theirs

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ðeəz/, US /ðerz/^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from their and the possessive -s,^[2][3][4] on the analogy of his and hers, so that in form it is a double possessive.^[2] The same pattern is found earlier in late Old English heres, from native hiera.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The absolute form of their, used without a following noun: before 1300 in the OED, the early 14th century in Etymonline.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

Of theirs is from about 1400,^[5] and maugre theirs, in spite of them, from about 1330.^[5] Theirs used of a single person of unspecified sex, after one or whoever, is common but labelled not standard by Collins.^[6][7]

Timeline

• before 1300 – theirs.^[5]
• c. 1330 – maugre theirs.^[5]
• c. 1400 – of theirs.^[5]

Modern meaning

Pronoun

1. The one or ones belonging to or associated with them: the house is theirs.
2. Used of a single person whose sex is not specified: his or hers.

Related words

• their
• they
• them
• hers
• ours

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin