English

he

/ˈhiː/
A person who identifies as male, or animal already known or implied.

    Etymology graph

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    Origin

    Etymology 1

    From Middle English he, from Old English hē, from Proto-West Germanic *hiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *hiz (“this, this one”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱís (“this”).

    Cognate with Scots he (“he”), North Frisian he, hi (“he”), Saterland Frisian hie (“he”), West Frisian hy (“he”), Dutch hij, ie (“he”), German Low German he (“he”), Middle High German her (“he”) Central Franconian hä (“he”), Gothic *𐌷𐌹𐍃 (*his, “this”).

    Etymology 2

    Transliteration of various Semitic letters, such as Phoenician 𐤄 (h), Hebrew ה (h), Classical Syriac ܗ (h, “hē”), and Old South Arabian 𐩠 (h).

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishhe
      • inheritedOld Englishhē
        • inheritedProto-West Germanic*hiʀ
          • inheritedProto-Germanic*hiz “this, this one”
            • inheritedProto-Indo-European*ḱís “this”
    • borrowedPhoenician𐤄
      • borrowedHebrewה
        • borrowedClassical Syriacܗ “hē”
          • borrowedOld South Arabian𐩠

    Related: Scots he, North Frisian he, Saterland Frisian hie, West Frisian hy, Dutch hij, German Low German he, Middle High German her, Central Franconian hä, Gothic *𐌷𐌹𐍃

    Words built on it: he-she, she-he

    Sources