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.
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She loved her children best in every wise.
--Chaucer.
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Then Sarah denied, . . . for she was afraid. --Gen.
xviii. 15.
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2. A woman; a female; -- used substantively. [R.]
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Lady, you are the cruelest she alive. --Shak.
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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.
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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
He \He\ (h[=e]), pron. [nom. {He}; poss. {His} (h[i^]z); obj.
{Him} (h[i^]m); pl. nom. {They} ([th][=a]); poss. {Their} or
{Theirs} ([th][^a]rz or [th][=a]rz); obj. {Them}
([th][e^]m).] [AS. h[=e], masc., he['o], fem., hit, neut.;
pl. h[imac], or hie, hig; akin to OFries. hi, D. hij, OS. he,
hi, G. heute to-day, Goth. himma, dat. masc., this, hina,
accus. masc., and hita, accus. neut., and prob. to L. his
this. [root]183. Cf. {It}.]
1. The man or male being (or object personified to which the
masculine gender is assigned), previously designated; a
pronoun of the masculine gender, usually referring to a
specified subject already indicated.
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Thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall
rule over thee. --Gen. iii.
16.
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Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God; him shalt thou
serve. --Deut. x. 20.
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2. Any one; the man or person; -- used indefinitely, and
usually followed by a relative pronoun.
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He that walketh with wise men shall be wise. --Prov.
xiii. 20.
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3. Man; a male; any male person; -- in this sense used
substantively. --Chaucer.
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I stand to answer thee,
Or any he, the proudest of thy sort. --Shak.
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Note: When a collective noun or a class is referred to, he is
of common gender. In early English, he referred to a
feminine or neuter noun, or to one in the plural, as
well as to noun in the masculine singular. In
composition, he denotes a male animal; as, a he-goat.
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