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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

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English

it

/ɪt/
The third-person singular neuter personal pronoun used to refer to an inanimate object, abstract entity, or non-human living thing.

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    • sound component
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    Origin

    From Middle English it, hit ( > dialectal English hit (“it”)), from Old English hit (“it”), from Proto-West Germanic *hit, from Proto-Germanic *hit (“this, this one”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱe (“here; here”).

    Cognates

    Cognate with Yola it, t', yt (“it”), North Frisian at, et, 't (“it”), Saterland Frisian et (“it”), West Frisian it (“it”), Dutch het (“it”), Luxembourgish hatt (“her, it, she”), Elfdalian eð (“it”); also Primitive Irish ᚕᚑᚔ (koi, “here”), Latin cis (“short of; before”), hic (“this”), Greek εκείνος (ekeínos, “that; those”). Compare Cimbrian es, is, 's, 'z (“it”), German es, 's (“it, there”), Mòcheno and Vilamovian s (“it”), Yiddish עס (es, “it”), Faroese ið (“that, which, who”), Gothic 𐌹𐍄𐌰 (ita, “it”), which instead descends from Proto-Germanic *it (“it”). More at he.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishit
      • inheritedOld Englishhit “it”
        • inheritedProto-West Germanic*hit
          • inheritedProto-Germanic*hit “this, this one”
            • derivedProto-Indo-European*ḱe “here; here”

    Related: English hit, Yola it, North Frisian at, Saterland Frisian et, West Frisian it, Dutch het, Luxembourgish hatt, Elfdalian eð, Primitive Irish ᚕᚑᚔ, Latin cis, Greek εκείνος, Cimbrian es, German es, mhn,wym s, Yiddish עס, Faroese ið, Gothic 𐌹𐍄𐌰

    Words built on it: the, its, go at it, keep it real

    Meanings

    pron
    1. The third-person singular neuter personal pronoun used to refer to an inanimate object, abstract entity, or non-human living thing.
    2. A third-person singular personal pronoun used to refer to a baby or child, especially of unknown gender.
    3. A third-person singular pronoun used to refer to an unspecified person.
    4. An affectionate third-person singular personal pronoun.
    5. A third-person singular personal pronoun used to refer to an animate referent who is transgender or non-binary.
    6. Refers to someone being identified, often on the phone, but not limited to this situation.
    det
    1. Its.
    noun
    1. One who is neither a he nor a she; a creature; a dehumanized being.
    2. The person who chases and tries to catch the other players in the playground game of tag.
    3. A game of tag.
    4. A desirable characteristic, as being fashionable.
    5. Something desirable or suitable.
    6. Sexual intercourse.
    adj
    1. Most fashionable, popular, or in vogue.

    Sources

    • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Wiktionary: it