- (cf. O.Fris. thenne, O.S. thanna, Du. dan, O.H.G. danne, Ger. dann), from PIE demonstrative pronoun root *to- (see the). For further sense development, see than. Similar evolutions in other Gmc. languages; Du. uses dan in both senses, but Ger. has dann (adv.) "then," denn (conj.) "than." Now and then "at various times" is attested from c.1550; earlier then and then (c.1200).
- egoist
- egoism and egoist were borrowed 1785 from Fr. egoisme, egoiste, coined 1755 as philosophical terms for "thinking subject." Egotism, egotist expressing "selfishness," are native coinages from 1714, first used by Joseph Addison; the -t- is perhaps by influence of nepotism, where it belongs. Addison credits the term to "Port-Royalists" who used it in reference to obtrusive use of first person sing. pronoun in writing, hence "talking too much about oneself." Meaning "self-conceit, selfishness" is 1800. Related: Egoistic; egoistical.
- mine (pron.)
- O.E. min "mine, my," (pronoun and adj.), from P.Gmc. *minaz (cf. Goth. meins, O.N. minn, Du. mijn, Ger. mein "my, mine"), from the base of me. Superseded as adj. beginning 13c. by my.
- that
- O.E. žęt, neuter sing. of the demonstrative pronoun and adj. (corresponding to masc. se, fem. seo), from P.Gmc. *that, from PIE *tod-, extended form of demonstrative pronomial base *to- (cf. Skt. ta-, Lith., O.C.S. to, Gk. to "the," L. talis "such"). Cf. the. Emerged c.1200 as a demonstrative adj. with the breakdown of the O.E. grammatical gender system, perhaps by infl. of Fr. and L., which had demonstrative adjectives (O.E. did not). Slang that way "in love" first recorded 1929. That-a-way is recorded from 1839. "Take that," said while delivering a blow, is recorded from c.1425.
- solve
- c.1440, "to disperse, dissipate, loosen," from L. solvere "to loosen, dissolve, untie," from PIE *se-lu-, from reflexive pronoun *swe- + base *leu- "to loosen, divide, cut apart" (cf. Gk. lyein "to loosen, release, untie," O.E. -leosan "to lose," leas "loose;" see lose). The meaning "explain, answer" is attested from c.1533; for sense evolution, see solution. Mathematical use is attested from 1737.
- which
- O.E. hwilc (W.Saxon) "which," short for hwi-lic "of what form," from P.Gmc. *khwilikaz (cf. O.S. hwilik, O.N. hvelikr, Swed. vilken, O.Fris. hwelik, M.Du. wilk, Du. welk, O.H.G. hwelich, Ger. welch, Goth. hvileiks "which"), from *khwi- "who" (see who) + *likan "body, form" (cf. O.E. lic "body;" see like). In M.E. used as a relative pronoun where mod. Eng. would use who, as still in the Lord's Prayer. O.E. also had parallel forms hwelc and hwylc, which disappeared 15c.
- ye (pron.)
- O.E. ge, nom. pl. of 2nd pers. pronoun žu (see thou); cognate with O.Fris. ji, O.S. gi, M.Du. ghi, Du. gij. Altered, by influence of we, from an earlier form that was similar to Goth. jus "you (pl.)" (see you). Cognate with Lith. jus, Skt. yuyam, Avestan yuzem, Gk. hymeis. The -r- in O.N. er, Ger. ihr probably is from infl. of the 1st pers. pl. pronouns (O.N. ver, Ger. wir).
- it
- O.E. hit, neut. nom. & acc. of third pers. sing. pronoun, from P.Gmc. demonstrative base *khi- (cf. O.Fris. hit, Du. het, Goth. hita "it"), which is also the root of he. As gender faded in M.E., it took on the meaning "thing or animal spoken about before." The h- was lost due to being in an unemphasized position, as in modern speech the h- in "give it to him," "ask her," "is only heard in the careful speech of the partially educated" [Weekley]. It "the sex act" is from 1611; meaning "sex appeal (especially in a woman)" first attested 1904 in works of Rudyard Kipling, popularized 1927 as title of a book by Elinor Glyn, and by application of It Girl to silent-film star Clara Bow (1905-1965). In children's games, meaning "the one who must tag the others" is attested from 1842.
- N
- in nickname, newt, and British dial. naunt, the -n- belongs to a preceding indefinite article an or possessive pronoun mine. Other examples of this from M.E. manuscripts include a neilond ("an island," early 13c.), a narawe ("an arrow," c.1400), a noke ("an oak," early 15c.), a nappyle ("an apple," early 15c.). The process also worked in surnames, from oblique cases of O.E. at "by, near," e.g. Nock/Nokes/Noaks from atten Oke "by the oak;" Nye from atten ye "near the lowland." The loss of it to a preceding a is more common: apron, auger, adder, umpire, humble pie, etc. The mathematical use of n for "an indefinite number" is first recorded 1852, in to the nth power.
- both
- there are several theories, all similar, and deriving the word from the tendency to say "both the." One is that it is O.E. begen (masc.) "both" (from P.Gmc. *ba, from PIE *bho "both") + -ž extended base. Another traces it to the P.Gmc. formula represented in O.E. by ba ža "both these," from ba (feminine nominative and accusative of begen) + ža, nominative and accusative plural of se "that." A third traces it to O.N. bašir "both," from *bai thaiz "both the," from P.Gmc. *thaiz, third person plural pronoun. Cf. O.Fris. bethe, Du. beide, O.H.G. beide, Ger. beide, Goth. bajožs.
- one
- O.E. an, from P.Gmc. *ainaz (cf. O.N. einn, Dan. een, O.Fris. an, Du. een, Ger. ein, Goth. ains), from PIE *oinos (cf. Gk. oinos "ace (on dice)," L. unus "one," O.Pers. aivam, O.C.S. -inu, ino-, Lith. vienas, O.Ir. oin, Breton un "one"). Originally pronounced as it still is in only, and in dial. good 'un, young 'un, etc.; the now-standard pronunciation "wun" began c.14c. in southwest and west England (Tyndale, a Gloucester man, spells it won in his Bible translation), and it began to be general 18c. Use as indefinite pronoun influenced by unrelated Fr. on and L. homo. Slang one-arm bandit "a type of slot machine" is recorded by 1938. One-night stand is 1880 in performance sense; 1963 in sexual sense. One of the boys "ordinary amiable fellow" is from 1893. One-track mind is from 1927.
- suicide
- "deliberate killing of oneself," 1651, from Mod.L. suicidium "suicide," from L. sui "of oneself" (gen. of se "self"), from PIE *s(u)w-o- "one's own," from base *s(w)e- (see idiom) + -cidium "a killing" (see -cide). Probably an Eng. coinage; much maligned by Latin purists because it "may as well seem to participate of sus, a sow, as of the pronoun sui" [Phillips]. The meaning "person who kills himself deliberately" is from 1728. In Anglo-L., the term for "one who commits suicide" was felo-de-se, lit. "one guilty concerning himself."
"November, the suicide season." [Samuel Foote, "The Bankrupt," 1773]
In England, suicides were legally criminal if sane, but not if judged to have been mentally deranged. The criminal ones were given degrading burial in roadways until 1823. Suicidal is from 1777. Suicide blonde first attested 1942. Baseball suicide squeeze is attested from 1955. - sun (n.)
- O.E. sunne, from P.Gmc. *sunnon (cf. O.N., O.S., O.H.G. sunna, M.Du. sonne, Du. zon, Ger. Sonne, Goth. sunno), from PIE *s(u)wen- (cf. Avestan xueng "sun," O.Ir. fur-sunnud "lighting up"), alternative form of base *saewel- "to shine, sun" (see Sol). O.E. sunne was fem., and the fem. pronoun was used until 16c.; since then masc. has prevailed. The empire on which the sun never sets (1630) originally was the Spanish, later the British. To have one's place in the sun (1680s) is from Pascal's "Pensées"; the Ger. imperial foreign policy sense (1897) is from a speech by von Bülow. The U.S. Sunbelt is first recorded 1969. Sunlight is first recorded c.1200. Sunbeam was in O.E.; sunset first recorded 1390 (sundown is from 1620); sunrise is first found mid-15c. (sun-up is from 1712). Sundial is from 1590s. Sunspot in ref. to the solar phenomenon is from 1868. Egg served sunny side up first attested 1900. Sunroof of a car is from 1966.
- he
- O.E. he (see paradigm of O.E. third pers. pronoun below), from P.Gmc. *hiz, from P.Gmc. base *khi-, from PIE *ki-, the "this, here" (as opposed to "that, there") root (cf. Hittite ki "this," Gk. ekeinos "that person," O.C.S. si, Lith. sis "this"), and thus the source of the third person pronouns in O.E. The feminine, hio, was replaced in early M.E. by forms from other stems (see she), while the h- wore off O.E. neut. hit to make modern it. The P.Gmc. root is also the source of the first element in Ger. heute "today," lit. "the day" (cf. O.E. heodęg). Slang he-man "masculine fellow" is from 1832, originally among U.S. pioneers.
case SINGULAR - - PLURAL - masc. neut. fem. (all genders) nom. he hit heo, hio hie, hi acc. hine hit hie, hi hie, hi gen. his his hire hira, heora dat. him him hire him, heom - idiom
- 1588, "form of speech peculiar to a people or place," from M.Fr. idiome, from L.L. idioma "a peculiarity in language," from Gk. idioma "peculiarity, peculiar phraseology," from idioumai "I make my own," from idios "personal, private," prop. particular to oneself, from PIE *swed-yo-, suffixed form of base *s(w)e-, pronoun of the third person and reflexive (referring back to the subject of a sentence), also used in forms denoting the speaker's social group, "(we our-)selves" (cf. Skt. svah, Avestan hva-, O.Pers. huva "one's own," khva-data "lord," lit. "created from oneself;" Gk. hos "he, she, it;" L. suescere "to accustom, get accustomed," sodalis "companion;" O.C.S. svoji "his, her, its," svojaku "relative, kinsman;" Goth. swes "one's own;" O.N. sik "oneself;" Ger. Sein; O.Ir. fein "self, himself"). Idiomatic is first attested 1712.
- the
- late O.E. že, nominative masculine form of the demonstrative pronoun and adjective. After c.950, it replaced earlier se (masc.), seo (fem.), žęt (neut.), and probably represents se altered by the ž- form which was used in all the masc. oblique cases (see below). O.E. se is from PIE base *so- "this, that" (cf. Skt. sa, Avestan ha, Gk. ho, he "the," Ir., Gael. so "this"). For the ž- forms, see that. The s- forms were entirely superseded in English by mid-13c., excepting dialectal survival slightly longer in Kent. O.E. used 10 different words for "the" (see table, below), but did not distinguish "the" from "that." That survived for a time as a definite article before vowels (cf. that one or that other). Adv. use in the more the merrier, the sooner the better, etc. is a relic of O.E. žy, originally the instrumentive case of the neuter demonstrative žęt (see that).
Masc. Fem. Neut. Plural Nom. se seo žęt ža Acc. žone ža žęt ža Gen. žęs žęre žęs žara Dat. žęm žęre žęm žęm Inst. žy, žon -- žy, žon --