him
Language: English
Part of speech: pron
Pronunciation: note: weak form
ipa: /əm/
note: weak form
ipa: [ɪ̈m]
note: strong form, UK, US
enpr: hĭm
ipa: /ˈhɪm/
note: strong form, UK, US
homophone: hymn
homophone: 'em for unstressed in some pronunciations.
rhymes: -ɪm
Etymology: From Middle English him, from Old English him, from Proto-Germanic *himmai (“to this, to this one”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian him (“him”), West Frisian him (“him”), Sylt North Frisian ham, höm (“him”), Dutch hem (“him”), German Low German hum, hüm, em (“him”), German ihm (“him”, dative).
Senses: examples: text: […]therfoꝛ Chꝛiſt wold not call him abominable / But the verye abomination it ſilf.
ref: 1529, John Frith, A piſtle to the Chriſten reader […] :
text: ‘I promise,’ he said as I gave him the papers.
ref: 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, New York, N.Y.: Modern Library, →OCLC:
glosses: A masculine pronoun; he as a grammatical object.
With dative effect or as an indirect object.
examples: text: She was in no humour for conversation with anyone but himself; and to him she had hardly courage to speak.
ref: 1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], Pride and Prejudice: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC:
glosses: A masculine pronoun; he as a grammatical object.
Following a preposition.
examples: text: ‘He's got it buttoned in his breast. I saw him put it there.’
ref: 1852 March – 1853 September, Charles Dickens, Bleak House, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1853, →OCLC:
glosses: A masculine pronoun; he as a grammatical object.
With accusative effect or as a direct object.
examples: text: Now him and Bernie are best friends.
text: Released a [statement] warning that him and 25,000 troops were going to stage a coup.
glosses: As a grammatical subject or object when joined with a conjunction.
examples: text: Apon a daye apoynted, the kynge arayed hym in royall apparell, and set hym in his seate, and made an oracion unto them.
ref: 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Acts:
text: Though poor the peasant’s hut, his feasts though small,
He sees his little lot the lot of all;
[...]
But calm, and bred in ignorance and toil,
Each wish contracting, fits him to the soil.
ref: 1765, Oliver Goldsmith, The traveller, or, A prospect of society:
glosses: Used reflexively: (to) himself.
examples: text: Before my body, I throw my warlike Shield: Lay on Macduffe, And damn'd be him, that first cries hold, enough.
ref: c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene x]:
text: Lowe quit the West Wing last year amid rumours that he was unhappy that his co-stars earned more than him.
ref: 2003 June 11, Claire Cozens, The Guardian:
glosses: With nominative effect: he, especially as a predicate after be, or following a preposition.
examples: text: Stop trying that, you're not him bro.
text: Bro thinks he's him.
text: They must have amnesia, they forgot that I'm him.
ref: 2023, PLUMMCORP RECORDS, 0:33 from the start, in dracula flow 3:
text: Watched this one live, he randomly got it less than an hour into the stream while derusting for PACE. He's just him.
ref: 2023 October 25, u/baggypantsman, “Super Mario 64 - 0 Star in 6:16 by Suigi”, in Reddit, r/speedrun, archived from the original on 23 Dec 2023:
synonyms: that guy
that nigga
glosses: A person of elevated skill at a sport, game, or other activity.
Derived terms: himbo
himness
himpathetic
himpathize
himpathy
himselves
shim
stand up and give it to him
Related terms: 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: himselfhisselfhissen
word: hishisn
word: his
word: she
word: her
word: herselfhersen
word: hershern
word: ithit
word: itselfhitself
word: itshis
word: itshishits
word: they
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.