Word: she Part of Speech: pron Etymology: Inherited from Middle English sche, scho, hyo, ȝho (“she”), whence also Yorkshire dialectal shoo (“she”), Scots she, sho (“she”). Probably from Old English hēo (whence dialectal English hoo), with an irregular change in stress from hēo to heō /hjoː/, then a development from /hj-/ to /ç/ to /ʃ-/, similar to the derivation of Shetland from Old Norse Hjaltland. In this case, she is from Proto-West Germanic *hiju, from Proto-Germanic *hijō f (“this, this one”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱe-, *ḱey- (“this, here”), and is cognate with Saterland Frisian jo, ju, West Frisian hja, North Frisian jü, Danish hun, Swedish hon; more at he. A derivation from Old English sēo (“that one”, occasionally “she”) is also possible, though less likely. In that case, sēo would have undergone a change in stress from sēo to seō /sjoː/, then a change from /sj-/ to /ʃ-/, similar to the derivation of sure from Old French seur. It would then be cognate to Dutch zij and German sie. Neither etymology would be expected to yield the modern vocalism in /iː/ (the expected form would be shoo, which is in fact found dialectally). It may be due to influence from he, but both hēo and sēo also have rare variants (hīe and sīe) that may give modern English /iː/. Pronunciation: /ʃiː/, /ʃi/, /ʃə/, [ʃɪi], [ʃɪ̈i] 1. The female (typically) person or animal previously mentioned or implied. Labels: feminine, nominative, personal, singular, third-person Example: I asked Mary, but she said that she didn't know. Example: After the cat killed a mouse, she left it on our doorstep. 2. A ship or boat. Labels: endearing, feminine, nominative, personal, singular, sometimes, third-person Example: She could do forty knots in good weather. Example: She is a beautiful boat, isn’t she? 3. A country, or sometimes a city, province, planet, etc. Labels: dated, endearing, feminine, nominative, personal, singular, sometimes, third-person Example: She is a poor place, but has beautiful scenery and friendly people. 4. A thing, especially a machine or other object, such as a car, a computer, or (poetically) a season. Labels: dated, endearing, feminine, nominative, personal, poetic, singular, third-person Example: She only gets thirty miles to the gallon on the highway, but she’s durable. Example: Prodigal in everything, summer spreads her blessings with lavish unconcern, and waving her magic wand across the landscape of the world, she bids the sons of men to enter in and possess. Summer is the great consummation. 5. A person whose gender is unknown or irrelevant (used in a work, along with or in place of he, as an indefinite pronoun). Labels: feminine, nominative, nonstandard, personal, singular, third-person Example: Optimal experience is thus something that we make happen. For a child, it could be placing with trembling fingers the last block on a tower she has built, higher than any she has built so far; for a swimmer, it could be trying to beat his own record; for a violinist, mastering an intricate musical passage. 6. The Catholic Church. Labels: feminine, nominative, personal, singular, third-person Example: The Church is present in the world as a sign of unity for the entire human family. She recognizes today’s questions and challenges as the current setting in which to carry out her particular vocation of listening, dialogue and service, and of being responsive to everything concerning the lives of contemporary men and women.