Inherited from Middle English sche, scho, hyo, ȝho (“she”), whence also Yorkshire dialectal shoo (“she”), Scots she, sho (“she”).
Probably from Old English hēo (whence dialectal English hoo), with an irregular change in stress from hēo to heō /hjoː/, then a development from /hj-/ to /ç/ to /ʃ-/, similar to the derivation of Shetland from Old Norse Hjaltland. In this case, she is from Proto-West Germanic *hiju, from Proto-Germanic *hijō f (“this, this one”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱe-, *ḱey- (“this, here”), and is cognate with Saterland Frisian jo, ju, West Frisian hja, North Frisian jü, Danish hun, Swedish hon; more at he.
A derivation from Old English sēo (“that one”, occasionally “she”) is also possible, though less likely. In that case, sēo would have undergone a change in stress from sēo to seō /sjoː/, then a change from /sj-/ to /ʃ-/, similar to the derivation of sure from Old French seur. It would then be cognate to Dutch zij and German sie.
Neither etymology would be expected to yield the modern vocalism in /iː/ (the expected form would be shoo, which is in fact found dialectally). It may be due to influence from he, but both hēo and sēo also have rare variants (hīe and sīe) that may give modern English /iː/.
Meanings
(qualifier:African-American Vernacular) Synonym of her.
Inherited from Middle English sche, scho, hyo, ȝho (“she”), whence also Yorkshire dialectal shoo (“she”), Scots she, sho (“she”).
Probably from Old English hēo (whence dialectal English hoo), with an irregular change in stress from hēo to heō /hjoː/, then a development from /hj-/ to /ç/ to /ʃ-/, similar to the derivation of Shetland from Old Norse Hjaltland. In this case, she is from Proto-West Germanic *hiju, from Proto-Germanic *hijō f (“this, this one”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱe-, *ḱey- (“this, here”), and is cognate with Saterland Frisian jo, ju, West Frisian hja, North Frisian jü, Danish hun, Swedish hon; more at he.
A derivation from Old English sēo (“that one”, occasionally “she”) is also possible, though less likely. In that case, sēo would have undergone a change in stress from sēo to seō /sjoː/, then a change from /sj-/ to /ʃ-/, similar to the derivation of sure from Old French seur. It would then be cognate to Dutch zij and German sie.
Neither etymology would be expected to yield the modern vocalism in /iː/ (the expected form would be shoo, which is in fact found dialectally). It may be due to influence from he, but both hēo and sēo also have rare variants (hīe and sīe) that may give modern English /iː/.
Meanings
A female.
he came home to find […] honest Swartz in her favourite amber-coloured satin, with turquoise bracelets, countless rings, flowers, feathers, and all sorts of tags and gimcracks, about as elegantly decorated as a she chimney-sweep on May-day. 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:
Come, come, we know very well what all the matter is; but if one won’t, another will; so pretty a gentleman need never want a lady. I am sure, if I was you, I would see the finest she that ever wore a head hanged, before I would go for a soldier for her. 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC:
A world where the hes are so much more common than the shes can hardly be seen as a welcoming place for women. 2000, Sue V. Rosser, Building inclusive science volume 28, issues 1–2, page 189
“They were all hairy-faced bulls but one,” he said, “and that one was a she, lighter in color even than this stranger,” and he chucked a thumb at Tarzan. 1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 199:
“Then,” I said, much amused, “you think that if you were mixed up in a crime, say a murder, you’d be able to spot the murderer right off?” “Of course I should. Mightn’t be able to prove it to a pack of lawyers. But I’m certain I’d know. I’d feel it in my fingertips if he came near me.” “It might be a ‘she’,” I suggested. 1920, Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, London: Pan Books, published 1954, page 12:
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare / As any she belied with false compare. 1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 130”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, →OCLC:
Pat is definitely a she.
Plucked her eyebrows on the way / Shaved her legs and then he was a she 1972, Lou Reed, “Walk on the Wild Side”, in Transformer:
Inherited from Middle English sche, scho, hyo, ȝho (“she”), whence also Yorkshire dialectal shoo (“she”), Scots she, sho (“she”).
Probably from Old English hēo (whence dialectal English hoo), with an irregular change in stress from hēo to heō /hjoː/, then a development from /hj-/ to /ç/ to /ʃ-/, similar to the derivation of Shetland from Old Norse Hjaltland. In this case, she is from Proto-West Germanic *hiju, from Proto-Germanic *hijō f (“this, this one”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱe-, *ḱey- (“this, here”), and is cognate with Saterland Frisian jo, ju, West Frisian hja, North Frisian jü, Danish hun, Swedish hon; more at he.
A derivation from Old English sēo (“that one”, occasionally “she”) is also possible, though less likely. In that case, sēo would have undergone a change in stress from sēo to seō /sjoː/, then a change from /sj-/ to /ʃ-/, similar to the derivation of sure from Old French seur. It would then be cognate to Dutch zij and German sie.
Neither etymology would be expected to yield the modern vocalism in /iː/ (the expected form would be shoo, which is in fact found dialectally). It may be due to influence from he, but both hēo and sēo also have rare variants (hīe and sīe) that may give modern English /iː/.
Meanings
(feminine, nominative, personal, singular, third-person) The female (typically) person or animal previously mentioned or implied.
Goodly she entertaind those noble knights, / And brought them vp into her castle hall […] 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
I asked Mary, but she said that she didn't know.
She seems a clever girl, your Isabel.
After the cat killed a mouse, she left it on our doorstep.
His family, who live in West Des Moines, Iowa, have been left “devastated,” his owner Tracy Wolfe said in GWR press release. “He was just the best giant boy,” she added. 2024 June 25, Issy Ronald, “Kevin, world’s tallest male dog, dies shortly after securing record”, in CNN:
The mother, Ekaterina Pavlovna, who at one time had been handsome, but now, asthmatic, depressed, vague, and over-feeble for her years, tried to entertain me with conversation about painting. Having heard from her daughter that I might come to Shelkovka, she had hurriedly recalled two or three of my landscapes which she had seen in exhibitions in Moscow, and now asked what I meant to express by them. 1917, Anton Chekhov, translated by Constance Garnett, The Darling and Other Stories, Project Gutenberg, published 9 September 2004, →ISBN, page 71:
Morgan Sanner, a 27-year-old human resources worker in Ohio, told New York magazine’s The Cut that she felt inspired to follow in the footsteps of other people — who she noticed were “taking significant breaks” from their careers — after going abroad for the first time. 2024 December 31, Brooke Kato, “What is ‘microretirement’? Gen Z and millennials spawn new career trend to help with woes”, in New York Post:
(endearing, feminine, nominative, personal, singular, sometimes, third-person) A ship or boat.
She could do forty knots in good weather.
She is a beautiful boat, isn’t she?
On the long 1 in 100 ascent from Staveley to Heath she nearly stalled, and having taken 67¼ min. to cover the 38.2 miles to Nottingham instead of the 51 min. scheduled she gave up the ghost, and came off the train. 1960 April 14, O. S. Nock, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 271 ("she" refers to a locomotive):
The tanker is 25 years old but she is still very seaworthy.
(dated, endearing, feminine, nominative, personal, singular, sometimes, third-person) A country, or sometimes a city, province, planet, etc.
She is a poor place, but has beautiful scenery and friendly people.
(dated, endearing, feminine, nominative, personal, poetic, singular, third-person) A thing, especially a machine or other object, such as a car, a computer, or (poetically) a season.
She is my 57 Chevy / My 57 Chevy runs so fine / No one can beat my 57 Chevy 1977, “57 Chevy”, in Kansas City Slickers, performed by The Leopards:
She only gets thirty miles to the gallon on the highway, but she’s durable.
Prodigal in everything, summer spreads her blessings with lavish unconcern, and waving her magic wand across the landscape of the world, she bids the sons of men to enter in and possess. Summer is the great consummation. 1928, The Journal of the American Dental Association, page 765:
The car’s engine revved up, and the back wheels screeched. Then she lurched forward at terrific speed. 2017, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Bad Dad, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:
(feminine, nominative, nonstandard, personal, singular, third-person) A person whose gender is unknown or irrelevant (used in a work, along with or in place of he, as an indefinite pronoun).
Optimal experience is thus something that we make happen. For a child, it could be placing with trembling fingers the last block on a tower she has built, higher than any she has built so far; for a swimmer, it could be trying to beat his own record; for a violinist, mastering an intricate musical passage. 1990, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience:
(feminine, nominative, personal, singular, third-person) The Catholic Church.
The Church is present in the world as a sign of unity for the entire human family. She recognizes today’s questions and challenges as the current setting in which to carry out her particular vocation of listening, dialogue and service, and of being responsive to everything concerning the lives of contemporary men and women. 2026, Pope Leo XIV, chapter 1, in Magnifica humanitas:
rm ella (person) · ug ئۇ (person) · ja あの方 (person) · nn ho (person) · io elu (person) · ti ንሳ (person) · km ព្រះនាង (person) · ga sí (person) · egy s (person) · gcr i (person) · oj wiin (person) · bxd jɔ̃³¹ (person) · fa-ira او (person) · nb hun (person) · unm nàni (person) · yue 姖 (person) · fi se (ship) · ang hēo (person) · gun ha'e (person) · os уый (person) · ab лара (person) · km គាត់ (person) · haw ia (person) · gv ee (person) · as তাই (person) · mk таа (person) · uk вона́ (person) · ba ул (person) · az o (person) · nmn èh (person) · khi-kun ha (person) · yi זי (person) · zu lona (person) · csm hís·ak (person) · eo ŝi (person) · lo ເຂົາ (person) · ky ал (person) · sq ajo (person) · ak ɔno (person) · dsb wóna (person) · cv вӑл (person) · co edda (person) · tk ol (person) · arc ܗܝ (person) · ar هِيَ (person) · ga sí (ship) · smj sån (person) · rup nãsa (person) · km លោកស្រី (person) · pot win (person) · ps هغه (person) · pjt ngaa (person) · km ទ្រង់ (person) · rap ia (person) · as এওঁ (person) · sh òna (person) · uz u (person) · egy s-t:t (person) · el αυτή (person) · hi वह (person) · zu wona (person) · egy n:t-s (person) · lt ji (person) · eo ĝi (ship) · fax ela (person) · th เธอ (person) · am እሷ (person) · bcl siya (person) · co ella (person) · yue 她 (person) · udm со (person) · yue 佢 (person) · ln yě (person) · ur وہ (person) · fi hän (person) · th หล่อน (person) · nds sei (person) · grc ἥ (person) · grc ἐκείνη (person) · meu ia (person) · de sie (person) · gd ise (person) · wa ele (person) · kea el (person) · acw هي (person) · it ella (person) · fo hon (person) · rup ia (person) · rsk вона (person) · bm a (person) · rmy voj (person) · cmn 伊 (person) · id dia (person) · de sie (country, planet, machine, season etc.) · as তেওঁ (person) · kl una (person) · zu sona (person) · ajp هي (person) · jv dhèwèké (person) · rup nãsã (person) · egy s-y (person) · it lei (person) · yo ó (person) · ro ea (person) · sga sí (person) · kn ಇವಳು (person) · nmn ã̀hʻã̀ (person) · de sie (ship) · zdj ye (person) · ltg šei (person) · ru она́ (person) · fro ele (person) · de es (ship) · ka ის (person) · dng та (person) · ro dumneaei (person) · fi se (person) · ha ’ítá (person) · tg ӯ (person) · br hi (person) · kjh ол (person) · xqa اُلْ (person) · vi nó (person) · sv hon (person) · nl zij (person) · za de (person) · be яна́ (person) · vi chị ấy (person) · twf ą́wąną (person) · yuf nyihá (person) · hu ő (person) · syl ꠔꠣꠁ (person) · sjd со̄нн (person) · cy hi (person) · fy sy (person) · tt ул (person) · sma dïhte (person) · myp hi (person) · ay jupa (person) · fur jê (person) · rom oj (person) · de er (country, planet, machine, season etc.) · gd i (nonemphatic) (person) · aa is (person) · bn সে (person) · itk אֵיסַה (person) · wa elle (person) · pjt pala (person) · kw hi (person) · egy ti-i (person) · zu yona (person) · vi bà ấy (person) · nan-hbl 伊 (person) · fa-ira اوی (person) · es ella (person) · pt ela (person) · sh о̀на (person) · ltg jei (person) · orv она (person) · km នាង (person) · hy նա (person) · ist gila (person) · rue она́ (person) · tr o (person) · ja 奴 (person) · grc ἥδε (person) · lld ëila (person) · th เขา (person) · fa-ira وِی (person) · sl ôna (person) · cdo 伊 (person) · is hún (person) · ms ia (person) · cu она (person) · ms dia (person) · tpn a'e (person) · fr elle (person) · cmn 她 (person) · et tema (person) · scn idda (person) · ko 그 (person) · mdf сон (person) · bn আপনি (person) · ja あの人 (person) · uga 𐎅𐎊 (person) · fj koya (person) · gl ela (person) · grc ἡ (person) · zza a (diq) (person) · zu yena (person) · eu bera (person) · te ఆమె (person) · mww nws (person) · ny iye (person) · lnj lu (person) · smn sun (person) · my သူမ (person) · nan-tws 伊 (person) · vo of (person) · ko 그녀 (person) · jv piyambakipun (person) · aii ܗܲܝ (person) · ia illa (person) · pro ella (person) · mt hi (person) · li het (person) · yua letiʼ (person) · sw yeye (person) · pcc deel (person) · ur یہ (person) · vi cô ấy (person) · lv viņa (person) · izh hää (person) · shu هي (person) · wa leye (person) · kn ಅವಳು (person) · yag kitu (person) · si ඈ (person) · hak 佢 (person) · ee eya (person) · zu lona (person) · cmn 他 (person) · tli hú (person) · io el (person) · fy hja (person) · tl siya (person) · ppl yaja (person) · hi यह (person) · vec eła (person) · as এই (person) · ppl yaha (person) · la ea (person) · da hun (ship) · an ella (person) · ttj uwe (person) · arz هي (person) · nds se (person) · wuu 伊 (person) · mhn si (person) · ga í (person) · pms chila (person) · da hun (person) · myv сон (person) · cjy 她 (person) · hsb wona (person) · prs وَی (person) · mzn وه (person) · hop pam (person) · nmn ã`h (person) · arc ܗܝܗ (person) · rmf joi (person) · roa-opt ela (person) · prs او (person) · rup ea (person) · kk ол (person) · pjt palunya (person) · nmn èhʻè (person) · la haec (person) · eu hura (person) · de es (country, planet, machine, season etc.) · af sy (person) · wo moom (person) · ps دا (person) · qu pay (person) · my သူ (person) · sms son (person) · la illa (person) · oc ela (person) · cs ona (person) · egl lî (person) · krl häi (person) · syl ꠔꠣꠁꠘ (person) · dlm jala (person) · csb òna (person) · ca ella (person) · he הִיא (person) · pl ona (person) · mi ia (person) · sk ona (person) · ja 彼女 (person) · bg тя (person) · li ze (person) · arc הי (person) · km អ្នកស្រី (person) · ast ella (person) · alt ол (person) · lou li (person) · yo á (person) · pjt nyara (person) · sid ise (person) · se son (person) · id ia (person) · mn тэр (person) · ko 이분 (person)
Inherited from Middle English sche, scho, hyo, ȝho (“she”), whence also Yorkshire dialectal shoo (“she”), Scots she, sho (“she”).
Probably from Old English hēo (whence dialectal English hoo), with an irregular change in stress from hēo to heō /hjoː/, then a development from /hj-/ to /ç/ to /ʃ-/, similar to the derivation of Shetland from Old Norse Hjaltland. In this case, she is from Proto-West Germanic *hiju, from Proto-Germanic *hijō f (“this, this one”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱe-, *ḱey- (“this, here”), and is cognate with Saterland Frisian jo, ju, West Frisian hja, North Frisian jü, Danish hun, Swedish hon; more at he.
A derivation from Old English sēo (“that one”, occasionally “she”) is also possible, though less likely. In that case, sēo would have undergone a change in stress from sēo to seō /sjoː/, then a change from /sj-/ to /ʃ-/, similar to the derivation of sure from Old French seur. It would then be cognate to Dutch zij and German sie.
Neither etymology would be expected to yield the modern vocalism in /iː/ (the expected form would be shoo, which is in fact found dialectally). It may be due to influence from he, but both hēo and sēo also have rare variants (hīe and sīe) that may give modern English /iː/.
Meanings
(transitive) To refer to (someone) using she/her pronouns.
If somebody wants to go by “he,” continually “sheing” them [is invalidating]. 2019 April 16, Natalia Deeb-Sossa, Community-Based Participatory Research: Testimonios from Chicana/o Studies, University of Arizona Press, →ISBN, page 193:
In his conversation with the woman, Ari would 'he' himself using the masculine pronoun and she would reply by consistently 'she'''ing' him. Such examples share something about the emotional quality of language[…] 2023 December 7, Laura L. Paterson, The Routledge Handbook of Pronouns, Taylor & Francis, →ISBN: