it
English[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
- (stressed)
- (Received Pronunciation, General American, General Australian) IPA(key): /ɪt/ enPR: ĭt
- (General New Zealand) IPA(key): /ɘt/
Audio (UK) (file) Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɪt
- (unstressed)
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ɪt/, [ɪ̈t], [ɪt]
- Rhymes: -ɪt
- (General American) IPA(key): /ət/, [ɪ̈t], enPR: ət
- (General Australian) IPA(key): /ət/
- (General New Zealand) IPA(key): /ɘt/
- Homophone: at (unstressed) (General American, General Australian, General New Zealand)
Etymology 1[edit]
From Middle English it, hit ( > dialectal English hit (“it”)), from Old English hit (“it”), from Proto-Germanic *hit (“this, this one”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱe-, *ḱey- (“this, here”). Cognate with West Frisian it (“it”), Saterland Frisian et, 't (“it”), Low German it (“it”), Dutch het (“it”), German es (“it”), Latin cis, hic. More at he.
Alternative forms[edit]
Pronoun[edit]
it (subjective and objective it, reflexive and intensive itself, possessive determiner and pronoun its)
- The third-person singular personal pronoun that is normally used to refer to an inanimate object or abstract entity, also often used to refer to animals.
- Put it over there.
- Take each day as it comes.
- I heard the sound of the school bus - it was early today.
- 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
- It is not a pen. It is a book.
Audio (US) (file)
- It is not a pen. It is a book.
- A third-person singular personal pronoun used to refer to a child, especially of unknown gender.
- She took the baby and held it in her arms.
- 1847, Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, Chapter IV:
- A child cannot quarrel with its elders, as I had done; cannot give its furious feelings uncontrolled play, as I had given mine, without experiencing afterwards the pang of remorse and the chill of reaction.
- 1859, Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White[1]:
- I could only encourage Mrs. Clements to speak next of Anne's early days […] "There was nobody else, sir, to take the little helpless creature in hand," replied Mrs. Clements. "The wicked mother seemed to hate it—as if the poor baby was in fault!—from the day it was born. My heart was heavy for the child, and I made the offer to bring it up as tenderly as if it was my own."
"Did Anne remain entirely under your care from that time?"
"Not quite entirely, sir. Mrs. Catherick had her whims and fancies about it at times, and used now and then to lay claim to the child, as if she wanted to spite me for bringing it up.
- 2005, Marcus Zusak, The Book Thief, part 10:
- The sky was dripping. Like a tap that a child has tried its hardest to turn off but hasn't quite managed.
- Used to refer to someone being identified, often on the phone, but not limited to this situation.
- It's me. John.
- Is it her?
- It is I, your king.
- The impersonal pronoun, used without referent as the subject of an impersonal verb or statement. (known as the dummy pronoun or weather it)
- It is nearly 10 o’clock.
- It’s 10:45[read ten-forty-five].
- It’s very cold today.
- It’s lonely without you.
- The impersonal pronoun, used without referent in various short idioms.
- The impersonal pronoun, used as a placeholder for a delayed subject, or less commonly, object; known as the dummy pronoun or, more formally in linguistics, a syntactic expletive. The delayed subject is commonly a to-infinitive, a gerund, or a noun clause introduced by a subordinating conjunction.
- It is easy to see how she would think that.(with the infinitive clause headed by to see)
- I find it odd that you would say that.(with the noun clause introduced by that)
- It is hard seeing you so sick.(with the gerund seeing)
- He saw to it that everyone would vote for him.(with the noun clause introduced by that)
- It is not clear if the report was true.(with the noun clause introduced by if)
- All or the end; something after which there is no more.
- Are there more students in this class, or is this it?
- That's it—I'm not going to any more candy stores with you.
- (chiefly derogatory, offensive) A third-person singular personal pronoun used to refer to an animate referent who is transgender or is neither female nor male.
- 1993, Bruce Coville, Aliens Ate My Homework, pages 72–73:
- "Oh, don't be silly. I am neither male nor female. I'm a farfel." […] "It. Refer to me as an it."
"That seems pretty rude," I said nervously.
"Not as rude as calling me a he or a she," it said.
- "Oh, don't be silly. I am neither male nor female. I'm a farfel." […] "It. Refer to me as an it."
- 1993, Bruce Coville, Aliens Ate My Homework, pages 72–73:
- (obsolete) Followed by an omitted and understood relative pronoun: That which; what.
- 1643, Thomas Browne, Religio Medici, II.2:
- In briefe, I am content, and what should providence add more? Surely this is it [= it which] wee call Happinesse, and this doe I enjoy [...].
- 1643, Thomas Browne, Religio Medici, II.2:
Usage notes[edit]
- See Wiktionary:English inflection, Appendix:English pronouns and Appendix:English third-person singular pronouns for other personal pronouns.
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:it.
Derived terms[edit]
See also[edit]
Translations[edit]
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Determiner[edit]
it
- (obsolete) its
- 1611, Authorized King James Version of the Bible, first edition, Leviticus 25:5:
- That which groweth of it owne accord of thy haruest, thou ſhalt not reape, neither gather the grapes of thy Uine vndreſſed: for it is a yeere of reſt vnto the land. (replaced by "its" in the 1769 Oxford Standard Text)
- 1611, Authorized King James Version of the Bible, first edition, Leviticus 25:5:
Noun[edit]
it (plural its)
- One who is neither a he nor a she; a creature; a dehumanized being.
- 1920, Herman Cyril McNeile, Bulldog Drummond Chapter 1
- His master glanced up quickly, and removed the letter from his hands. "I'm surprised at you, James," he remarked severely. "A secretary should control itself. Don't forget that the perfect secretary is an it: an automatic machine—a thing incapable of feeling.…"
- 1995, Neil Weiner, Sharon E. Robinson Kurpius, Shattered innocence (page 8)
- Too often, children become an "it" in their homes and their humanness is devalued.
- 1920, Herman Cyril McNeile, Bulldog Drummond Chapter 1
- The person who chases and tries to catch the other players in the playground game of tag.
- In the next game, Adam and Tom will be it…
- 2000, Katherine T. Thomas, Amelia M. Lee, Jerry R. Thomas, Physical education for children (page 464)
- When there are only two children left who haven't been tagged, I will stop the game, and we will start over with those children starting as the Its.
- (Britain, uncountable) The game of tag.
- Let's play it at breaktime.
- (uncountable) Sex appeal, especially that which goes beyond beauty.
- 1904, Rudyard Kipling, "Mrs Bathurst"
- 'Tisn't beauty, so to speak, nor good talk necessarily. It's just It. Some women'll stay in a man's memory if they once walked down a street
- 1927, Dorothy Parker:
- And she had It. It, hell; she had Those.
- 1904, Rudyard Kipling, "Mrs Bathurst"
- (euphemistic) Sexual activity.
- 1991, Stephen Fry, The Liar, p. 14:
- The great advantage of English public school life lies of course in the quality of tutelage it provides. Adrian had received a decent and broad English education in the area of his loins... He had quickly happened upon the truth which many lonely contemporaries would never discover, the truth that everybody, simply everybody, was panting for it and could, with patience, be shown that they were panting for it. So Adrian grabbed what was to hand and had the time of his life genitally—focusing exclusively on his own gender of course, for this was 1973 and girls had not yet been invented.
- caught them doing it
- 1991, Stephen Fry, The Liar, p. 14:
- A biological force that inhabits living beings, according to the vitalist approach of Georg Groddeck.
Adjective[edit]
it (not comparable)
- (colloquial) Most fashionable.
- 2007 September, Vibe, volume 15, number 9, page 202:
- Going away for the weekend and feel the need to profile en route? This is the "it" bag.
- 2010, David Germain, Hilarious ‘Kick-Ass’ delivers bloody fun, Associated Press
- With Hit Girl, Moretz is this year's It Girl, alternately sweet, savage and scary.
- 2007 September, Vibe, volume 15, number 9, page 202:
Etymology 2[edit]
Abbreviation.
Proper noun[edit]
it
Derived terms[edit]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
Anagrams[edit]
Azerbaijani[edit]
Other scripts | ||
---|---|---|
Cyrillic | ит | |
Roman | it | |
Perso-Arabic | ایت |
Etymology[edit]
From Proto-Turkic *it, *ït (“canine”).
Noun[edit]
it (definite accusative iti, plural itlər)
Declension[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
- itbaz (“caninophile”)
See also[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- “it” in Obastan.com.
Charrua[edit]
Noun[edit]
it
References[edit]
- Rodolfo Maruca Sosa, La nación charrúa (1957)
Chuukese[edit]
Noun[edit]
it
Crimean Tatar[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Proto-Turkic *it, *ït.
Noun[edit]
it
Synonyms[edit]
References[edit]
- Mirjejev, V. A.; Usejinov, S. M. (2002) Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary][2], Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN
Irish[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Contraction[edit]
it (triggers lenition)
Related terms[edit]
Basic form | Contracted with | Copular forms | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
an (“the sg”) | na (“the pl”) | mo (“my”) | do (“your”) | a (“his, her, their; which (present)”) | ár (“our”) | ar (“which (past)”) | (before consonant) | (present/future before vowel) | (past/conditional before vowel) | |
de (“from”) | den | de na desna* |
de mo dem* |
de do ded*, det* |
dá | dár | dar | darb | darbh | |
do (“to, for”) | don | do na dosna* |
do mo dom* |
do do dod*, dot* |
dá | dár | dar | darb | darbh | |
faoi (“under, about”) | faoin | faoi na | faoi mo | faoi do | faoina | faoinár | faoinar | faoinarb | faoinarbh | |
fara (“along with, beside”) | fairis an | fairis na | fara mo | fara do | farana | faranár | faranar | faranarb | faranarbh | |
i (“in”) | sa, san | sna | i mo im* |
i do id*, it* |
ina | inár | inar | inarb | inarbh | |
le (“with”) | leis an | leis na | le mo lem* |
le do led*, let* |
lena | lenár | lenar | lenarb | lenarbh | |
ó (“from, since”) | ón | ó na ósna* |
ó mo óm* |
ó do ód*, ót* |
óna | ónár | ónar | ónarb | ónarbh | |
trí (“through”) | tríd an | trí na | trí mo | trí do | trína | trínár | trínar | trínarb | trínarbh | |
*Dialectal. |
Latin[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Verb[edit]
it
Latvian[edit]
Particle[edit]
it
- used to assign accentuation to expression
- it sevišķi ― especially
- it nekas ― nothing at all
- it nekur ― nowhere at all
- it nemaz ― not at all
- it kā ― as if
Middle Dutch[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Pronoun[edit]
it
- Alternative form of het
Middle English[edit]
Pronoun[edit]
it
- Alternative form of hit (“it”)
Determiner[edit]
it
- Alternative form of hit (“it”)
Middle Low German[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Old Saxon it, from Proto-Germanic *hit.
Pronunciation[edit]
Pronoun[edit]
it
Declension[edit]
nominative | accusative | dative | genitive | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st person singular | ik (ek) | mî (mê, mik, mek) | mîn (mîner) | ||
2nd person singular | dû | dî (dê, dik, dek) | dîn (dîner) | ||
3rd person singular | |||||
m | hê (hî, hie) | ēne, en (ȫne, ȫn) | ēme, em (ȫme, en) | sîn (sîner) | |
n | it (et) | ||||
f | sê (sî, sie, sü̂) | ēre, ēr (ērer, ȫrer) | |||
1st person plural | wî (wê, wie) | uns (ûs, ös, ü̂sik) | unser (ûser) | ||
2nd person plural | gî (jê, î) | jû (jûwe, û, jük, gik) | jûwer (ûwer) | ||
3rd person plural | sê (sî, sie) | em, öm, jüm (en, ēnen, ȫnen) | ēre, ēr (ērer, ȫrer) | ||
For an explanation of the forms in brackets see here. |
Descendants[edit]
Min Nan[edit]
For pronunciation and definitions of it – see 一 (“one; each; every; etc.”). (This character, it, is the Pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 一.) |
Northern Sami[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Verb[edit]
it
Old Irish[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
- (second-person singular form) at
Pronunciation[edit]
Verb[edit]
it
- inflection of is:
Old Saxon[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Proto-Germanic *it.
Pronoun[edit]
it n
Declension[edit]
Personal pronouns | |||||
Singular | 1. | 2. | 3. m | 3. f | 3. n |
Nominative | ik | thū | hē | siu | it |
Accusative | mī, me, mik | thī, thik | ina | sia | |
Dative | mī | thī | imu | iru | it |
Genitive | mīn | thīn | is | ira | is |
Dual | 1. | 2. | - | - | - |
Nominative | wit | git | - | - | - |
Accusative | unk | ink | - | - | - |
Dative | |||||
Genitive | unkero | - | - | - | |
Plural | 1. | 2. | 3. m | 3. f | 3. n |
Nominative | wī, we | gī, ge | sia | sia | siu |
Accusative | ūs, unsik | eu, iu, iuu | |||
Dative | ūs | im | |||
Genitive | ūser | euwar, iuwer, iuwar, iuwero, iuwera | iro |
Descendants[edit]
Piedmontese[edit]
Pronoun[edit]
it
- you (singular)
Sathmar Swabian[edit]
Adverb[edit]
it
References[edit]
- Claus Stephani, Volksgut der Sathmarschwaben (1985)
Turkish[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
From Ottoman Turkish ایت (it), from Old Turkic ıt (ıt, “dog”), from Proto-Turkic *īt, *ıyt, *ɨt, *it.
Noun[edit]
it (definite accusative iti, plural itler)
- (often derogatory) dog
- (derogatory) scoundrel, detestable person, cur
Usage notes[edit]
Not historically derogatory, and still used as the primary term for "dog" in the countryside. Usually, if a dog is a stray or feral, it can be referred to as "it" as well. The more usual word is köpek, which is also pejorative and derogatory when used for a person.
Declension[edit]
Inflection | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nominative | it | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Definite accusative | iti | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Singular | Plural | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nominative | it | itler | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Definite accusative | iti | itleri | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dative | ite | itlere | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Locative | itte | itlerde | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ablative | itten | itlerden | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Genitive | itin | itlerin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Etymology 2[edit]
Verb[edit]
it
- second-person singular imperative of itmek (“to push”)
Turkmen[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Old Turkic ıt (ıt, “dog”), from Proto-Turkic *īt, *ıyt, *ɨt, *it.
Noun[edit]
it (definite accusative idi, plural itler)
Declension[edit]
Uzbek[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Proto-Turkic *ɨt, *it.
Noun[edit]
it (plural itlar)
Volapük[edit]
Determiner[edit]
it
- (with a personal pronoun) self; myself; yourself; himself; herself; itself; ourselves; themselves; emphasises the identity or singularity of the modified noun phrase
Welsh[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Pronoun[edit]
it
- (literary) second-person singular of i
West Frisian[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
From Old Frisian hit, from Proto-Germanic *hit.
Pronunciation[edit]
Pronoun[edit]
it
- it (third-person singular neuter pronoun)
Inflection[edit]
Number | Person | Nominative | Objective | Possessive | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Normal | Reflexive | Determiner | Pronoun | ||||
Singular | First | ik | my | mysels | myn | mines | |
Second | Informal | do/dû1 | dy | dysels | dyn | dines | |
Formal | jo | jo | josels | jo | jowes | ||
Third | Masculine | hy | him | himsels | syn | sines | |
Feminine | sy/hja1 | har | harsels | har | harres | ||
Neuter | it | it | himsels | syn | sines | ||
Plural | First | wy | ús | ússels | ús | uzes | |
Second | jim(me) | jim(me) | jimsels/jinsels | jim(me) | jimmes | ||
Third | sy/hja1 | har(ren) | harsels | har(ren) | harres | ||
1. Now mostly archaic and unused |
Further reading[edit]
- “it (I)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011
Etymology 2[edit]
From Old Frisian thet, from Proto-Germanic *þat.
Pronunciation[edit]
Determiner[edit]
it
Zhuang[edit]
< 0 | 1 | 2 > |
---|---|---|
Cardinal : it | ||
Etymology[edit]
From Chinese 一 (MC ʔiɪt̚, “one”). Cognate with Thai เอ็ด (èt), Lao ເອັດ (ʼet), Shan ဢဵတ်း (ʼét), Ahom 𑜒𑜢𑜄𑜫 (ʼit), Bouyei idt.
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Standard Zhuang) IPA(key): /ʔit˥/
- Tone numbers: it7
- Hyphenation: it
Numeral[edit]
it (old orthography it)
Usage notes[edit]
Used with ngeih rather than song.
Synonyms[edit]
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English terms with homophones
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English lemmas
- English pronouns
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- English derogatory terms
- English offensive terms
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English determiners
- English possessive determiners
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- British English
- English uncountable nouns
- English euphemisms
- English adjectives
- English uncomparable adjectives
- English colloquialisms
- English proper nouns
- English abbreviations
- English personal pronouns
- English third person pronouns
- English two-letter words
- en:Games
- Azerbaijani terms inherited from Proto-Turkic
- Azerbaijani terms derived from Proto-Turkic
- Azerbaijani lemmas
- Azerbaijani nouns
- az:Dogs
- Charrua lemmas
- Charrua nouns
- Chuukese lemmas
- Chuukese nouns
- Crimean Tatar terms inherited from Proto-Turkic
- Crimean Tatar terms derived from Proto-Turkic
- Crimean Tatar lemmas
- Crimean Tatar nouns
- Irish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Irish non-lemma forms
- Irish contractions
- Munster Irish
- Irish terms with usage examples
- Latin 1-syllable words
- Latin terms with IPA pronunciation
- Latin terms with Ecclesiastical IPA pronunciation
- Latin non-lemma forms
- Latin verb forms
- Latvian lemmas
- Latvian particles
- Latvian terms with usage examples
- Middle Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Middle Dutch lemmas
- Middle Dutch pronouns
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English pronouns
- Middle English determiners
- Middle Low German terms inherited from Old Saxon
- Middle Low German terms derived from Old Saxon
- Middle Low German terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Middle Low German terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Middle Low German terms with IPA pronunciation
- Middle Low German lemmas
- Middle Low German pronouns
- Chinese lemmas
- Min Nan lemmas
- Chinese numerals
- Min Nan numerals
- Chinese adjectives
- Min Nan adjectives
- Chinese adverbs
- Min Nan adverbs
- Chinese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Min Nan Pe̍h-ōe-jī forms
- Northern Sami terms with IPA pronunciation
- Northern Sami 1-syllable words
- Northern Sami non-lemma forms
- Northern Sami verb forms
- Old Irish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Old Irish non-lemma forms
- Old Irish verb forms
- Old Saxon terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Old Saxon terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Old Saxon lemmas
- Old Saxon pronouns
- Piedmontese lemmas
- Piedmontese pronouns
- Sathmar Swabian lemmas
- Sathmar Swabian adverbs
- Turkish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Turkish terms inherited from Ottoman Turkish
- Turkish terms derived from Ottoman Turkish
- Turkish terms derived from Old Turkic
- Turkish terms derived from Proto-Turkic
- Turkish lemmas
- Turkish nouns
- Turkish derogatory terms
- Turkish non-lemma forms
- Turkish verb forms
- Turkmen terms derived from Old Turkic
- Turkmen terms inherited from Proto-Turkic
- Turkmen terms derived from Proto-Turkic
- Turkmen lemmas
- Turkmen nouns
- Uzbek terms inherited from Proto-Turkic
- Uzbek terms derived from Proto-Turkic
- Uzbek lemmas
- Uzbek nouns
- Volapük lemmas
- Volapük determiners
- Welsh terms with IPA pronunciation
- Welsh non-lemma forms
- Welsh prepositional pronouns
- Welsh literary terms
- West Frisian terms inherited from Old Frisian
- West Frisian terms derived from Old Frisian
- Old Frisian terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Old Frisian terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- West Frisian terms with IPA pronunciation
- West Frisian lemmas
- West Frisian pronouns
- West Frisian personal pronouns
- West Frisian non-lemma forms
- West Frisian determiner forms
- Zhuang terms derived from Chinese
- Zhuang terms with IPA pronunciation
- Zhuang 1-syllable words
- Zhuang lemmas
- Zhuang numerals