yours English · revision 3578

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=before 1300|origins=en your}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /jɔːz/, US /jʊrz/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|youres]],^(MWU 2024) formed from [[your]] and the possessive [[-s]],^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002) on the model of [[his]] and [[ours]].^(Etymonline) It is the absolute form of ''your'', used when no noun follows.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Standing for “your” and a noun, and meaning “your family, friends”: before 1300 in the OED.^(OED 1989) Etymonline dates it to about 1300,^(Etymonline) and Merriam-Webster to the 13th century.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The predicative use, as in ''the book is yours'', is from 1375.^(OED 1989) The subscription of a letter, often with ''truly'', ''sincerely'' or ''faithfully'', is from about 1430,^(OED 1989) and ''yours truly'' meaning “myself” is by 1833, from that conventional phrase.^(Etymonline) “Your business or affair” is from 1841.^(OED 1989) ''What's yours?'', “what will you drink?”, is colloquial.^(SOED 2002) In East Anglian dialect ''yours'' meant “your house”.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1300 – your family, your ones.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1375 – predicative use.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1430 – closing a letter.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1833 – ''yours truly'', myself.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1841 – your business.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # The one or ones belonging to you: ''the choice is yours''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Used at the end of a letter, often with an adverb: ''Yours sincerely''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''you and yours'': you and your family.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[yours truly]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[your]]

+ * [[you]]

+ * [[ours]]

+ * [[hers]]

+ * [[theirs]]

+ * [[mine]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}