hu

See also: Appendix:Variations of "hu"

English

Etymology

Clipping of human, first offered for usage by Mikhail Epstein, professor of cultural theory at Emory University (in 2003).

Pronunciation

• Homophones: hue, huh

Pronoun

hu (third-person singular, nominative case, reflexive huself) (epicene)

1. (neologism) they (singular). Gender-neutral third-person singular subject pronoun, coordinate with gendered pronouns he and she.
   • 2002 January 3, McMahon, Bryan T., quoting Sasha Newborn, “A terrible book”, in The Ponchatoula Times‎^[1], page 7:

     Hu is fond of enigmas, of conundrums, of hieroglyphics; exhibiting in hus solutions of each and all a degree of acumen which appears to the ordinary apprehension preternatural.

   • 2003 October 14, Epstein, Mikhail, “"Hu," from "human," as a gender-neutral pronoun”, in , Usenet‎^[2], message-ID <f732cdb7.0310141153.6c715df8@posting.google.com>:

     When the lecturer arrives, hu will be speaking on the topic of anonymity.

   • 2007 November 29, Epstein, Mikhail, “hu”, in International Society for Universal Dialog‎^[3]:

     It's the vice-president's job to support the president and take hus place when hu is away.

   • 2008 March, Hitz, Christoph, “Hu, Me?”, in Mother Jones‎^[4], ISSN 0362-8841:

     Maybe, but if his/herstory's any guide, hu has hu work cut out for hu.

2. (neologism) them (singular). Gender-neutral third-person singular object pronoun, coordinate with gendered pronouns him and her.
   • 2006, Anderson, Perry; Burgess, Glenn, DeLuna, D. N., editor, The Political Imagination in History: Essays Concerning J.G.A. Pocock‎^[5], Owlworks, →ISBN, page 175:

     One of his favorite metaphors for the historian, drawn from the "Preface" to Hegel's Philosophy of Right, likens hu to the owl of Minerva, whose flight at dusk provided the setting for mature reflection on the day that had passed.

3. (neologism) their (singular). Gender-neutral third-person singular possessive adjective, coordinate with his and her.
   • 2006 October 1, “He said, she said, hu said”, in Los Angeles Times‎^[6]:

     Now, however, the editorial writer has a new weapon in hu arsenal.

   • 2006 November 17, Kyff, Rob, “Hu Joins Heesh As Neutral Pronoun”, in Hartford Courant‎^[7]:

     If hu doesn't do hu homework, I will fail hu.

Hyponyms

• (as subject): he, she
• (as object): him, her

Derived terms

• huself

See also

• other attested and proposed gender-neutral pronouns

Anagrams

• uh

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Abau

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hu/

Noun

hu

1. water

References

• transnewguinea.org, citing D. C. Laycock, Languages of the Lumi Subdistrict (West Sepik District), New Guinea (1968), Oceanic Linguistics, 7 (1): 36-66

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Akan

Pronunciation

• Tone: L

Verb

hu

1. to see
2. to discern, to descry, to find

References

• “hũ” in Christaller, Johann Gottlieb (1881). A Dictionary of the Asante and Fante Language Called Tshi (Chwee, Tw̌i). Basel.

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Albanian

Alternative forms

• Gheg: hû
  • indef. sg. huni
  • def. pl. hûj

Etymology

From Proto-Albanian *skuna, from *skun-o- (compare Norwegian/Faroese skon (“snout”)), from Proto-Indo-European *skewd-. More at hedh.

Noun

hu m (indefinite plural hunj, definite singular huri, definite plural hunjtë)

1. wooden post, fencepost
2. stake, picket
3. pole, stilt
4. (colloquial) penis

Related terms

• hundë

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Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse hugr.

Interjection

hu

1. An expression of eeriness, horror or a very strong emotion

Noun

hu c (singular definite huen, not used in plural form)

1. inclination, sympathy

Derived terms

• husvale

Verb

hu

1. imperative of hue

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Esperanto

Interjection

hu

1. oh, ooh, oof, wow (indicating surprise or another strong emotion)

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German

Interjection

hu

1. an exclamation of feeling cold

Further reading

• hu in Duden online

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Kriol

Etymology

From English who.

Pronoun

hu

1. (interrogative) who

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Lower Sorbian

Preposition

hu (with genitive)

1. Obsolete spelling of wu

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Maltese

Alternative forms

• huwa

Etymology

From Arabic هُوَ‎ (huwa)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /uː/

Pronoun

hu

1. he

Inflection

inflected forms of hu

positive	huwa, hu
negative	mhuwiex, mhux
possessive pronoun	tiegħu
basic suffix	-u, -h
direct object suffix	-u, -h
indirect object suffix	-lu

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Mandarin

Romanization

hu

1. Nonstandard spelling of hū.
2. Nonstandard spelling of hú.
3. Nonstandard spelling of hǔ.
4. Nonstandard spelling of hù.

Usage notes

• English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

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Middle Dutch

Determiner

hu

1. Alternative spelling of u

Pronoun

hu

1. Alternative spelling of u; accusative and dative of gi

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Middle English

Pronoun

hu

1. Alternative form of heo

References

• “he, pron. (2)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 10 June 2018.

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Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *hwō. Cognate with Old Frisian hū, Old Saxon hū (Dutch hoe), Old High German wuo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /huː/

Adverb

hū

1. How, in all senses, including:
   1. To what degree

      Hū eald is þīn dohtor?

      How old is your daughter?

      Hū miċel fēos hæfst þū mid þē?

      How much money do you have with you?

   2. In what manner

      Hū sæġþ man þæt on Englisċ?

      How do you say that in English?

      Hū færst þū?

      How are you? (Literally: "How are you faring?")

   3. In what state

      Hū wæs þīn dæġ?

      How was your day?

      Þū canst Ælfrēd cyning? Hū is hē?

      You know King Alfred? What is he like?

      Iċ bēo simle hū iċ eom.

      I'll always be the way I am.

   4. Used in exclamations

      Hū hleahtorlīċ!

      How ridiculous!

      Hū gōd hund!

      What a good dog!

Conjunction

hū

1. How, in all senses:
   1. In what manner

      Iċ leornode hū man wæġn ġebētt.

      I learned how to repair a wagon.

      Hīe āxodon hū hīe helpan mihten.

      They asked how they could help.

   2. That, the fact that (introducing direct statements)

      Iċ him sæġde hū iċ wǣre æt hām ealne dæġ and ne ġehīerde nāwiht.

      I told them how I'd been at home all day and hadn't heard a thing.

      Þæt is tō wundriġenne hū hīe þā bryċġe swā hraðe ġefyldon.

      It's amazing how they completed the bridge so quickly.

Descendants

• Middle English: hu, hou, hwu, wou, howe
  • English: how
  • Scots: hoo, foo

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Old French

FWOTD – 25 March 2016

Alternative forms

• heu
• hue
• hui
• huy

Etymology

Onomatopoeia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hy/

Interjection

hu

1. a shouting noise made when pursuing someone or something

Noun

hu m (oblique plural hus, nominative singular hus, nominative plural hu)

1. commotion; racket (noisy situation)

References

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (hu)
• hu on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub

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Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *hwō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /huː/

Adverb

hu

1. how

Conjunction

hu

1. how

Synonyms

• hwo

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Westrobothnian

Etymology 1

From Old Norse hón.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hʉː/, /heʊ̯ː/, /hʊ/, /hœ/

Pronoun

hu (accusative na or hänner, dative hänner or henar, genitive hännars or henars)

1. she, it (third person singular, feminine)

Usage notes

Hu is used to refer not only to feminine persons, but any feminine noun.

Synonyms

• ho
• hon

See also

Westrobothnian personal pronouns.

number	first person	second person	reflexive	third person
case	singular			singular masculine	singular feminine	singular neuter
nominative	jig, jeg, jög	du, döu		hɑnn, hånn	hu, ho, hon	he
accusative	meg	deg	seg		hana, na, a, hänner	he, ne, e
dative	meg	deg	seg	hönöm, hano, håno	hannar, hänner, hennar, henar, nar	dy, dyij, di
genitive	min	din	sin	hɑnʃ, hansches, hånsch	hannars, hännars, hennars, henars	diss
case	plural			plural masculine	plural feminine	plural neuter
nominative	ve	ge, je, ji		de, di, dȯm, dem, döm
accusative	ass, åss	ge, je, ji	seg
dative	ass, åss	gerom, irom	seg	dȯm, dem, döm, do
genitive	vor, våor, vånn, voden	jera, jänn, iden, jedar, idar	sin	dern, dera, däris	dera, däris	derä

Etymology 2

Compare Norwegian Nynorsk ho, hoe

Pronunciation

• (Luleå) IPA^(key): /²heʊ̯ː/

Noun

hu f

1. female

Etymology 3

From Old Norse húð, from Proto-Germanic *hūdiz, from Proto-Indo-European *kuHtis.

Noun

hu f

1. hide; pelt

Related terms

• hy