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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
He \He\ (h[=e]), pronoun [nom. {He}; poss. {His} (h[i^]z); obj. {Him} (h[i^]m); pl. nom. {They} ([th][=a]); poss. {Their} or {Theirs} ([th][^a]rz or [th][=a]rz); obj. {Them} ([th][e^]m).] [AS. h[=e], masc., he['o], fem., hit, neut.; pl. h[=i], or hie, hig; akin to OFries. hi, D. hij, OS. he, hi, G. heute to-day, Goth. himma, dat. masc., this, hina, accus. masc., and hita, accus. neut., and prob. to L. his this. [root]183. Cf. {It}.]
1. The man or male being (or object personified to which the masculine gender is assigned), previously designated; a pronoun of the masculine gender, usually referring to a specified subject already indicated.
Thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. --Gen. iii. 16.
Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God; him shalt thou serve. --Deut. x. 20.
2. Any one; the man or person; -- used indefinitely, and usually followed by a relative pronoun.
He that walketh with wise men shall be wise. --Prov. xiii. 20.
3. Man; a male; any male person; -- in this sense used substantively. --Chaucer.
I stand to answer thee, Or any he, the proudest of thy sort. --Shak.
Note: When a collective noun or a class is referred to, he is of common gender. In early English, he referred to a feminine or neuter noun, or to one in the plural, as well as to noun in the masculine singular. In composition, he denotes a male animal; as, a he-goat.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
She \She\, pronoun [sing. nom. {She}; poss. {Her}. or {Hers}; obj. {Her}; pl. nom. {They}; poss. {Their}or {Theirs}; obj. {Them}.] [OE. she, sche, scheo, scho, AS. se['o], fem. of the definite article, originally a demonstrative pronoun; cf. OS. siu, D. zij, G. sie, OHG. siu, s[=i], si, Icel. s[=u], sj[=a], Goth. si she, s[=o], fem. article, Russ. siia, fem., this, Gr. ?, fem. article, Skr. s[=a], sy[=a]. The possessive her or hers, and the objective her, are from a different root. See {Her}.]
1. This or that female; the woman understood or referred to; the animal of the female sex, or object personified as feminine, which was spoken of.
She loved her children best in every wise. --Chaucer.
Then Sarah denied, . . . for she was afraid. --Gen. xviii. 15.
2. A woman; a female; -- used substantively. [R.]
Lady, you are the cruelest she alive. --Shak.
Note: She is used in composition with nouns of common gender, for female, to denote an animal of the female sex; as, a she-bear; a she-cat.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Their \Their\, pronoun & a. [OE. thair, fr. Icel. [thorn]eirra, [thorn]eira, of them, but properly gen. pl. of the definite article; akin to AS. [eth][=a]ra, [eth][=ae]ra, gen. pl. of the definite article, or fr. AS. [eth][=ae]ra, influenced by the Scandinavian use. See {That}.] The possessive case of the personal pronoun they; as, their houses; their country.
Note: The possessive takes the form theirs (?) when the noun to which it refers is not expressed, but implied or understood; as, our land is richest, but theirs is best cultivated.
Nothing but the name of zeal appears 'Twixt our best actions and the worst of theirs. --Denham.
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