From Middle English þei, borrowed in the 1200s from Old Norse þeir, plural of the demonstrative sá which acted as a plural pronoun. Displaced native Middle English he from Old English hīe — which vowel changes had left indistinct from he (“he”) — by the 1400s, being readily incorporated alongside native words beginning with the same sound (the, that, this). Used as a singular pronoun since 1300, e.g. in the 1325 Cursor Mundi. The Norse term (whence also Icelandic þeir (“they”), Faroese teir (“they”), Danish de (“they”), Swedish de (“they”), Norwegian Nynorsk dei (“they”)) is from Proto-Germanic *þai (“those”) (from Proto-Indo-European *to- (“that”)), whence also Old English þā (“those”) (whence obsolete English tho), Scots thae, thai, thay (“they; those”), Swabian dia (“they”). The origin of the determiner they (“the, those”) is unclear. The OED, English Dialect Dictionary and Middle English Dictionary define it and its Middle English predecessor thei as a demonstrative determiner or adjective meaning “those” or “the”. This could be a continuation of the use of the English pronoun they's Old Norse etymon þeir as a demonstrative meaning “those”, but the OED and EDD say it is limited to southern, especially southwestern, England, specifically outside the region of Norse contact.
They rooks as you see … only coom a few year agoo.1878, Louis John Jennings, Field Paths and Green Lanes, quoting an old East Sussex man
Darn'd if they Cockney Chaps can zee there worn't nort but lie in him.1883, Judy, or the London serio-comic journal, volume 33, Harvard University:
3 more examples
page 21: "But you spile [spoil] they gals - they won't be for no good, they won't." page 30: "'Twas all about they rewks [rooks]," he sobbed. page 54: "mucking the place up with they weeds"1895, Under the Chilterns: A Story of English Village Life:
"Bodies and souls," she cried, "if I didn't reckon to have hidden they boots safe from un in the stick-rick." "Off wi' they tight-wasted shoes o' yours, Martha."1901, Gwendoline Keats (of Devon), Tales of Dunstáble Weir, page 55
Forty quid a fuckin ticket. No shy they British Rail cunts, ah kin fuckin tell ye.1994 [1993], Irvine Welsh, Trainspotting, London: Minerva, →ISBN, page 114:
MARY ELLEN is a different case from the others. She has five children and, she claims: "I don't know who they father is. I ain't never kept track. They is always another one. You know, I can catch me a guy[.]"1974, Arthur Hippler, Hunter's Point: a black ghetto in America, page 88:
It's a shame to see someone talk so bad about the gays and lesbians in prison. She is brainwash to the fact that she think every gay and lesbian in prison is guilty of they crimes.1988 February 7, Mike Riegle, quoting John Royal, “Why Does GCN Have A Prisoner Project?”, in Gay Community News, volume 15, number 29, page 10:
3 more examples
But all they kids be listenin' to me religiously / So I'm signin' CDs while police fingerprint me2002, Eminem, Sing for the Moment:
I got bitches askin' me about the code for the Wi-Fi / So they can talk about they timeline / And show me pictures of they friends2015, “Energy”, in If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, performed by Drake:
He guessed one of the well-off people living in these houses must have took a shine to Cody and decided how he'd look good stuck up on they roof.2016, Alan Moore, Jerusalem, Liveright, published 2016, page 175:
they
verb
Etymology
From Middle English þei, borrowed in the 1200s from Old Norse þeir, plural of the demonstrative sá which acted as a plural pronoun. Displaced native Middle English he from Old English hīe — which vowel changes had left indistinct from he (“he”) — by the 1400s, being readily incorporated alongside native words beginning with the same sound (the, that, this). Used as a singular pronoun since 1300, e.g. in the 1325 Cursor Mundi. The Norse term (whence also Icelandic þeir (“they”), Faroese teir (“they”), Danish de (“they”), Swedish de (“they”), Norwegian Nynorsk dei (“they”)) is from Proto-Germanic *þai (“those”) (from Proto-Indo-European *to- (“that”)), whence also Old English þā (“those”) (whence obsolete English tho), Scots thae, thai, thay (“they; those”), Swabian dia (“they”). The origin of the determiner they (“the, those”) is unclear. The OED, English Dialect Dictionary and Middle English Dictionary define it and its Middle English predecessor thei as a demonstrative determiner or adjective meaning “those” or “the”. This could be a continuation of the use of the English pronoun they's Old Norse etymon þeir as a demonstrative meaning “those”, but the OED and EDD say it is limited to southern, especially southwestern, England, specifically outside the region of Norse contact.
1
To refer to (someone, sometimes especially someone who does not use gender-neutral pronouns) using they/them pronouns.
I have a pin that says she/her, but I still get theyed all the time.
they
noun
Etymology
From Middle English þei, borrowed in the 1200s from Old Norse þeir, plural of the demonstrative sá which acted as a plural pronoun. Displaced native Middle English he from Old English hīe — which vowel changes had left indistinct from he (“he”) — by the 1400s, being readily incorporated alongside native words beginning with the same sound (the, that, this). Used as a singular pronoun since 1300, e.g. in the 1325 Cursor Mundi. The Norse term (whence also Icelandic þeir (“they”), Faroese teir (“they”), Danish de (“they”), Swedish de (“they”), Norwegian Nynorsk dei (“they”)) is from Proto-Germanic *þai (“those”) (from Proto-Indo-European *to- (“that”)), whence also Old English þā (“those”) (whence obsolete English tho), Scots thae, thai, thay (“they; those”), Swabian dia (“they”). The origin of the determiner they (“the, those”) is unclear. The OED, English Dialect Dictionary and Middle English Dictionary define it and its Middle English predecessor thei as a demonstrative determiner or adjective meaning “those” or “the”. This could be a continuation of the use of the English pronoun they's Old Norse etymon þeir as a demonstrative meaning “those”, but the OED and EDD say it is limited to southern, especially southwestern, England, specifically outside the region of Norse contact.
Honorific Honorific alternative letter-case form of of they, sometimes used when referring to gods or other important figures who are understood from context.
Then raising Their hands, each god according to his sign, They made the worlds and the suns, and put a light in the houses of the sky.1905, Lord Dunsany [i.e., Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany], “Of the Making of the Worlds”, in The Gods of Pegāna, London: [Charles] Elkin Mathews, […], →OCLC, pages 4–5:
The question arises in a practical way in two possible situations: either ‘here is Mr. A: he wants to do some research and has a grant of so much for X years’: or ‘here is a problem: They (capital T, please) want us to do research about it and are prepared to pay £X over a period of X years’. Of course these problems are not for the entrepreneur separate: if he can promote an association between Mr. A and Them he has to that extent stabilised and regularised his business.1975, W[illiam] J[ames] M[illar] Mackenzie, “The Conceptual Framework and the Cash Basis”, in Explorations in Government: Collected Papers: 1951–1968, New York, N.Y.; Toronto, Ont.: Halsted Press, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, section V (Constitutional Theory, Political Theory), pages 305–306:
3 more examples
God is used as the mouthpiece of the parent. You come to feel that you can never be good enough or perfect enough in their eyes or in God’s. Even when you start to think for yourself, you have the dim fear that They (capital T) are right.1987, Howard F. Stein, “Farmer and Cowboy: The Duality of the Midwestern Male Ethos—a Study in Ethnicity, Regionalism, and National Identity”, in Howard F. Stein, Maurice Apprey, From Metaphor to Meaning: Papers in Psychoanalytic Anthropology (Series in Ethnicity, Medicine, and Psychoanalysis; 2), Charlottesville, Va.: University Press of Virginia, →ISBN, page 211:
They (capital T) are saying that while Saddam was not at all a good idea it was very bad that we were in the Gulf at all – latest was a bearded Canuck who did me for their TV this morning.1991 March 18, Kingsley Amis, “To Robert Conquest”, in Zachary Leader, editor, The Letters of Kingsley Amis, London: HarperCollinsPublishers, published 2000, →ISBN, pages 1102–1103:
Succinctly stated, your story is that nameless men from a faceless organization want to kill you for reasons which you cannot fathom. You’ve done nothing. You are an innocent and blameless man. But They—capital ‘T’ They—want you dead.1995 October, Joseph R. Garber, “Some Fine Joke”, in Vertical Run, New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books, →ISBN, page 133:
Related terms
He, She, Thou, You
they
pron
Etymology
From Middle English þei, borrowed in the 1200s from Old Norse þeir, plural of the demonstrative sá which acted as a plural pronoun. Displaced native Middle English he from Old English hīe — which vowel changes had left indistinct from he (“he”) — by the 1400s, being readily incorporated alongside native words beginning with the same sound (the, that, this). Used as a singular pronoun since 1300, e.g. in the 1325 Cursor Mundi. The Norse term (whence also Icelandic þeir (“they”), Faroese teir (“they”), Danish de (“they”), Swedish de (“they”), Norwegian Nynorsk dei (“they”)) is from Proto-Germanic *þai (“those”) (from Proto-Indo-European *to- (“that”)), whence also Old English þā (“those”) (whence obsolete English tho), Scots thae, thai, thay (“they; those”), Swabian dia (“they”). The origin of the determiner they (“the, those”) is unclear. The OED, English Dialect Dictionary and Middle English Dictionary define it and its Middle English predecessor thei as a demonstrative determiner or adjective meaning “those” or “the”. This could be a continuation of the use of the English pronoun they's Old Norse etymon þeir as a demonstrative meaning “those”, but the OED and EDD say it is limited to southern, especially southwestern, England, specifically outside the region of Norse contact.
I have a car and a truck, but they are both broken.
But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none; And they that weep, as though they wept not; And they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; And they that buy, as though they possessed not; And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away1611, King James Bible:
[…]purſued his vnneighbourly purpoſe in ſuch ſort: that hee being the ſtronger perſwader, and ſhe (belike) too credulous in beleeuing or elſe ouer-feeble in reſiſting, from priuate imparlance, they fell to action; and continued their cloſe fight a long while together, vnſeene and vvithout ſuſpition, no doubt to their equall ioy and contentment.1620, Giovanni Bocaccio, translated by John Florio, The Decameron, Containing an Hundred Pleaſant Nouels: Wittily Diſcourſed, Betweene Seuen Honourable Ladies, and Three Noble Gentlemen, Isaac Iaggard, Nouell 8, The Eighth Day:
2
Nominative, Sometimes, Third person, Usually A single person, previously mentioned, whose gender is unknown, irrelevant, or (since 20th c.) non-binary.
The third-person singular nominative; occasionally proscribed; the third-person singular nominative; occasionally proscribed
Somebody requested a seat at Friday's performance but didn't say if they preferred the balcony or the floor.
Who says they care? —He himself does.
4 more examples
If someone enters the restricted area, they are required to present identification.
I asked my friend if they wanted to come, but they said no.
One of the boys tripped over, and they hit their head on the door.
There is no need to panic, Robin should be here soon and they will know what to do.
3
Indefinite, Nominative, Pronoun, Sometimes, Third person, Usually People; some people; people in general; someone, excluding the speaker.
They say it’s a good place to live.
They didn’t have computers in the old days.
4 more examples
They don’t make them like they used to.
Always get a second source, they tell us in investigative lexicography;[…]1986 February 16, William Safire, “On Language; Moon Of My Delight”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 24 May 2015, Section 6 / Magazine, page 10:
I am beautiful, no matter what they say2002, Linda Perry, “Beautiful”, in Stripped, performed by Christina Aguilera:
Hurtling through the air that evening in seat 10C, I read the US House committee’s Max investigation, a disruptor of illusions. Like many fliers, I’d long ago made my bargain with risk. I’d taken comfort in statistics, summoned faith in the engineers and assembly workers, the pilots, the system. I’d shunted away the knowledge—paralyzing, if you let it in—that stepping on an airplane is an extraordinary act of trust. Deep in the report, I reached the part about a senior manager at Boeing’s factory in Renton, a guy named Ed Pierson, who seemingly knew what we all know when we soothe ourselves by thinking, They wouldn’t let it fly if it weren’t safe. We’re all relying on someone to be the “they.”2025 March 11, Lauren Smiley, “The Worst 7 Years in Boeing’s History—and the Man Who Won’t Stop Fighting for Answers. Fatal crashes. A door blowout. Grounded planes. Inside the citizen-led, obsessive campaign to hold Boeing accountable and prevent the next disaster”, in Wired:
4
Indefinite, Nominative, Pronoun, Sometimes, Third person, Usually The authorities, the (power) elites, the powers that be, the establishment, the man, the system: government, police, employers, etc.
They'll tax us for the air we breathe next.
They should increase our wages.
1 more example
Ha, you believe the moon is real? That's just what they want you to think.
58 termsus versus them, Ime, 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, her, herselfhersen, hershern, ithit, itselfhitself, itshis, itshishits, 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., other attested third-person singular pronouns, theirselves, theirself
they
pron
Etymology From earlier the'e, from there.
1
US, Dialectal There (especially as an expletive subject of be).
They’s music in the twitter of the bluebird and the jay.1889, James Whitcomb Riley, Pipes o' Pan:
MARY ELLEN is a different case from the others. She has five children and, she claims: "I don't know who they father is. I ain't never kept track. They is always another one. You know, I can catch me a guy[.]"1974, Arthur Hippler, Hunter's Point: a black ghetto in America, page 88:
3 more examples
They ain’t nothin’ wrong with that.2000, Janice Giles, Hill Man, page 58:
But they ain’t nothin’ in there you didn’t already have.2008, Christian Carvajal, Lightfall, page 82:
Well, they’s a lot of ‘em didn’t survive, if you believe me.2010, Alessandro Portelli, They Say in Harlan County: An Oral History, page 207: