they
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See also: þey
English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle English þei, borrowed in the 1200s from Old Norse þeir, plural of the demonstrative sá which acted as a plural pronoun. Displaced native Middle English he from Old English hīe — which vowel changes had left indistinct from he (“he”) — by the 1400s, being readily incorporated alongside native words beginning with the same sound (the, that, this). Used as a singular pronoun since 1300, e.g. in the 1325 Cursor Mundi.
The Norse term (whence also Icelandic þeir (“they”), Faroese teir (“they”), Danish de (“they”), Swedish de (“they”), Norwegian Nynorsk dei (“they”)) is from Proto-Germanic *þai (“those”) (from Proto-Indo-European *to- (“that”)), whence also Old English þā (“those”) (whence obsolete English tho), Scots thae, thai, thay (“they; those”).
The origin of the determiner they (“the, those”) is unclear. The OED, English Dialect Dictionary and Middle English Dictionary define it and its Middle English predecessor thei as a demonstrative determiner or adjective meaning "those" or "the". This could be a continuation of the use of the English pronoun they's Old Norse etymon þeir as a demonstrative meaning "those", but the OED and EDD say it is limited to southern, especially southwestern, England, specifically outside the region of Norse contact.
Pronoun
they (third-person, nominative case, usually plural, sometimes singular, objective case them, possessive their, possessive noun theirs, reflexive themselves, or reflexive singular themself)
- (the third-person plural nominative) A group of entities previously mentioned.
- Fred and Jane? They just arrived.
- Dogs may bark if they want to be fed.
- Plants wilt if they are not watered.
- I have a car and a truck, but they are both broken.
- 1620, Giovanni Bocaccio, translated by John Florio, The Decameron, Containing an Hundred Pleaſant Nouels: Wittily Diſcourſed, Betweene Seuen Honourable Ladies, and Three Noble Gentlemen, Isaac Iaggard, Nouell 8, The Eighth Day:
- […] purſued his vnneighbourly purpoſe in ſuch ſort: that hee being the ſtronger perſwader, and ſhe (belike) too credulous in beleeuing or elſe ouer-feeble in reſiſting, from priuate imparlance, they fell to action; and continued their cloſe fight a long while together, vnſeene and vvithout ſuſpition, no doubt to their equall ioy and contentment.
- 2010, Iguana Invasion!: Exotic Pets Gone Wild in Florida, →ISBN, page 9:
- There is no reason to be scared of iguanas. They do not attack humans.
- (the third-person singular nominative, occasionally proscribed) A single person, previously mentioned, but typically not if previously named and identified as male or female, especially if of unknown, irrelevant or (since 21st century) non-binary gender.
- They requested a seat at Friday's performance but didn't say if they preferred the balcony or the floor.
- If someone enters the restricted area, they are required to present identification.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, Deuteronomy 17:5:
- Then shalt thou bring forth that man, or that woman (which haue committed that wicked thing) vnto thy gates, euen that man, or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones till they die.
- 1997, J. K. Rowling, chapter 10, in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, (quoted edition: London: Bloomsbury, 2000, →ISBN, page 187):
- Someone knocked into Harry as they hurried past him. It was Hermione.
- 2008, Michelle Obama, quoted in Lisa Rogak, Michelle Obama in Her Own Words, New York, NY: PublicAffairs, 2009. →ISBN, page 18:
- One thing a nominee earns is the right to pick the vice president that they think will best reflect their vision of the country, and I am just glad I will have nothing to do with it.
- 2014, Ivan E. Coyote, Rae Spoon, Gender Failure, →ISBN:
- The boycott, led by Elisha Lim, of a Toronto gay and lesbian newspaper after it refused to use their preferred pronoun ["they"], citing grammar considerations, inspired me.
- 2015 April, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (mayor of Baltimore), commenting on the death of Freddie Gray:
- I'm angry that we're here again, that we have had to tell another mother that their child is dead.
- For more quotations using this term, see Citations:they.
- (indefinite pronoun, vague meaning) People; some people; people in general; someone, excluding the speaker.
- They say it’s a good place to live.
- They didn’t have computers in the old days.
- Coordinate terms: one, generic you
- 2002, Linda Perry (lyrics and music), “Beautiful”, in Stripped, performed by Christina Aguilera:
- I am beautiful, no matter what they say
- (indefinite pronoun) The authorities: government, police, employers, etc.
- They'll tax us for the air we breathe next.
- They should increase our wages.
- Ha, you believe the moon is real? That's just what they want you to think.
- (bridge) The opponents of the side which is keeping score.
- Antonym: we
Usage notes
- (singular pronoun): Usage of they as a singular pronoun began in the 1300s and has been common ever since, despite attempts by some grammarians, beginning in 1795, to condemn it as a violation of traditional (Latinate) agreement rules. Some other grammarians have countered that criticism since at least 1896. Fowler's Modern English Usage (third edition) notes that it "is being left unaltered by copy editors" and is "not widely felt to lie in a prohibited zone." Some authors compare use of singular they to widespread use of singular you instead of thou. See Wikipedia's article on singular they for more; see also the usage notes about themself. (Compare he.)
- (singular pronoun): Even when used as a singular pronoun, in standard English singular they uses the same verb conjugations as plural they, like singular and plural you: "George, you were here when the masked figure ran past, were they wearing red or blue?"
- (singular pronoun): Infrequently, they is used of an individual person of known, binary gender. See citations.
- (singular pronoun): Infrequently, they is used of an individual animal which would more commonly be referred to as it. See citations.
- (indefinite pronoun): One is also an indefinite pronoun, but the two words do not mean the same thing and are rarely interchangeable. "They" refers to people in general (hence the expressions they say, so they say, you know what they say), whereas "one" refers to one person (often such that what is true for that person is true for everyone). You may also be used to refer to people in general; such use of that pronoun is called the generic you.
- They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
- One may say, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
- You may say, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
Alternative forms
- (rare, dialect or eye dialect:) dey (th-stopping dialects), thay, theye (archaic), thaay (Gloucestershire, Berkshire, possibly archaic)
Derived terms
Translations
third-person plural pronoun
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third-person singular, of unknown, irrelevant, or non-binary gender
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one, people, some people
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See also
English personal pronouns
Dialectal and obsolete or archaic forms are in italics.
- other attested third-person singular pronouns
- theirselves, theirself (nonstandard)
Determiner
they
- (now Southern England dialect or nonstandard) The, those.
- 1878, Louis John Jennings, Field Paths and Green Lanes, quoting an old East Sussex man:
- "They rooks as you see only coom a few year agoo."
- 1895, Under the Chilterns: A Story of English Village Life:
- page 21: "But you spile [spoil] they gals - they won't be for no good, they won't."
page 30: "'Twas all about they rewks [rooks]," he sobbed.
page 54: "mucking the place up with they weeds"
- 1901, Gwendoline Keats (of Devon), Tales of Dunstáble Weir, page 55:
- "Bodies and souls," she cried, "if I didn't reckon to have hidden they boots safe from un in the stick-rick." "Off wi' they tight-wasted shoes o' yours, Martha."
- 1994 [1993], Irvine Welsh, Trainspotting, London: Minerva, →ISBN, page 114:
- Forty quid a fuckin ticket. No shy they British Rail cunts, ah kin fuckin tell ye.
- 1878, Louis John Jennings, Field Paths and Green Lanes, quoting an old East Sussex man:
- (US dialects, including African-American Vernacular) Their.
- 1974, Arthur Hippler, Hunter's Point: a black ghetto in America, page 88:
- MARY ELLEN is a different case from the others. She has five children and, she claims: "I don't know who they father is. I ain't never kept track. They is always another one. You know, I can catch me a guy[.]"
- 2002, Eminem, Sing for the Moment:
- But all they kids be listenin' to me religiously / So I'm signin' CDs while police fingerprint me
- 2015, “Energy”, in If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, performed by Drake:
- I got bitches askin' me about the code for the Wi-Fi / So they can talk about they timeline / And show me pictures of they friends
- 2016, Alan Moore, Jerusalem, Liveright, published 2016, page 175:
- He guessed one of the well-off people living in these houses must have took a shine to Cody and decided how he'd look good stuck up on they roof.
Alternative forms
Etymology 2
From earlier the'e, from there.
Pronoun
they
- (US dialectal) There (especially as an expletive subject of be).
- 1889, James Whitcomb Riley, Pipes o' Pan:
- They’s music in the twitter of the bluebird and the jay.
- 1974, Arthur Hippler, Hunter's Point: a black ghetto in America, page 88:
- MARY ELLEN is a different case from the others. She has five children and, she claims: "I don't know who they father is. I ain't never kept track. They is always another one. You know, I can catch me a guy[.]"
- 2000, Janice Giles, Hill Man, page 58:
- They ain’t nothin’ wrong with that.
- 2008, Christian Carvajal, Lightfall, page 82:
- But they ain’t nothin’ in there you didn’t already have.
- 2010, Alessandro Portelli, They Say in Harlan County: An Oral History, page 207:
- Well, they’s a lot of ‘em didn’t survive, if you believe me.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 “they”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “they”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ^ Otto Jespersen, Growth and Structure of the English Language
- ^ “thei, pron.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2016-01-28.
- ^ Anne Bodine, Androcentrism in Prescriptive Grammar: Singular `they', Sex-indefinite `he', and `he or she', in Language in Society, v. 4 (1975), pages 129-146
- ^ William Malone Baskervill and James Witt Sewell's An English Grammar (1896) says singular they is "frequently found when the antecedent includes or implies both genders. The masculine does not really represent a feminine antecedent"; it furthermore recommends changing it to he or she "unless both genders are implied". (Italics in original.)
- ^ Michael Reed, Tech Book 1 →ISBN, Note about pronoun usage, page 9: "Singular they can introduce some ambiguity because the antecedent of the pronoun “they” could theoretically be a male or female English has survived the loss of pronouns such as thou (singular you) despite the consequent potential for ambiguity."
- ^ John McWhorter, Word on the Street: Debunking the Myth of a Pure Standard (2009, →ISBN: "In this light, our modern grammarians' discomfort with singular they is nothing but this comical intermediate stage in an inevitable change, as misguided and futile as the old grumbles about singular you."
Anagrams
Middle English
Etymology 1
Pronoun
they
- Alternative form of þei (“they”)
Etymology 2
Determiner
they
- Alternative form of þi (“thy”)
Etymology 3
Pronoun
they
- Alternative form of þe (“thee”)
Etymology 4
Noun
they (plural þeies)
- Alternative spelling of þey (“thigh”)
Etymology 5
Adverb
they
- Alternative spelling of þey (“though”)
Conjunction
they
- Alternative spelling of þey (“though”)
Etymology 6
Numeral
they
- Alternative spelling of þey (“two”)