his
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English, from Old English his (“his, its”), from Proto-Germanic *hes (“of this”), genitive of *hiz (“this, this one”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱe-, *ḱey- (“this”). Cognate with Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic hans (“his”). More at he; see also its.
Pronunciation[edit]
Determiner[edit]
his
- Belonging to him. [from 8th c.]
- 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, IV.i:
- With that he put his spurres vnto his steed, / With speare in rest, and toward him did fare, / Like shaft out of a bow preuenting speed.
-
1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 4, The Celebrity:
- No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or otherwise his man would be there with a message to say that his master would shortly join me if I would kindly wait.
- 2011, Xan Rice, The Guardian, 8 Apr 2011:
- In his first televised address since the siege in Abidjan began this week, Ouattara said he would focus on returning the country to normal to ease the plight of civilians.
- 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, IV.i:
- (obsolete) Its; belonging to it. (Now only when implying personification.) [11th-17th c.]
- 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, II.2:
- My stomacke could not well reach so farre: it is very much troubled to come to an end of that which it takes for his need.
- 1611, Matthew 5:13, King James Version:
- Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted?
- 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, II.2:
- (archaic) Used as a genitive marker in place of ’s after a noun, especially a masculine noun ending in -s, to express the possessive case. [from 11th c.]
- Ahab his mark for Ahab's mark.
Usage notes[edit]
- When followed by a noun, it is sometimes referred to as a possessive adjective, qualifying the following noun. It is, however, the possessive case of the personal pronoun he.
Translations[edit]
attributive: belonging to him
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See also[edit]
English personal pronouns
| Number | Person | Type | Subject | Objective | Reflexive | Possessive adjective | Possessive pronoun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | First | — | I | me | myself | my | mine |
| Second | — | you | you | yourself | your | yours | |
| Archaic | thou | thee | thyself, theeself |
thy | thine | ||
| Third | Masculine | he | him | himself, hisself (archaic) |
his | ||
| Feminine | she | her | herself | her | hers | ||
| Neuter | it | itself | its | its (rare) | |||
| Indefinite | one | oneself | one's | — | |||
| Plural | First | — | we | us | ourselves | our | ours |
| Second | — | you, ye (archaic) |
you | yourselves | your | yours | |
| Third | — | they | them | themselves | their | theirs | |
Pronoun[edit]
his
- That which belongs to him; the possessive case of he, used without a following noun.
- The decision was his to live with.
- Alternative spelling of His
Translations[edit]
that which belongs to him
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See also[edit]
Statistics[edit]
Anagrams[edit]
Danish[edit]
Noun[edit]
his n
- genitive singular indefinite of hi
Finnish[edit]
Noun[edit]
his
Latin[edit]
Pronoun[edit]
hīs
- dative masculine plural of hic
- dative feminine plural of hic
- dative neuter plural of hic
- ablative masculine plural of hic
- ablative feminine plural of hic
- ablative neuter plural of hic
[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
- xis (in older Americanist literature)
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
his
Turkish[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
his (definite accusative hissi, plural hisler)
Declension[edit]
declension of his
possessive forms of his
Synonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
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