Etymology From Middle English here, hir, hire, from Old English hire (“her”), from Proto-Germanic *hezōi (dative singular of *hijō). Cognate with North Frisian hör, Saterland Frisian hier, hiere (“her”), West Frisian har (“her”), Dutch haar (“her”), German Low German hör (“her”), German ihr (“her”).
1
Belonging to her (belonging to that female person or animal, or in poetic or old-fashioned language that ship, city, season, etc).
This is her book
Prodigal in everything, summer spreads her blessings with lavish unconcern, and waving her magic wand across the landscape of the world, she bids the sons of men to enter in [...]1928, The Journal of the American Dental Association, page 765:
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Her crew knew that deep in her heart beat engines fit and able to push her blunt old nose ahead at a sweet fourteen knots, come Hell or high water.1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 1:
On top of the circle she wrote her name, Louise, just above where the 12 on a clock would be.2001, Betsy Gould Hearne, Wishes, Kisses, and Pigs, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 78:
On 24 April Nelson rejoined his ship, her battle damage repaired […]2010, Andrew Lambert, Nelson: Britannia's God of War, Faber & Faber, →ISBN:
2
Belonging to a person of unspecified gender (to counterbalance the traditional "his" in this sense).
Begin by having students choose a short poem to memorize; they will enjoy searching the library for a poem that appeals to them. If a student wishes to memorize her poem and share it aloud with the rest of the class, suggest a buddy system.2017, David Yellin, Essentials of Integrating the Language Arts, page 115:
Related terms
54 termsIme, me, myselfmemysen, mine, mymineme, we, us, ourselvesourselfoursen, oursourn, our, you, yourselfyoursen, yoursyourn, your, thou, thee, thyselftheeselfthysen, thine, thythine, youye, yourselves, you ally'all you guys yous, y'allselves, all yours y'all's you guys' your guys', all your y'all's your all's you guys' your guys', he, him, himselfhisselfhissen, hishisn, his, she, herselfhersen, hershern, ithit, itselfhitself, itshis, itshishits, they, them, themself, themselves, theirs, their, one, oneself, –, one's, themhem, 'em, themselvestheirsen, theirstheirn, The following table shows a list of English personal pronoun, including archaic and dialectal forms. Dialectal and obsolete, archaic forms are in italics. 1 See Appendix:English third-person singular pronouns for attested neopronoun.
her
pron
Etymology From Middle English here, hir, hire, from Old English hire (“her”), from Proto-Germanic *hezōi (dative singular of *hijō). Cognate with North Frisian hör, Saterland Frisian hier, hiere (“her”), West Frisian har (“her”), Dutch haar (“her”), German Low German hör (“her”), German ihr (“her”).
1
The form of she used after a preposition, as the object of a verb, or (colloquial) as a subject with a conjunction; that woman, that ship, etc, or (dialect) as a subject without a conjunction.
Give it to her (after preposition)
He wrote her a letter (indirect object)
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He treated her for a cold (direct object)
Him and her went for a walk (with a conjunction; proscribed)
Her's a bosting wench! (as a subject wihout a conjunction; dialectal)
"Then what became of her?" "Her? Which ‘her’? The park is full of ‘hers’." "The lady with the green feathers in her hat. A big Gainsborough hat. I am quite sure it was Miss Hartuff."February 1896, Ground-swells, by Jeannette H. Walworth, published in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine; page 183
Etymology From Middle English here, hir, hire, from Old English hire (“her”), from Proto-Germanic *hezōi (dative singular of *hijō). Cognate with North Frisian hör, Saterland Frisian hier, hiere (“her”), West Frisian har (“her”), Dutch haar (“her”), German Low German hör (“her”), German ihr (“her”).
[…] daring dizzying passages in other, fleeting and passionate dwellings within the hims and hers whom she inhabits […]1986, Hélène Cixous, Sorties (translated)
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By this time, she had so many questions, but she only hit him up for one answer about those “hims” and “hers.” She asked, “Do both hims and hers reproduce hummers?”2004, Charles J. Sullivan, Love and Survival, page 68:
Honorific Honorific alternative letter-case form of her, sometimes used when referring to God or another important figure who is understood from context.
It is certain that Juan Diego was a virtuous man, who tried to direct his life along the road of righteousness, of honesty, of virtue, and to make all that pleased God bloom, who was chosen by the Mother of God Herself to be Her [i.e. the mother's] messenger.2006, Eduardo Chávez, Our Lady of Guadalupe and Saint Juan Diego: The Historical Evidence, →ISBN: