he (third-person singular, masculine, nominative case, obliquehim, reflexivehimself, possessivehis)
(personal) A male person or animal already known or implied.
July 18 2012, Scott Tobias, AV Club The Dark Knight Rises[2]
Though Bane’s sing-song voice gives his pronouncements a funny lilt, he doesn’t have any of the Joker’s deranged wit, and Nolan isn’t interested in undercutting his seriousness for the sake of a breezier entertainment.
For more examples of usage of this term, see Citations:he.
(personal, sometimes proscribed, see usage notes) A person whose gender is unknown or irrelevant.
The rulebook clearly states that "if any student is caught cheating, he will be expelled", and you were caught cheating, were you not, Anna?
(personal) An animal whose gender is unknown.
A genderless object regarded as masculine, such as certain stars (e.g. Sun, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter) or certain ships.
Antonyms:she, it
1770, A Mathematical Miscellany in Four Parts, 3rd edition, p. 125:
JUPITER is the largest of all the Planets, his Orbit lies between the Orbits of the Earth and Mars, and at the cast Distance of 426 Millions of Miles from the Sun, he goes round him in 11 Years, 314 Days and 12 Hours; […]
Usage notes
He was traditionally used as both a masculine and a gender-neutral pronoun, but since the mid 20th century generic usage has sometimes been considered sexist and limiting. It is deprecated by some style guides, such as Wadsworth. In place of generic he, writers and speakers may use he or she, alternate he and she as the indefinite person, use the singular they, or rephrase sentences to use plural they.
Synonyms
(person whose gender is unknown):one, you(indefinite, colloquial); he or she, he/she, they, s/he, or these other third-person pronouns (see "Combined forms", "Invented pronouns")
(animal whose gender is unknown):it
Derived terms
Translations
See he/translations § Pronoun
See also
References
Determiner
he
(African-American Vernacular)Synonym of his
Noun
he (countable and uncountable, pluralhes)
(uncountable) The game of tag, or it, in which the player attempting to catch the others is called "he".
The player attempting to catch the others in this game.
(informal) A male.
Is your cat a he or a she?
Etymology 2
Transliteration of various Semitic letters, such as Phoenician 𐤄 (h), Hebrewה (h), Syriac ܗ (h, “hē”), and Old South Arabian 𐩠 (h).
Alternative forms
hay
hei
hey
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /heɪː/
Noun
he
The name of the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets (Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic and others).
1658, Thomas Browne, The Garden of Cyrus, Folio Society 2007, page 210:
The same number in the Hebrew mysteries and Cabalistical accounts was the character of Generation; declared by the Letter He, the fifth in their Alphabet.
1988, Christina Pribićević-Zorić, translating Milorad Pavić, Dictionary of the Khazars, Vintage 1989, p. 7:
This Nehama claimed that in his own hand he recognized the consonant “he” of his Hebrew language, and in the letter “vav” his own male soul.
The name of the first letter of the Old South Arabian abjad.
Translations
See also
Appendix:Hebrew alphabet
Further reading
He (letter) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Etymology 3
Interjection
he
(uncommon, usually reduplicated)An expression of laughter.
Synonyms:ha, hehe(more common)
1897, Charles Dudley Warner, Hamilton Wright Mabie, Charles Henry Warner, Lucia Isabella Gilbert Runkle, Library of the World's Best Literature: A-Z, page 1791:
If e'er he went into excess, / 'Twas from a somewhat lively thirst; / But he who would his subjects bless, / Odd's fish!—must wet his whistle first; / And so from every cask they got, / Our king did to himself allot / At least a pot. / Sing ho, ho, ho! and he, he, he! / That's the kind of king for me.
1921, Norman Davey, The Pilgrim of a Smile, page 247:
"Well, what is your next tale?" said Sumner, a little brusquely. "He, he! he, he! . . . he, he!" chuckled the bottle, "the text tale I'm going to tell you in a very funny one. It will make you laugh. There's a lady in it—he, he!—a very comic affair."
Anagrams
-eh, E.H., EH, eH, eh
Aukan
Noun
he
paca (large South and Central American rodent)
References
Aukan-English Dictionary (SIL), citing Vernon (1985)
Breton
Etymology
Compare Welshei.
Determiner
he
her
Catalan
Alternative forms
haig
Verb
he
first-person singular present indicative form of haver
Classical Nahuatl
Etymology
A natural expression.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): [é]
Interjection
he
an expression of physical pain; ouch.
1571: Alonso de Molina, Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, f. 22r. col. 1.
He. o. interjection del / que ſequexa con do / lor.
He. ouch, and interjection used by one complaining in pain.
References
Alonso de Molina (1571) Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, Editorial Porrúa, page 22r
Danish
Interjection
he
(onomatopoeia)Signifies a laugh, especially one that is slightly mischievous.
See also
ha
Dutch
Interjection
he
Misspelling of hè.
Misspelling of hé.
Esperanto
Pronunciation
Interjection
he
interjection used to attract someone's attention, hey
interjection expressing irony
Derived terms
he ho
See also
hej
Fasu
Noun
hẹorhȩ́(Fasu)
water
river
he Aiyo : the River Aiyo
lake
he Kutupu : Lake Kutubu
liquid
Synonyms
hi(Namumi)
References
Karl J. Franklin, Comparative Wordlist 1 of the Gulf District and adjacent areas (1975), page 67
Eunice Loeweke, Jean May, General grammar of Fasu (Namo Me) (1980)
Eunice Loeweke, Jean May, Fasu Namo Me dictionary (1981, digitized 2006)
Finnish
Etymology 1
From Proto-Finnic*hek, from Proto-Finno-Permic*sej. Cognates include Northern Samisii. The word is inflected as plural, but there is no plural marker in the nominative, except in dialects (het).
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ˈhe/, [ˈhe̞]
Rhymes: -e
Syllabification: he
Pronoun
he
(personal) they (always plural, only of people)
Usage notes
In standard Finnish, he is practically never omitted, despite the verb showing both the person and the number. (compare the usage of hän, "she" / "he")
Declension
Irregular. The comitative and instructive forms don't exist; the abessive is hardly used.
In addition to the standard set of cases, he and other personal pronouns have a specific accusative form; heidät.
Synonyms
(dialectal):het
(dialectal):hyö
(colloquial):ne
See also
minä
sinä
hän
me
te
Etymology 2
From Phoenician𐤄 (h) and/or Hebrewה.
Noun
he
he (fifth letter of the Hebrew and Phoenician scripts and the Northwest Semitic abjad)
Declension
German Low German
Alternative forms
hee
(in other dialects, including Mecklenburgisch Western Pomeranian and Low Prussian)hei
(in other dialects, including Sauerländisch)hai
(in other dialects, including regional Westphalian and East Frisian as rare alternative form)hä
Etymology
From Old Saxonhē, from Proto-Germanic*hiz(“this, this one”).
(in some dialects, including, Münsterland, Mecklenburg, Western Pomeranian and Low Prussian, personal)he(third-person singular masculine pronoun)
(Low Prussian)He ös to lat.
He is too late.
Usage notes
Which dative is employed depends on dialect, not on function.
Some dialects might consider any of the inflected forms obsolete.
Further reading
G. Ungt, Twee Geschichten in Mönstersk Platt. Ollmanns Jans in de Friümde un Ollmanns Jans up de Reise, 1861. The text has dative em and accusative em and en, and on page 22 the author notes: "Hier und in vielen Fällen steht der Dativ em statt des Accusativ en (ihm statt ihn) nach der Bequemlichkeit, die sich diese Mundart erlaubt." (Here and in many other places stands the dative em instead of the accusative en ...)
Hadza
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ɦe/
Verb
he
to say, to tell
Synonyms:î, hiyagga
Hawaiian
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Article
he (indefinite)
a, an
he wahine au
I am a woman
he wahine kāna
s/he has a wife
Ido
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /he/, /hɛ/
Noun
he (pluralbe-i)
The name of the Latin script letter H/h.
See also
(Latin script letter names) litero; a, be, ce, che, de, e, fe, ge, he, i, je, ke, le, me, ne, o, pe, que, re, se, she, te, u, ve, we, xe, ye, ze(Category: io:Latin letter names)
Japanese
Romanization
he
Rōmaji transcription of へ (hiragana)
Rōmaji transcription of ヘ (katakana)
Kikuyu
Etymology
Hinde (1904) records kuha as an equivalent of English give in “Jogowini dialect” of Kikuyu, listing also Swahilikupa, etc. as its equivalents.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /hɛ/
Verb
he (infinitivekũhe)
to give
Derived terms
(Proverbs)
mwana ndaheanagwo
Related terms
(Nouns)
kĩhe(e)oclass 7
maheeoclass 6
References
Armstrong, Lilias E. (1940). The Phonetic and Tonal Structure of Kikuyu, p. 361. Rep. 1967. (Also in 2018 by Routledge).
Lakota
Particle
he
question-marking particle used by females in formal speech
Usage notes
Informally, both men and women use this question-marking particle. When speaking formally, however, only women use it. In a formal setting, men use huwó, hwo, or huŋwó.
Synonyms
huwó (used by men)
Mandarin
Romanization
he
Nonstandard spelling of hē.
Nonstandard spelling of hé.
Nonstandard spelling of hě.
Nonstandard spelling of hè.
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.
Maori
Article
he
a, an, some: indefinite article
Middle English
Etymology 1
From Old Englishhē, from Proto-Germanic*hiz(“this, this one”).
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /heː/
Pronoun
he (accusativehimorhine, genitivehisorhisen, possessive determinerhis)
Third-person singular masculine pronoun:he
14th century, Chaucer, General Prologue:
it; used also of inanimate objects
(impersonal)Third-person singular impersonal pronoun: one; you
Usage notes
In addition to referring to male humans and animals, this pronoun was used for inanimate objects belonging to the masculine grammatical gender early in Middle English. As grammatical gender obsolesced, this pronoun continued to refer to inanimate objects.
Alternative forms
hee, e, a, ho, heo, hie, hye, hæ, hi, hey, ha, ȝe
Descendants
Scots: he
English: he
References
“he, pron.” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Etymology 2
From Old Englishhīe, hī.
Pronoun
he (accusativehemorhe, genitiveheresorheren, possessive determinerhere)
Third-person plural nominative pronoun:they
Third-person plural accusative pronoun:them
Alternative forms
heo, heȝ, hey, hei, ha, hay, hy, hi, hye, hie, hig, hiȝ, hij, hio, ho, hoe, hue, huy, hui, e, i, a
See also
þei
References
“he, pron.(3).” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Etymology 3
Pronoun
he
Alternative form of heo(“she”)
Etymology 4
Interjection
he
Alternative form of hey(“hey”)
Etymology 5
Noun
he
Alternative form of heye(“hedge”)
Etymology 6
Adjective
he (comparativeher, superlativehest)
Alternative form of heigh(“high”)
Etymology 7
Verb
he (third-person singular simple presentheth, present participlehende, first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participlehed)
Alternative form of hyen(“to go quickly”)
Middle Low German
Etymology
From Old Saxonhē, from Proto-Germanic*hiz.
Pronunciation
Stem vowel: ê⁴
(originally) IPA(key): /heː/
Pronoun
hê
(third person singular masculine nominative) he
Declension
North Frisian
Pronoun
he
Alternative form of hi
Old English
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic*hiz(“this, this one”).
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /xeː/, [heː]
Pronoun
hēm (accusativehine, genitivehis, dativehim)
he
it (when the thing being referred to is masculine)
Declension
Descendants
Middle English: he
Scots: he
English: he
Old Saxon
Alternative forms
hie
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic*hiz.
Pronoun
hēm
he
Declension
Descendants
German Low German: he
Portuguese
Verb
he
Obsolete spelling of é
Scots
Etymology
From Middle Englishhe, from Old Englishhē, from Proto-Germanic*hiz(“this, this one”).
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /hi/, /hɪ/
Rhymes: -iː
Pronoun
he (third-person singular, masculine, nominative case; accusativehim, reflexivehimsel, possessivehis)
he
Spanish
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /e/, [e̞]
Homophones: hé, e
Rhymes: -e
Etymology 1
From Arabicهَا (hā); related to Portugueseeis.
Adverb
he
(poetic, dated) here is
(biblical, dated) behold (+ aquí)
Usage notes
Takes pronoun suffixes, e.g. heme(“here I am”), and is mostly used together with aquí, ahí, allí.
See also
hay
he aquí
Etymology 2
Noun
hef (pluralhes)
he; the Hebrew letter ה
Etymology 3
See the etymology of the main entry.
Verb
he
First-person singular (yo) present indicative form of haber.
Swedish
Etymology
Related to häva.
Verb
he
(regional, colloquial) to put
Turkish
Etymology 1
Noun
he (definite accusativeheyi, pluralheler)
The name of the Latin-script letter H.
See also
(Latin-script letter names)harf; a, be, ce, çe, de, e, fe, ge, yumuşak ge, he, ı, i, je, ke, le, me, ne, o, ö, pe, re, se, şe, te, u, ü, ve, ye, ze
Etymology 2
Particle
he
Alternative form of ha
Interjection
he
Alternative form of ha
Westrobothnian
Etymology 1
From Old Norseþatn, from Proto-Germanic*þat (neuter of *sa(“that”)), from Proto-Indo-European*tód (neuter of *só(“that”)). Akin to Englishthat.
Alternative forms
hä
ä
Pronunciation
IPA(key): [he], [hɛ] (example of pronunciation)
Pronoun
hen (dativedyordi, genitivediss)
(demonstrative) that
(personal) it
Conjunction
he
that
as, when, simultaneously as
Usage notes
The prepositions å/a, fyri, i, ti, åt/at, wä/ve, fȯr, onna and unnär govern the accusative for direction, and dative for location or relation, while diss is used like the when comparing things.
Etymology 2
Contraction of hȯrä or hvo.
Adverb
he
how
what
Etymology 3
From Old Norsehefja, from Proto-Germanic*habjaną.
Alternative forms
heva
häva
Verb
he (presentheorhevorhäv, preteritehov, supinehyviorheviorhävi)