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.



This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.003
Offline English dictionary