we
Language: English
Part of speech: pron
Pronunciation: enpr: wē
ipa: /wiː/
ipa: /wi/
homophone: oui
homophone: wee
homophone: Wii (wine–whine merger)
homophone: whee
rhymes: -iː
Forms: form: us
form: our
form: ours
form: ourselves
form: ourself
Etymology: From Middle English we, from Old English wē (“we”), from Proto-West Germanic *wiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *wīz, *wiz (“we”), from Proto-Indo-European *wéy (“we (plural)”). Cognate with Scots wee, we (“we”), North Frisian we (“we”), West Frisian wy (“we”), Low German wi (“we”), Dutch we, wij (“we”), German wir (“we”), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian vi (“we”), Icelandic vér, við (“we”), Avestan 𐬬𐬀𐬉𐬨 (vaēm), Sanskrit वयम् (vayám).
Senses: examples: text: We are here to arrest you.
text: It’s time to overcome queasiness and restraint. We, the liberal and progressive people of the world, are at war with the far right to save the earth.
ref: 2017 February 20, Paul Mason, “Climate scepticism is a far-right badge of honour – even in sweltering Australia”, in the Guardian:
glosses: Two or more people including or consisting of the speaker(s)/writer(s).
Excluding the person(s) being addressed. (This is the exclusive we.)
examples: text: We need to have a talk, you and me.
glosses: Two or more people including or consisting of the speaker(s)/writer(s).
Including the person(s) being addressed. (This is the inclusive we.)
examples: text: We will in due course state our reasons for publishing the name of the accused.
text: As the government, we have a duty to ensure public safety.
text: In light of the promulgation of the aforementioned laws and decisions, we (the administration) propose to make the following amendments to local legislation to implement the relevant requirements on oath taking by public officers.
ref: 2021, Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, “Paper No. CMAB C4/9/1”, in Documents of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, page 1:
glosses: The institution which the speaker/writer is acting for. (This is the editorial we, used by writers and others when speaking with the authority of their publication or organisation.)
examples: text: I went to watch our school football match against Puddletown High. We lost 2-0.
text: In English, we do not inflect adjectives for gender.
glosses: Any other entity that the speaker is a part of or identifies with, such as place of employment or education, nation, region, language, etc.
examples: text: We live and learn.
text: We still have much to learn about quantum mechanics.
text: As we age, the major arteries of our bodies frequently become thickened with plaque, a fatty material with an oatmeal-like consistency that builds up along the inner lining of blood vessels.
ref: 2013 July-August, Stephen P. Lownie, David M. Pelz, “Stents to Prevent Stroke”, in American Scientist:
glosses: People in general.
examples: text: We are Queen of all these Isles.
qualifier: royal
glosses: The sovereign alone in his or her capacity as monarch. (This is the royal we. The reflexive case of this sense of we is ourself.)
examples: text: Good evening everyone. How are we all tonight?
glosses: Everyone being addressed.
examples: text: Hello Mrs Miggins. How are we feeling this morning?
text: You've been spending all your money boozing when you have a wife and family to support. I think we need to get our priorities straight.
text: “Well, my dear ma’am, and how are we?” inquired Wosky in a soothing tone. / “Very ill, doctor—very ill,” said Mrs. Bloss in a whisper.
ref: 1836, “Boz” [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], “The Boarding-House”, in Sketches by “Boz,” Illustrative of Every-day Life, and Every-day People. […], volume I, London: John Macrone, […], →OCLC, chapter II, page 204:
text: Are we ready to go to bed, sweetie?
ref: 2008 May 13, Tom Armstrong, Marvin (comic):
qualifier: may sometimes seem patronising
glosses: An individual being addressed; used especially to a person in the speaker's care, or to whom advice or instruction is being given. (Sometimes called the nurse's we or the doctor's we.)
examples: text: "I've just been to see Mrs Miggins." — "And how is she?" — "I'm afraid we aren't too good today."
glosses: Used to refer to a third person, especially someone in the speaker's care.
examples: text: Hey guys, in this video I'll show you how I make my upside-down sponge cake. First we take 200 g of butter and we whisk in 200 g of sugar. Next, we ...
text: All Vice President [Mike] Pence has to do is send it back to the states to recertify and we become president and you are the happiest people.
ref: 2021 January 6, 3:38:03 from the start, in Rally on Electoral College Vote Certification (television broadcast), spoken by Donald Trump, Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN):
text: [Today is] not a day to think about fishing so we will get back to working on the shelter. [cut in video] Cool, so I guess the best analogy for this, then, is that we've basically framed the house, and now we get to shingle.
ref: 2021 June 24, “Far from Home” (3:07 from the start), in Alone, season 9, episode 4 (televison production), spoken by Theresa Emmerich Kamper, via HISTORY Channel:
text: The elephant in the room, you know, we had a stroke back in May.
ref: 2022 October 25, 32:11 from the start, Vote 2022, in Joseph Camp, director, PBS NewsHour (television production), spoken by John Fetterman, via Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), archived from the original on 25 Oct 2022:
glosses: Used to connect to or include readers or listeners.
Used to imply connection between the speaker's experiences or activities and a group of listeners. (Compare the plural of modesty.)
examples: text: To solve the equation, we first collect all the terms in x on one side.
glosses: Used to connect to or include readers or listeners.
Used in explanatory or procedural writing, such as mathematical explanations, to imply inclusion of the reader in the undertaking.
examples: text: Now then ... let me see ... I hope I'm doing this right ... if we just connect these two wires together ...
glosses: Used when talking to oneself to refer to oneself.
glosses: Us.
topics: bridge
games
antonyms: they
glosses: The side which is keeping score.
Derived terms: are we there yet
as we know it
as we speak
author's we
can we say
even as we speak
here we are
here we go
here we go again
Houston, we have a problem
imperial we
lest we forget
let's not and say we did
shall we say
the devil we know is better than the devil we don't
the devil we know is better than the devil we don't know
the poor we will always have with us
the real treasure is the friends we made along the way
there we go
this is where we came in
this is why we can't have nice things
today we are all
until we meet again
we all bleed red
we all make mistakes
we are where we are
we aye
we come in peace
we-group
we have always been at war with Eastasia
we have company
we haven't got all day
we live in a society
we-uns
we wuz kangz
what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive
what tangled webs we weave when first we practice to deceive
where are we
where are we going