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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]:
They \They\ ([th][=a]), pronoun pl.; poss. {Theirs}; obj. {Them}. [Icel. [thorn]eir they, properly nom. pl. masc. of s[=a], s[=u], [thorn]at, a demonstrative pronoun, akin to the English definite article, AS. s[=e], se['o], [eth][ae]t, nom. pl. [eth][=a]. See {That}.] The plural of he, she, or it. They is never used adjectively, but always as a pronoun proper, and sometimes refers to persons without an antecedent expressed.
Jolif and glad they went unto here [their] rest And casten hem [them] full early for to sail. --Chaucer.
They of Italy salute you. --Heb. xiii. 24.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness. --Matt. v. 6.
Note: They is used indefinitely, as our ancestors used man, and as the French use on; as, they say (French on dit), that is, it is said by persons not specified.
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
55 Moby Thesaurus words for "they": I, I myself, alter, alter ego, alterum, better self, bureaucracy, directorate, ego, ethical self, he, her, herself, hierarchy, higher echelons, higher-ups, him, himself, inner man, inner self, it, management, me, ministry, my humble self, myself, number one, officialdom, oneself, other self, ourselves, prelacy, ruling class, ruling classes, self, she, subconscious self, subliminal self, superego, the Establishment, the administration, the authorities, the ingroup, the interests, the people upstairs, the power elite, the power structure, the top, them, themselves, top brass, you, yours truly, yourself, yourselves
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