▪ I. me, pers. pron., 1st pers. sing., acc. and dat.
(miː, mɪ)
Forms: 1– me; also 1 (acc.) mec, Northumb. mech, meh, 3–4 mi, 4–7 mee, 8–9 dial. (unstressed) ma.
[The OE. mē̆ accus. represents, like OFris. mi, OS. mī, mē (Du. mij), L. mē, Gr. ἐµέ, µε, OIrish mē (mod.Irish mi), Welsh mi, the bare stem, OAryan *eme-, *me-, from which in all the Indogermanic langs. the oblique cases of the pronoun of the 1st pers. sing. are formed. OE. had also a form mec (which did not survive into ME.), corresp. to OFris. mich, OS. mik (MDu. mik), OHG. mih (MHG., mod.G. mich), ON. mik (Sw., Da. mig), Goth. mik:—Pre-Teut. *mege (= Gr. ἐµέγε), in which a limiting particle *ge (= Gr. γε, ‘at least’) is added to the simple accus. The OE. mē̆ dative corresponds to OFris. mi, mir, OS. mī (MDu. mî, mod.Du. mij), OHG., mod.G. mir, ON. mér, Goth. miz:—Pre-Teut. *mes; the final s, which is the sign of the dative also in the Teut. pronouns of the 2nd pers. sing., has not been explained with certainty, but Brugmann has suggested that it may have arisen from the analogy of the Pre-Teut. *nes (Skr. nas), the stem of the 1st pers. plural, which was used uninflected as a dative, and of which Teut. *uns (Eng. us) is an ablaut-variant.]
I. The accusative and dative form of the pronoun of the first person I.
1. Accusative, as direct object.
| Beowulf 447 ᵹif mec deað nimeð. c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. x. 32 Eᵹhuelc..seðe ᵹe-ondetas meh [c 975 Rushw. mec, c 1000 Ags. Gosp. me] before monnum. a 1250 Owl & Night. 160 Ich wiste wel þat þou me misraddest. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. vii. 88 He is holden, Ich hope to haue me in Muynde. 1470–85 Malory Arthur vii. xxxii. 264 Spare me not to morne when I haue restyd me. 1535 Fisher Wks. (E.E.T.S.) i. 382 He wil not forsake me nor suffer mee to perish. 1611 Bible Ruth i. 20 Call me not Naomi, call mee Marah. 1762 Bickerstaff Love in Village i. x. (1765) 20 Well, my lad, are you willing to serve the king? Countryman. Why, can you list ma? 1832 Tennyson Œnone 38 Hear me, for I will speak. |
2. Dative. a. As indirect obj.; also (now rare exc. arch.) in dependence on certain impers. vbs. (cf. meseems, methinks, list v.1), adjs., and advs.
| Beowulf 2155 Me ðis hildesceorp Hroðgar sealde. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 113 Her is min child þe me is swiðe leof. a 1300 Cursor M. 3611 Þar-efter now mi langes sare. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 45 So hard me was that ilke throwe That [etc]. c 1440 York Myst. viii. 15 Me repentys and rewys for-þi. 1533 More Debell. Salem Wks. 1024/1 Me nedeth neuer to loke more for that matter. 1654–66 Earl of Orrery Parthen. (1676) 343 Those strange Accidents which had arrived me. 1666 Boyle Orig. Formes & Qual. 395 The quantity presented me was less inconsiderable. 1898 Rider Haggard Dr. Therne 21 Will you lend it me? |
b. As dat. of interest (= for me), chiefly in commands. arch.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. John xiii. 8 Ne ðuoas ðu me [Vulg. mihi] foet. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 46 In myn bed there dawith me no day That I ne am vp. 14.. Tundale's Vis. 87 Loke me my sparthe, where ever it stonde. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. ii. i. 121 Come me to what was done to her. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 488 ¶2 A large Family of Daughters have drawn me up a very handsome Remonstrance. 1765 Sterne Tr. Shandy VII. xliii, Tie me up this tress instantly. 1849 M. Arnold Sick King in Bokhara 45 Prick me the fellow from the path! |
c. Used expletively in passages of a narrative character. (The so-called ethical dative.) arch.
Formerly often in vulgar or colloq. phrases (now obs.) such as ‘then says me I’, ‘what did me I but’, etc.
| 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1905 Þay fel on hym alle, & woried me þis wyly wyth a wroth noyse. 1535 Goodly Primer, Passion iv, But Peter..cometh me back again unto the fire. c 1500 Robyn Hode ii. st. 100 (Child) Here be the best coresed hors That euer yet sawe I me. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. i. iii. 85 The skilfull shepheard pil'd me certaine wands. 1697 Vanbrugh æsop i. ii. 1 I'se get our wife Joan to be the queen's chambermaid; and then—crack says me I! and forget all my acquaintance. 1724 Swift Prometh. Wks. 1755 III. ii. 151 Prometheus once this chain [of gold] purloin'd, Then whips me on a chain of brass. 1820 Lamb Elia Ser. i. Oxf. in Vac., With great exactitude of purpose he enters me his name in the book. |
3. Governed by a preposition.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. John vi. 35 Seðe ᵹelefes on mech [Rushw. mec]. c 1200 Ormin 237 Þuss hafeþþ Drihhtin don wiþþ me. a 1250 Owl & Night. 367 Þu liest on me hit is isene. c 1375 Canticum de Creatione 11 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1878) 124/1 Þe rode treo Þat god on deyde for ȝow & meo. 1470–85 Malory Arthur viii. xxiii. 307, I pray to god that he neuer be..shamed for me. 1616 B. Jonson Forest ix, Drink to me, onely, with thine eyes. 1642 Chas. I Sp. Wks. 1662 I. 401 You see that My Magazine is going to be taken from Me. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 79 ¶2 The Writer will do what she pleases for all me. 1816 J. Wilson City of Plague i. i. 101 A voice comes to me from its silent towers. |
4. Qualified by an adj.
| a 1586 Sidney Arcadia ii. (1590) 179 b, Vntil you came, after so many victories to make a conquest of poore me. 1608 Shakes. Per. i. iv. 69 To..make a conquest of vnhappie mee. 1646 Crashaw Poems 149 And full of nothing else but empty me. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas x. x, As for poor little me,..I was sent to the foundling hospital. 1814 Jane Austen Let. 2 Mar. (1932) II. 92, I am to call upon Miss Spencer: Funny me! 1895, etc. [see little me s.v. little a. 13]. 1961 ‘P. Dennis’ (title) Little me: the intimate memoirs of that great star..Belle Poitrine. 1973 ‘D. Halliday’ Dolly & Starry Bird viii. 111 ‘As Timothy would say, silly me,’ Johnson said in a voice as hard as his bifocals. |
5. Reflexive (= myself, to or for myself). arch. and poet. exc. in U.S. colloq. usage.
| a 1000 Juliana 452 (Gr.) Þær ic swiþe me þyslicre ær þraᵹe ne ᵹewende. a 1200 Moral Ode 6 Þenne ich me bi-þenche wel sare ich me adrede. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 480 Ich..toc me him to lauerd. c 1386 Chaucer Pars. T. ¶235, I purposed fermely to shryue me. c 1570 Pride & Lowl. (1841) 61 Thinking to me they meant to gone us by. 1665 Hooke Microgr. Pref. f, I provided me a Tube of Brass. 1703 Rowe Ulyss. ii. i, Methought I found me by a murm'ring Brook. 1819 Keats La Belle Dame 44 And I awoke, and found me here. 1821 W. Sewall Diary (1930) 75 Purchased me some linens. 1859 Tennyson Marr. Geraint 281 Where can I get me harbourage for the night? 1867 Macfarren Harmony vi. (1876) 209, I must content me with the bare statement. 1874 Rep. Vermont Board Agric. II. 512 In 1861 I built me a horse barn, twenty-eight by forty. 1916 ‘B. M. Bower’ Phantom Herd iii. 42 I'm going to make me one. 1972 ‘Gramophone’ Pop. Record Catal. Dec. 129/2 (song-title) I'm gonna get me a gun. 1974 M. Hastings Dragon Island xv. 129 I'll grab me the first-aid box and..see how my patients are doing. |
6. For the nom. a. Chiefly predicative; as subject now only dial. and vulgar.
In uneducated speech commonly used where the pron. forms with another pron. or a n. the subject of a plural verb.
| a 1500 in Arnolde Chron. (1811) 108 Be it knowen to al men by theis presentis me, T. H. of Oxenford glouar, ordeyne [etc.]. 1519 in Charters, etc. Peebles (1872) 49 Be it kennit tyll all men be thir present letteres, me James Baroune..grantis me to haif rasawit [etc.]. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. ii. iii. 25 Oh, the dogge is me, and I am my selfe. 1733 Swift Apol. Wks. 1755 IV. i. 209 To dine with her! and come at three! Impossible! it can't be me. 1758 Goldsm. Mem. Protestant (1895) I. 201 There was left surviving only me. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. i. viii, Me and Mrs. Boffin stood the poor girl's friend. 1886 Besant Childr. Gibeon ii. xxvii, We're an easy-going lot, me and my friends. 1893 [see him 3]. 1903 Dialect Notes II. 320 Me and you,..almost universal for ‘you and I’. 1905 Westm. Gaz. 11 Nov. 3/1, I can foresee..that unless me and Ellen advise you, you'll become simply―. 1936 Mencken Amer. Lang. (ed. 4) ix. 457 Him and me are friends. 1966 ‘J. Hackston’ Father clears Out 50 Me an' me mate's eyes was dancin' out of our 'eads. |
b. After as, than.
| 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. iii. iii. 14 Is she as tall as me? 1748 Richardson Clarissa I. x. 58, I am fitter for this world than you, you for the next than me. 1804 Byron Let. 2 Nov., Lord Delawarr is considerably younger than me. |
† c. In the absolute participial construction. Obs.
| c 1450 tr. De Imitatione iii. v. 69 These folke, me beyng displesed [L. me eis adversante], ofte tymes fallen into gret temptacions. 1671 Milton Samson 463 Dagon hath presum'd, Me overthrown, to enter lists with God. |
7. In various exclamatory uses, without definite syntactical relation to the context. a. In interjectional phrases, as ah me! ay me! o me! dear me! † fore me! † God's me! etc.
See also body n. 4, god n. 8 b.
| 1589 Greene Menaphon (Arb.) 66 Ay me vnhappie. 1591–1860 [see ay 2]. 1601 B. Jonson Poetaster i. i, Gods a' me! 1607 Shakes. Cor. i. i. 124 What then? Fore me, this Fellow speakes. 1610 [see O 2]. 1632 Rowley Wom. never vext iv. 59 Rob. O me my shame! I know that voyce full well. Ibid. 60 O me, mine Vncle sees me! 1798 in Spirit Pub. Jrnls. (1799) II. 216 Dear me! O la! Good me! 1819 Keats St. Agnes xii, Alas me! flit! Flit like a ghost away. |
b. In imitation of Latin uses (e.g. me miserum!).
| 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 73 Me miserable! which way shall I flie Infinite wrauth, and infinite despaire? 1889 Browning Pope & Net iii, ‘Unworthy me!’ he sighs: ‘From fisher's drudge to Church's prince—it is indeed a rise’. |
c. In surprised interrogation = ‘Do you mean me?’
| 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. i. iii. 44 And get you from our Court. Ros. Me Vncle. Duk. You Cosen. 1760 Foote Minor iii. (1767) 72 What says your father! Sir Will. Me! Oh, I'll shew you in an instant. 1782 F. Burney Cecilia iv. vii, Then, turning to Miss Larolles, ‘Don't you dance?’ he said. ‘Me?’ cried she, embarrassed, ‘yes, I believe so.’ |
d. Vulgarly, and me{ddd}= ‘especially considering that I am{ddd}’.
Cf. the similar use of I, as in Burns Banks o' Doon, And I sae weary, fu' o' care.
| 1812 M. Edgeworth Absentee xi, Which would be hard on us and me a widow. 1864 G. Meredith Emilia xv, And twenty shindies per dime we've been havin', and me such a placable body, if ye'll onnly let m' explode. |
e. Followed by an inf. in exclamations of surprise or indignation at some proposal or statement. Also used intensively like French moi.
The nom. I is considered more grammatical.
| 1885 J. K. Jerome On the Stage 16 ‘Me! me pay!’ I exclaimed, rendered ungrammatical by surprise. ‘What for?’ 1923 Dialect Notes V. 244, I am not going to-day, me. 1963 Listener 20 June 1041/3 Me, I like fighting, too. |
8. quasi-n. Personality, individuality; ego.
| 1828 Carlyle Misc. (1857) I. 86 Haunted and blinded by some shadow of his own little Me. 1855 Bain Senses & Int. ii. i. §12 A not me as opposed to the me of passive sensibility and thought. |
9. With the verb to be: suited to or representative of my tastes, ability, personality, etc.; appropriate for me; my real self.
| 1899 J. London Let. 29 July (1966) 47 This is me all the time and all over. 1905 A. Bennett Sacred & Profane Love i. v. 83 But that poor little book isn't me... I shall never write another like it. 1925 R. Hall Saturday Life vii. 79 Nothings, just nothings, they didn't count; this is the thing that's me. 1938 J. Cary Castle Corner 557 The house has got to be contemporary, it's got to be art..and it's got to be me. 1949 R. Chandler Little Sister xxviii. 209, I don't like the script... It just isn't me, if you know what I mean. 1957 P. Wildeblood Main Chance 56 Cardigans are not..particularly me. 1963 F. T. Visser Hist. Syntax Eng. Lang. I. iii. 240, I like this dress, it's me! |
II. 10. Used colloq. and dial. (also Austral. and N.Z.) as a poss. adj.
The origin of this use is probably the unstressed form of the possessive adj. (see my poss. adj. 1 β), but it is now apprehended as a levelling of functions under a single inflexional form.
| 1862 G. Meredith Let. 23 June (1970) I. 152 B. Wyse came the other day..and hoped for forgive miss: ‘Me deer Mardith’, etc.! 1901 M. Franklin My Brilliant Career x. 84 Now it's your turn, me fine lady. Ibid. xxvi. 220 A couple of letters..stuffed in me pocket. 1911 W. Owen Let. 20 Sept. (1967) 83 Love to Mary and me brethren twain. 1946 K. Tennant Lost Haven (1968) i. 20 Me own mother sent me word he wants to see me! Ibid. ii. 39 Me granddaughter's coming to stay with me. 1960 G. Slatter Gun in my Hand ii. 21 An' it ran like a hairy goat an' I did me chips. 1966 F. Shaw et al. Lern Yerself Scouse 20 Me dollypegs, my legs... Me webs, my feet. 1968 K. Weatherly Roo Shooter 21 ‘Cost you a night's shooting, me backside,’ roared the driver. 1972 Southerly XXXII. 6 Me motorbike's out at the station. 1973 Sunday Express (Trinidad & Tobago) 1 Apr. (Suppl.) 13/1 Ah on de road, Putting out me hand Like a mas in a band. |
Add: [I.] [6.] [a.] Also in W. Indies use.
| 1918 E. C. Parsons Folk-Tales of Andros I., Bahamas (Mem. Amer. Folklore Soc. xiii) 36 Me no tiger. 1943 in Cassidy & Le Page Dict. Jamaican Eng. (1967) 298/1 Migarn, I am going. 1966 D. J. Crowley I could talk Old-Story Good 53 And me go down. 1977 Westindian World 3–9 June 4/1 All me can say is that all dis revelation come too late, from days gone when me use fe tek me home work back to school. 1981 Ibid. 31 July 4/1 (heading) Me hear dem say. 1986 B. Gilroy Frangipani House iii. 11 We all have cross to bear. You got. Me got. |
▪ II. † me, indef. pron. Obs.
Also 4 ma.
[A further reduced form of men pron., weakened from man pron.]
= one 21.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 17 Hit is riht þet me hem spille. a 1225 Ancr. R. 54 Þus, ofte, ase me seið, of lutel wacseð muchel. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 2828 Ma calþ me Gyoun of Borgoygne. 1426 Audelay Poems 9 To do as thou woldest me dud by the. c 1483 Caxton Dialogues 6/20 Thinges That ben vsed after the hous, Of whiche me may not be withoute. |
▪ III. † me, ? int. or conj. Obs.
[Of obscure origin: some have compared the MDu., MLG. men, ‘but’ (whence Da. men, Sw. män in the same sense), but it is doubtful whether this is connected.]
A particle (exclamatory or adversative) employed (mainly in texts of the ‘Katherine group’) to introduce a question, or (less commonly) a statement: = ‘lo’, ‘now’, ‘why’.
| a 1225 Leg. Kath. 327 Me hwat is mare madschipe Þen for to leuen on him. a 1240 Ureisun in Cott. Hom. 185 Me nis he fol chapmon þe buþ deore a wac þing [etc.]. |