He \He\ (h[=e]), pron. [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?, 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.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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Him \Him\, pron. [AS. him, dat. of h[=e]. [root]183. See He.]
The objective case of he. See He.
Him that is weak in the faith receive. --Rom. xiv. 1.
Friends who have given him the most sympathy.
--Thackeray.
Note: In old English his and him were respectively the
genitive and dative forms of it as well as of he. This
use is now obsolete. Poetically, him is sometimes used
with the reflexive sense of himself.
I never saw but Humphrey, duke of Gloster, Did
bear him like a noble gentleman. --Shak.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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