her

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English here, also hir and hire,^[2][1] inherited from Old English hire, also hiere and hyre,^[3][2][4] the dative and genitive singular of hēo (“she”), also hīo,^[2][3][5] the feminine of hē (“he”).^[2][5] Wiktionary gives the dative as Proto-Germanic *hezōi.^[1] Ayto and Hoad derive it from the same pronominal base in Germanic as he,^[6][7] and the American Heritage Dictionary refers it to Proto-Indo-European *ko-.^[8] It is cognate with Old Frisian hiri, Old Dutch hiro, Middle Dutch hare and Dutch haar;^[2][9][4] Old Saxon iru, Old High German iru and German ihr are parallel in inflection but are formed on another pronominal base.^[9][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old English hire is recorded before 830,^[2] and the OED's first quotations come from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: the genitive "of her" in the annal for 878, and the possessive in the annal for 888.^[9] The dative use is in Cynewulf's Elene, and the direct object in the Rushworth Gospels.^[9]

Semantic evolution

The modern word combines two Old English cases that were already spelled alike:^[9] the genitive became the possessive "her job", and the dative became the object form "follow her".^[6] As an object form it took over from the accusative hie from the 10th century on.^[10] The true genitive "of her" died out by about 1350, and her in the sense "hers" by about 1430;^[9] hers itself dates from the 14th century.^[6][2] From Old English on, the word could refer to things personified as female or grammatically feminine,^[9] and it still does for ships and, traditionally, for nations.^[11][4] Respectful titles such as her majesty are recorded from before 1393, in Gower.^[9] From 1546 her could also follow a noun in place of the genitive ending,^[9][4] and Johnson (1755) took the possessive to be a Saxon word for "their" that had become feminine.^[12] Later developments include literary imitations of Welsh, Irish or Gaelic speakers, who are made to use her for "he" or "I" (from before 1525),^[9] a use among gay men for a man (1931),^[9] and a use for a person of undetermined gender (the possessive from 1908, the object form from 1936).^[9] In Ireland, Westmorland and Lincolnshire dialect her could mean "it".^[13]

Timeline

• before 830 – dative and genitive of the feminine pronoun.^[2]
• before 1393 – in titles, as her majesty.^[9]
• before 1525 – in imitations of Welsh, Irish or Gaelic speakers, he or I.^[9]
• 1546 – after a noun, in place of the genitive ending.^[9]
• 1908 – possessive, of a person of undetermined gender.^[9]
• 1931 – among gay men, of a man.^[9]
• 1950 – slang, also herself, one's wife.^[14]

Meanings

Pronoun

1. The object form of she, used of a woman, girl or female animal already mentioned: We gave her the keys and followed her upstairs.^[11][3][9]
2. Used of a thing treated as female, such as a ship or a country.^[11][9][4]
3. Used after than and as in comparisons: He trusts the dog more than her.^[3]
4. (chiefly US regional) Herself, as an indirect object.^[11][9]

Determiner

1. Of or belonging to a woman, girl or female animal already mentioned: She parked her van outside.^[11][3][9]
2. Of or belonging to a thing treated as female: The ship lost her mast.^[9][4]
3. In respectful titles, as Her Majesty.^[9][4]

Noun

1. A woman or girl.^[3][4]
2. (slang) One's wife.^[14][4]

Word family

• herstory

Related words

• she
• he
• hers
• herself

Usage notes

A separate obsolete her, "of them, their", was the genitive plural Old English hira, used until it gave way to their (the OED's last record is regional, 1869).^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
7. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
11. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
12. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
13. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
14. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com