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он

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Pronunciation

Forms

он (on) (feminine counterpart она́, neuter counterpart оно́)[1] The oblique cases are его́, ему́, им, о нём; feminine она́ (её, ей), neuter оно́, plural они́ (их, им, и́ми); after a preposition they take ⟨н-⟩: без него, к нему, с ним.[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old East Slavic онъ (onŭ), from Proto-Slavic *onъ.[1][3] In early Proto-Slavic ⟨*onъ, *ona, *ono⟩ was a demonstrative meaning roughly “that”.[4] The Slavic languages have Old Church Slavonic онъ (onŭ), Ukrainian він (vin), Belarusian ён (jon), Polish on and Czech on; the Belarusian form took its beginning from the oblique cases его and ему.[5] Bulgarian instead uses той (toj).[4][4]

It is related to Lithuanian anàs (“that, he”), German jener (“that”), Ancient Greek ἐκεῖνος (ekeînos, “that”) and ἔνη (énē, “the last day of the month”).[5][4] Chernykh gives the Indo-European stem as ⟨*eno-⟩ or ⟨*ono-⟩, after Pokorny;[4] Wiktionary reconstructs Proto-Indo-European *h₂énos (“that”).[1] These oblique cases belong to another pronoun, Old Russian и (i), from Proto-Slavic *jь.[1] The bookish оный “that” has the same stem.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old Russian has онъ from the 11th century, usually as the third-person personal pronoun, but sometimes, in the nominative only, as a demonstrative equal to оный.[4] SDRJa, which counts some 5,000 examples, puts the sense “that, not this” first: the Laurentian Chronicle of 1377 says under 992 „и ста Володимеръ на сеи сторонѣ. а Печенѣзи на ѡнои” “and Volodimer stood on this side, and the Pechenegs on that one”.[6]

Semantic evolution

The demonstrative sense survives in phrases like во время оно “in olden times”, and Old Russian also used оно for “behold”.[5] Taboo speech uses он for the devil and она for an illness or fever.[5] In modern Russian the plural они could stand for он or она in deferential speech; this is now dated or substandard.[2]

Timeline

  • 992 (in the Laurentian copy of 1377) – на ѡнои [сторонѣ] “on that side”.[6]
  • 1270 – об оноу стороноу “on that side” in the Novgorod First Chronicle.[6]

Meanings

Pronoun

  1. he, it (feminine она, neuter оно, plural они): the third person, someone other than the speaker and the person addressed, or a thing; in general statements, anyone.[2][1]
  2. (colloquial) In a retort, used of the person one is talking to, as if they were not there, with disapproval: Устал он, видите ли![2]
  3. (dated, substandard) они in place of он or она, in deferential speech.[2]
  4. (taboo) The devil;[5] она a fever.[5]
  • оный
  • Old East Slavic онъ (onŭ)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Ozhegov, S. I.; Shvedova, N. Yu. (1997), Tolkovyj slovar' russkogo jazyka [Толковый словарь русского языка], 4th ed., Moskva: Azbukovnik, p. s.v. он
  3. ^ Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 372
  4. ^ a b c d e f Chernykh, P. Ya. (1993), Istoriko-ètimologičeskij slovar' sovremennogo russkogo jazyka [Историко-этимологический словарь современного русского языка], 2 vols., Moskva: Russkij jazyk, p. 1, s.v. он
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 3, 140–141
  6. ^ a b c Avanesov, R. I. et al. (eds.) (1988–), Slovar' drevnerusskogo jazyka (XI–XIV vv.) [Словарь древнерусского языка (XI–XIV вв.)], vols. 1–13, Moskva: Russkij jazyk / Azbukovnik, p. 6, 130