from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
She \She\, pron. [sing. nom. {She}; poss. {Her}. or {Hers}; obj.
{Her}; pl. nom. {They}; poss. {Their}or {Theirs}; obj.
{Them}.] [OE. she, sche, scheo, scho, AS. se['o], fem. of the
definite article, originally a demonstrative pronoun; cf. OS.
siu, D. zij, G. sie, OHG. siu, s[imac], si, Icel. s[=u],
sj[=a], Goth. si she, s[=o], fem. article, Russ. siia, fem.,
this, Gr. ?, fem. article, Skr. s[=a], sy[=a]. The possessive
her or hers, and the objective her, are from a different
root. See {Her}.]
1. This or that female; the woman understood or referred to;
the animal of the female sex, or object personified as
feminine, which was spoken of.
[1913 Webster]
She loved her children best in every wise.
--Chaucer.
[1913 Webster]
Then Sarah denied, . . . for she was afraid. --Gen.
xviii. 15.
[1913 Webster]
2. A woman; a female; -- used substantively. [R.]
[1913 Webster]
Lady, you are the cruelest she alive. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
Note: She is used in composition with nouns of common gender,
for female, to denote an animal of the female sex; as,
a she-bear; a she-cat.
[1913 Webster]