them, pers. pron.
(ðɛm, ðəm)
Forms: see below.
[Three types are found in ME. αþeȝȝm, þeym, a. ON. þeim ‘to those’, ‘to them’, dat. pl. of the demonst. sá, s{uacu}, þat, the plural of which also supplies that of the 3rd pers. pron. (see they). This came down to the 16th c. in Eng. in the form theim, and still exists in north. dial. and in Sc. as thaim. βNorthern Eng. þam, app. bef. 1300; this appears to represent þǽm, þám, dat. pl. of OE. se, séo, þæt, pl. þá (see that, tho), found already as accus. in the Rushworth Gospels, where Lindisf. has h{iacu}a, Ags. Gosp. h{iacu}ᵹ, Hatton hyo, all in the sense ‘them’. This came down in Sc. as thame to 16th c. γThe existing form them, found in R. Brunne c 1330. This may have originated as an unstressed form (ðəm) of þeim or (?) þam, or it may actually have represented the OE. Anglian þæm of the Rushworth Gospels.
Although the form from Norse is not known before Ormin, it must have been current in the Danelaw much earlier, since it was only dative in Norse, and must have been taken into OE. as dative, and have shared in the peculiar English change by which the accusative and dative of the pronouns were levelled under the dative form. In the singular hine, him, instances of this change are seen in the Rushworth Gospel Gloss c 975 (see him 1 d); and it is noteworthy that the same Gloss shows the use of þæm as acc., = hia, hiᵹ, hyo, as mentioned above. This use of þæm as pers. pron. may itself have been due to Norse influence, the OE. word being used in the same sense as the Norse þeim
The commoner pron. of 3rd pers. pl. obj. (dat. and acc.) in OE. and ME. was hem, surviving colloq. and dial. as 'em.]
A. Illustration of Forms.
(α) 2–3 (Orm.) þeȝȝm, 4–6 þeym, þeim, theym(e, theim, 6 theime; 4 þaime, þaym, 4–6 þaim, (4 þaem, 4–5 taim), 4–6 (4– Sc.) thaim, 4–6 thaym(e, 6 thaime.
| c 1200 Ormin 1751 Þatt he þeȝȝm ȝife blisse. Ibid. 1768 And hellpe þeȝȝm..To winnenn eche blisse. a 1300 Cursor M. 47 (Cott.) A saumpul her be þaem [Gött. þaim, F. ham, T. hem] I say. Ibid. 19378 (Edin.) Þai lerid at taim to suffer harde. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace 13072 Wawayn..smot aboute, & made þeym rounn. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxvii. (Machor) 724 He betwene þaym pes can ma. c 1400 tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. 58 Worschippe..þayme þat þou seez þat doon to be worschipped. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. clxxxvi. 220 A stryfe fell bytwene theym and they of Parys. 1533 Gau Richt Vay (S.T.S.) 3 Thay quhilk red thayme or buyr thaime. 1534 Cromwell in Merriman Life & Lett. (1902) I. 374 They..make not so muche for your purpose as ye allege thaim for. 1536 Wriothesley Chron. (Camden) I. 43 Great lamentation that the poore people made for theim. 1537 Adm. Crt. Exemplif. i. No. 174 Seeing a ship coming somewhat rome with theym. 1565 Allen Def. Purg. xv. 272 Sumwhiles by thabasing of theime. 1873 Thaim [see B. 5]. |
(β) 1 þæm, 3–4 þam, 4–6 þame (6 yame), 4–7 thame, tham.
| c 975 Rushw. Gosp. Matt. xx. 25 Hælend þa ceiᵹde þæm [Lind. hia, Ags. hiᵹ, Hatt. hyo] to him. 13.. Cursor M. 4900 (Cott.) Þe sargantz..Ran and ouertok þam [Gött. þaim] þare. Ibid. 7120 A redel þam vndo he badd. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 2 Iuor & Ini were disconfite þat day, Þe Iris & þe Wals with þam fled away. 1357 Lay Folks Catech. (MS. T.) 39 That..suld teche thame. Ibid. 65 To lere tham. a 1400 Isumbras 122 For thame es alle my kare. 1513 Douglas æneis xiii. x. 88 Gyf thame happynis careit for to be Tyll ony wther sted. 1577 Holinshed Chron., Hist. Scot. I. 371/2 To yame that receyuit thy noble father y⊇ Duke of Longcastell. 1641 in Row Hist. Kirk (Wodrow Soc.) p. xliii, Being found qualifeit be thame. |
(γ) 4 þem, 4– them, (5–6 theme).
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 15336 Oure kynde..Schal do þem bowe, maugre þayres. 13.. Cursor M. 13725 (Cott.) Him for to tak bituix þem tua. c 1430– Them [see B. 4]. 1482 in Eng. Hist. Rev. XXV. 123 If ye wylle not, we bene purveyde of theme yat wylle. 1573 Satir. Poems Reform. xl. 21 To theme that was his fais. |
B. Signification. I. Personal pronoun.
1. As pronoun of the third person plural, objective, direct and indirect (accusative and dative) of they. Also as antecedent pron. followed by relative, or prepositional phrase, and having then a demonstrative function, equivalent to those but less emphatic. a. Direct object or accusative. (= L. eos, illos, G. sie.)
| c 975 [see A. β]. c 1200 [see A. α]. a 1300 Cursor M. 1228 He þam for-soke in all þer nedis. Ibid. 8118 He heild þam to þaim for to kys. c 1330 [see A. γ]. 1470–85 Malory Arthur x. lxix. 533 The grene knyghte hath..beten all them of Orkeney. 1474 Coventry Leet Bk. 389 To bye theym in þe Croschepyng. 1552 Lyndesay Monarche 4822 Unoccupyit thay hald thame in thare neif. 1560 Bible (Genev.) 1 Sam. ii. 30 Them that honour me, I wil honour. 1586 T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. i. (1589) 383 Have them in great estimation and admiration. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 420 By Fountain or by shadie Rivulet He sought them both. 1864 J. H. Newman Apol. iv. (1904) 125/1 Charges..which..I fully believed at the time when I made them. |
b. Indirect object or dative. (= L. eis, illis, G. ihnen.)
| c 1200 Ormin 1142 Þatt he þeȝȝm..Forrȝæfe þeȝȝre gilltess. a 1300 Cursor M. 667 Witte and wisdam he þam gaue. 1375 Barbour Bruce i. 79 Þis ordynance þaim thocht þe best. c 1400 Rule St. Benet 20 And by-kenne it taim þat best can serue god & te cuuent. c 1500 Merch. & Son 269 in Hazl. E.P.P. I. 151 The maryage of them ij. ys made. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccxli. 353 He sent..and made alyaunces with them thre. 1535 Coverdale Jer. xxxv. 2 Geue them wyne to drynke. 1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. Boccalini's Advts. fr. Parnass. i. i. (1674) 2 If their Lord..do but cast an artificial smile them, they take it as..a reward. 1779 Mirror No. 23 ¶2 To show them what they are to understand. 1812 Crabbe Tales xviii, Men..whose pains, Credit, and prudence, brought them constant gains. Mod. I give them credit for good intentions. |
c. As the object of a preposition.
| c 1300 Harrow. Hell 29 (MS. E) Crist loked þaim vnto. c 1340 Hampole Prose Tr. 28 Þou will noghte tente to thaym. 1474 Caxton Chesse 7 Take not from them that is theyres. 1535 Coverdale Ps. xvii[i]. 48 Thou shalt lift me vp from them that ryse agaynst me. 1663 Gerbier Counsel f viij, Letters, which the ægiptians did attribute unto them. 1780 Mirror No. 96 ¶2 They are neither of them niggardly. 1847 Tennyson Princess Concl. 68 Too solemn for the comic touches in them. Mod. What will he do with them? |
d. Sometimes indefinitely, as objective case of they 3 a. colloq. or dial.
e. As objective case of they 3 b. Hence phr. them and us used attrib.
| 1924 W. Holtby Crowded Street iii. 27 The magic circle of ‘Them’, the great ones. ‘They’ were the élite, the prefects and the games captains. 1945 H. Nicholson Let. 27 May (1967) 465 People feel, in a vague and muddled way, that all the sacrifices to which they have been exposed..are all the fault of ‘them’—namely the authority or the Government. 1957 R. Hoggart Uses of Literacy iii. 62 To the very poor, especially, they compose a shadowy but numerous and powerful group affecting their lives at almost every point: the world is divided into ‘Them’ and ‘Us’. 1962 Listener 8 Mar. 439/1 It is this feeling of being in a world that belongs to ‘them’ and not to ‘us’ that puts a strain on working-class children. 1966 Guardian 11 Oct. 3/1 The ‘ordinary people’ who looked on, who made..the Them and Us division [between cripples and other people]. 1980 A. Cornelisen Flight from Torregreca x. 230 The vicious estrangements of a two-class, a Them-and-us society. |
2. Often used for ‘him or her’, referring to a singular person whose sex is not stated, or to anybody, nobody, somebody, whoever, etc. Cf. they 2.
| 1742 Richardson Pamela III. 127 Little did I think..to make a..Complaint against a Person very dear to you,..but dont let them be so proud..as to make them not care how they affront everybody else. 1853 C. M. Yonge Heir of Redclyffe xliv, Nobody else..has so little to plague them. 1874 G. W. Dasent Half a Life II. 198 Whenever any one was ill, she brewed them a drink. |
3. Used for the nominative they. a. As antecedent or demonstrative pronoun: = those. Now only dial. or illiterate. Also in phr. them's my sentiments (now freq. used humorously).
| c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon iii. 78 All the foure brethern, and all theym of theyr companye arayed them selfe. c 1530 Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. 393 Blessyd be them that hath brought that about. 1581 Marbeck Bk. of Notes 150 Such are them to whom y⊇ Lord doth giue his holy spirit. 1632 Lithgow Trav. vii. 333 In a moment, them of the Villages came downe on horse and foote. a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia Introd. 141 Them are the women I meant. 1847 Thackeray Van. Fair (1848) xxi. 179 The sooner it is done the better, Mr. Osborne; them's my sentiments. c 1864 Brough & ‘Halliday’ Area Belle 8 Cold mutton to begin with... Cut near the knuckle, with a little currant jelly if you've got it. Them's my sentiments. 1873 Murray Dial. S. Scotl. 184 Thaim at dyd it. 1877 L. J. Jennings Field Paths iii. 47 Them be my two children. 1891 Barrie Little Minister iii, Them as says there's no has me to fecht. 1900 F. Nightingale Let. in C. Woodham-Smith Florence Nightingale (1951) xxiv. 590 ‘Drat’ hockey and long live the horse! Them's my sentiments. 1901 N. Lloyd Chronic Loafer i. 11 Them wasn't our only troubles. 1924 E. M. Forster Passage to India v. 48 We're out here to do justice and keep the peace. Them's my sentiments. 1972 ‘J. & E. Bonett’ No Time to Kill viii. 100 ‘Them's my sentiments too,’ he said. ‘As Thackeray wrote,’ she exclaimed in delight. |
b. As personal pronoun after than, as, and in the predicate after the verb to be. Common colloq., but considered incorrect grammatically.
| 1654–66 Earl of Orrery Parthen. (1676) 708 It was an impossibility that these could be them. 1777 Mickle Cumnor Hall xix, How far less blest am I than them! 1845 E. Warburton Crescent & Cross I. 331 It was not them we wanted. 1888 ‘J. S. Winter’ Bootle's Childr. xiv, It was them told me about her. 1888 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms xxxiv, It was them or us..now. 1901 Theo. W. Wilson Bacca Queen xi. 89 Such as them enjoys thersells. |
c. As nominative case of sense 1 e above.
| 1957 R. Hoggart Uses of Literacy iii. 62 ‘Them’ is a composite dramatic figure, the chief character in modern urban forms of the rural peasant-big-house relationships. 1962 Listener 14 June 1044/2 With their use of Christian names in accusing one another of wilful misrepresentation they impressed me most with being collectively Them trying to get power from Us. 1970 Guardian 19 Nov. 1/4 In..the Talk of the Town restaurant, ‘them’ and ‘us’ dined last night to earn money for the world's wildlife. |
II. 4. As reflexive pron. = themselves. (= L. se, sibi, G. sich.)
As direct or indirect obj. of vb. (arch.), or obj. of prep.
| 13.. Cursor M. 1713 Þe meke be þam ai tua and tua, Þe wild do be þam-self al-sua. Ibid. 15757 (Cott.) Þai fell þaim don vn-to þe grund. 1375 Barbour Bruce i. 205 Gyff þat ony man þaim by Had ony thing þat wes worthy. c 1430 Syr Tryam. 770 The knyghtes gysed them fulle gay, And proved them fulle preste. 1535 Coverdale Exod. xxxii. 8 They haue made them a molten calfe. a 1550 Christis Kirke Gr. xi, To dans thir damysellis thame dicht. 1565 Cooper Thesaurus, Rubriceta,..roset colour that women vse to paynte them. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho lvii, Superior attainments of every sort bring with them duties of superior exertion. 1848 J. H. Newman Loss & Gain ii. xx. (1904) 254 What a way those fellows have with them! 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xxii. IV. 697 They then bethought them of a new expedient. |
III. 5. As demonstr. adj. = those. Now only dial. or illiterate. a. Qualifying an objective (direct or indirect). Also strengthened by adding there ('ere, air).
| 1596 H. Clapham Bible Hist. 92 To Samaria and them partes. 1598 Barret Theor. Warres i. i. 4 The warres and weapons are now altered from them dayes. 1621 Ainsworth Annot. Pentat. Gen. xviii. 6 Foure of them Logs make a Kab. 1726 Cavallier Mem. iii. 231 If I had but one of them Hangmen. 1809–12 M. Edgeworth Absentee xii, I hope, then, the agent will give you encouragement about them mines. 1840 Thackeray Catherine vii, It was a rare rise we got out of them chaps. 1878 Mrs. Stowe Poganuc P. i, He don't believe in keeping none of them air prayer-book days. |
b. Qualifying a nominative.
| 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 126 Them few [dogs] which be kept must be tyed up in the day time. 1610 Healey Vives' Comment St. Aug. Citie of God xii. xvi, Augustine..saith that them times were called eternall. 1778 J. Crane in F. Chase Hist. Dartmouth (Mass.) Coll. (1891) I. 389 The major part tories, or them sort of creatures called neuters. 1842 S. Lover Handy Andy xxviii, Them ribbons of yours cost a trifle, Kitty. 1889 Tennyson Owd Roä viii, ‘Faaithful an' True’ Them words be i' Scriptur. 1901 M. E. Francis Fiander's Widow ii. v. 255 ‘Them there legs o' yourn should be pretty well stretched by now.’ |