English
him
see also: Him
Pronunciation
  • (British, America) enPR: hĭm, IPA: /ˈhɪm/, unstressed IPA: /əm/, [ɪ̈m]
Pronoun
  1. A masculine pronoun; he as a grammatical object.
    1. With dative effect or as an indirect object. [from 9th c.]
      • 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula:
        ‘I promise,’ he said as I gave him the papers.
    2. Following a preposition. [from 9th c.]
      • 1813, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice:
        She was in no humour for conversation with anyone but himself; and to him she had hardly courage to speak.
    3. With accusative effect or as a direct object. [from 12th c.]
      • 1853, Charles Dickens, Bleak House:
        ‘He's got it buttoned in his breast. I saw him put it there.’
  2. (now, rare) Used reflexively: (to) himself. [from 9th c.]
    • 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Acts XII:
      Apon a daye apoynted, the kynge arayed hym in royall apparell, and set hym in his seate, and made an oracion unto them.
    • 1765, Oliver Goldsmith, The traveller, or, A prospect of society
      Though poor the peasant’s hut, his feasts though small,
      He sees his little lot the lot of all;
      But calm, and bred in ignorance and toil,
      Each wish contracting, fits him to the soil.
  3. With nominative effect: he, especially as a predicate after be, or following a preposition. [from 15th c.]
    • 'c. 1616' (493 m), William Shakespeare, Macbeth, First Folio 1623, V.10:
      Before my body, I throw my warlike Shield: Lay on Macduffe, And damn'd be him, that first cries hold, enough.
    • '2003' (611 m), Claire Cozens, The Guardian, 11 Jun 2003:
      Lowe quit the West Wing last year amid rumours that he was unhappy that his co-stars earned more than him.
  4. Alternative letter-case form of Him#English|Him
Translations
  • French: lui
  • German: ihm
  • Italian: gli
  • Portuguese: lhe
  • Russian: ему́
  • Spanish: le
Translations Translations
  • French: le
  • German: ihn
  • Italian: lo
  • Portuguese: o
  • Russian: его́
  • Spanish: lo
Noun

him (plural hims)

  1. (informal) A male person.
    I think this bird is a him, but it may be a her.
    • Hélène Cixous
      […] daring dizzying passages in other, fleeting and passionate dwellings within the hims and hers whom she inhabits […]
    • 2004, Tom Wolfe, I Am Charlotte Simmons: A Novel ↗
      Both hims took a good look at him.
Synonyms
Him
Pronoun
  1. Honorific alternative letter-case form of him, sometimes used when referring to God or another important figure who is understood from context.


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