they
Language: English
Part of speech: pron
Pronunciation: enpr: thā
ipa: /ðeɪ/
ipa: /ðə/
rhymes: -eɪ
Forms: form: them
form: their
form: theirs
form: themselves
form: themself
form: They
form: dey
form: thay
form: theye
form: thaay
form: theye
Etymology: Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *tóy
Proto-Germanic *þai
Proto-Norse *ᚦᚨᛁᛉ (*þaiʀ)
Old Norse þeirbor.
Middle English þei
English they
From Middle English þei, borrowed in the 1200s from Old Norse þeir, plural of the demonstrative sá which acted as a plural pronoun. Displaced native Middle English he from Old English hīe — which vowel changes had left indistinct from he (“he”) — by the 1400s, being readily incorporated alongside native words beginning with the same sound (the, that, this). Used as a singular pronoun since 1300, e.g. in the 1325 Cursor Mundi.
The Norse term (whence also Icelandic þeir (“they”), Faroese teir (“they”), Danish de (“they”), Swedish de (“they”), Norwegian Nynorsk dei (“they”)) is from Proto-Germanic *þai (“those”) (from Proto-Indo-European *to- (“that”)), whence also Old English þā (“those”) (whence obsolete English tho), Scots thae, thai, thay (“they; those”).
(American linguist John McWhorter rejects this and suggests that they, them, and their are native English instead, from Old English þā, þām, þāra.)
The origin of the determiner they (“the, those”) is unclear. The OED, English Dialect Dictionary and Middle English Dictionary define it and its Middle English predecessor thei as a demonstrative determiner or adjective meaning “those” or “the”. This could be a continuation of the use of the English pronoun they's Old Norse etymon þeir as a demonstrative meaning “those”, but the OED and EDD say it is limited to southern, especially southwestern, England, specifically outside the region of Norse contact.
Senses: examples: text: Fred and Jane? They just arrived.
text: Dogs may bark if they want to be fed.
text: Plants wilt if they are not watered.
text: I have a car and a truck, but they are both broken.
text: But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none; And they that weep, as though they wept not; And they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; And they that buy, as though they possessed not; And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away
ref: 1611, King James Bible:
text: […]purſued his vnneighbourly purpoſe in ſuch ſort: that hee being the ſtronger perſwader, and ſhe (belike) too credulous in beleeuing or elſe ouer-feeble in reſiſting, from priuate imparlance, they fell to action; and continued their cloſe fight a long while together, vnſeene and vvithout ſuſpition, no doubt to their equall ioy and contentment.
ref: 1620, Giovanni Bocaccio, translated by John Florio, The Decameron, Containing an Hundred Pleaſant Nouels: Wittily Diſcourſed, Betweene Seuen Honourable Ladies, and Three Noble Gentlemen, Isaac Iaggard, Nouell 8, The Eighth Day:
text: There is no reason to be scared of iguanas. They do not attack humans.
ref: 2010, Iguana Invasion!: Exotic Pets Gone Wild in Florida, →ISBN, page 9:
qualifier: the third-person plural nominative
glosses: A group of entities previously mentioned.
examples: text: Somebody requested a seat at Friday's performance but didn't say if they preferred the balcony or the floor.
text: If someone enters the restricted area, they are required to present identification.
text: I asked my friend if they wanted to come, but they said no.
text: One of the boys tripped over, and they hit their head on the door.
text: Then shalt thou bring forth that man, or that woman (which haue committed that wicked thing) vnto thy gates, euen that man, or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones till they die.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Deuteronomy 17:5:
text: Someone knocked into Harry as they hurried past him. It was Hermione.
ref: 1997, J. K. Rowling, chapter 10, in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, (quoted edition: London: Bloomsbury, 2000, →ISBN, page 187):
text: One thing a nominee earns is the right to pick the vice president that they think will best reflect their vision of the country, and I am just glad I will have nothing to do with it.
ref: 2008, Michelle Obama, quoted in Lisa Rogak, Michelle Obama in Her Own Words, New York, NY: PublicAffairs, 2009. →ISBN, page 18
text: The boycott, led by Elisha Lim, of a Toronto gay and lesbian newspaper after it refused to use their preferred pronoun ["they"], citing grammar considerations, inspired me.
ref: 2014, Ivan E. Coyote, Rae Spoon, Gender Failure, →ISBN:
text: I'm angry that we're here again, that we have had to tell another mother that their child is dead.
ref: 2015 April, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (mayor of Baltimore), commenting on the death of Freddie Gray
text: Ever since El Martinez started asking to be called by the gender-neutral pronouns “they/them” in the ninth grade, they have fielded skepticism in a variety of forms and from a multitude of sources about what it means to identify as nonbinary.
ref: 2019 May 29, Amy Harmon, “Which Box Do You Check? Some States Are Offering a Nonbinary Option”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 08 Jun 2019:
qualifier: the third-person singular nominative; occasionally proscribed; the third-person singular nominative; occasionally proscribed
glosses: A single person, previously mentioned, whose gender is unknown, irrelevant, or (since 20th c.) non-binary.
examples: text: They say it’s a good place to live.
text: They didn’t have computers in the old days.
text: They don't make 'em like they used to.
text: Always get a second source, they tell us in investigative lexicography;[…]
ref: 1986 February 16, William Safire, “On Language; Moon Of My Delight”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 24 May 2015, Section 6 / Magazine, page 10:
text: I am beautiful, no matter what they say
ref: 2002, Linda Perry, “Beautiful”, in Stripped, performed by Christina Aguilera:
text: Hurtling through the air that evening in seat 10C, I read the US House committee’s Max investigation, a disruptor of illusions. Like many fliers, I’d long ago made my bargain with risk. I’d taken comfort in statistics, summoned faith in the engineers and assembly workers, the pilots, the system. I’d shunted away the knowledge—paralyzing, if you let it in—that stepping on an airplane is an extraordinary act of trust. Deep in the report, I reached the part about a senior manager at Boeing’s factory in Renton, a guy named Ed Pierson, who seemingly knew what we all know when we soothe ourselves by thinking, They wouldn’t let it fly if it weren’t safe. We’re all relying on someone to be the “they.”
ref: 2025 March 11, Lauren Smiley, “The Worst 7 Years in Boeing’s History—and the Man Who Won’t Stop Fighting for Answers. Fatal crashes. A door blowout. Grounded planes. Inside the citizen-led, obsessive campaign to hold Boeing accountable and prevent the next disaster”, in Wired:
coordinate_terms: one
generic you
qualifier: vague meaning
glosses: People; some people; people in general; someone, excluding the speaker.
examples: text: They'll tax us for the air we breathe next.
text: They should increase our wages.
text: Ha, you believe the moon is real? That's just what they want you to think.
glosses: The authorities, the (power) elites, the powers that be, the establishment, the man, the system: government, police, employers, etc.
topics: bridge
games
antonyms: we
glosses: The opponents of the side which is keeping score.
Derived terms: as they come
as they say
generic they
if pigs had wings they would fly
it doesn't matter what they say about you as long as they spell your name right
let the chips fall where they may
let the dice fall where they may
theyfriend
they hate us 'cause they ain't us
they hit the Pentagon
they say
they-uns
will-they-won't-they
Related terms: word: us versus them
word: Ime
word: me
word: myselfmemysen
word: mine
word: mymineme
word: we
word: us
word: ourselvesourselfoursen
word: oursourn
word: our
word: you
word: yourselfyoursen
word: yoursyourn
word: your
word: thou
word: thee
word: thyselftheeselfthysen
word: thine
word: thythine
word: youye
word: yourselves
word: you ally'all you guys
word: y'allselves
word: all yours y'all's you guys' your guys'
word: all your y'all's your all's you guys' your guys'
word: he
word: him
word: himselfhisselfhissen
word: hishisn
word: his
word: she
word: her
word: herselfhersen
word: hershern
word: ithit
word: itselfhitself
word: itshis
word: itshishits
word: them
word: themself
word: themselves
word: theirs
word: their
word: one
word: oneself
word: –
word: one's
word: themhem
word: 'em
word: themselvestheirsen
word: theirstheirn
word: The following table shows a list of English personal pronoun
word: including archaic and dialectal forms. Dialectal and obsolete
word: archaic forms are in italics. 1 See Appendix:English third-person singular pronouns for attested neopronoun.
word: other attested third-person singular pronouns
word: theirselves
word: theirself