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Definition they

Etymology 1

From Middle English thei, borrowed in the 1200s from Old Norse þeir, plural of the demonstrative sá which acted as a plural pronoun. Displaced native Old English h?, h?e (“they”) — which vowel changes had left indistinct from he (“he”) — by the 1400s, being readily incorporated alongside native words beginning with the same sound (the, that, this). Used as a singular pronoun since 1300, e.g. in the 1325 Cursor Mundi.

The Norse term (whence also Icelandic þeir (“they”), Faroese teir (“they”), Swedish de (“they”), Norwegian Nynorsk dei (“they”)) is from Proto-Germanic *þai (“those”) (from Proto-Indo-European *to- (“that”)), whence also Old English þ? (“those”) (whence obsolete English tho), Scots thae, thai, thay (“they; those”).

The origin of the determiner they (“the, those”) is unclear. The OED, English Dialect Dictionary and Middle English Dictionary define it and its Middle English predecessor thei as a demonstrative determiner or adjective meaning "those" or "the". This could be a continuation of the use of the English pronoun they's Old Norse etymon þeir as a demonstrative meaning "those", but the OED and EDD say it is limited to southern, especially southwestern, England, specifically outside the region of Norse contact.

Pronoun

they (third-person, nominative case, usually plural, sometimes singular, objective case them, possessive their, possessive noun theirs, reflexive themselves, or, singular, themself)

1. (the third-person plural) A group of people, animals, plants, or objects previously mentioned. [since the 1200s]
2. (the third-person singular, sometimes proscribed) A single person, previously mentioned, especially if of unknown or non-binary gender, but not if previously named and identified as male or female. [since the 1300s]
3. (indefinite pronoun, vague meaning) People; some people; people in general; someone, excluding the speaker.

Determiner

they

1. (now Southern England dialectal or nonstandard) The, those. [from 14th c.]
2. (US dialectal, including African American Vernacular) Their. [from 19th c.]

Etymology 2

From earlier the'e, from there.

Pronoun

they

1. (US dialectal) There (especially as an expletive subject of be). [from 19th c.]

Results 379 Words with the letters THEY

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