▪ I. † her, here, n. poetic. Obs.
Forms: 1 hearra, herra, hærra, 3 herre, hærre, north. and Sc. 4–5 her, 5–6 here, (5 heere, hery, 6 hair, heir, heyr).
[OE. herra, hearra, corresp. to OFris. hêra, OS. hêrro (MDu. herre, hêr(r)e, Du. heer), OHG. hêrro (MHG. hêrre, herre, Ger. herr), ON. harri, herra (Sw., Da. herre). In OHG. and OS., a subst. use of the comparative degree hêr(o)ro of the adj. hêr ‘old’, hence ‘venerable, august’, mod.Ger. hehr ‘sublime, elevated, august, holy’, identical with OE. hár hoary, grey, ON. hárr:—OTeut. *hairo- prob. ‘hoary with age, venerable’; supposed to have been first used as a form of address to superiors: cf. the Romanic use of L. senior, in It. signore, Sp. señor, F. seigneur ‘lord’, orig. ‘older, elder’. Both in OE. and ON. adopted from OLG.; in OE. found orig. in the parts of the ‘Cædmon’ poems which are transliterated from an OS. original; also in later OE. and ME. poetry, and in Sc. to 16th c. Apparently only in poetical use.]
Lord, chief, master; man of high position or rank; sometimes more generally = Man.
| a 1000 Cædmon's Gen. 521 Þe sende waldend god þin hearra þæs helpe of heofonrice. Ibid. 678 Nu hæbbe ic his her on handa, herra se goda; ᵹife ic hit þe ᵹeorne. c 1067 Poem in O.E. Chron. (MS. C.) an. 1066 Se in alle tid hyrde holdlice hærran sinum. c 1205 Lay. 5420 For þu ært ure hærre. 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 102 Þis lond ich habbe here so fre, þat to non herre y schal abuye. a 1400–50 Alexander 1920 All þe hathils & þe heris & þe hiȝe maistris. c 1400 Destr. Troy 10146 Antenour in angur angardly stroke, Vnhorset the here, hade hym to ground. c 1470 Henry Wallace vii. 41 Arnwlff..Off South hantoun, that huge hie her and lord. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxxxi. 29, I sa ane heir in bed oppressit ly. 1513 Douglas æneis v. vi. 8 Thiddir the heir [æneas] with mony thowsand gan hy. Ibid. xii. 70 Ane of the eldest herys stude about, Clepit Nautes. 1530 Lyndesay Test. Pap. 338 Thov arte bot kyng of bone, Frome tyme thyne hereis hartis bene from ye gone. |
Hence † here-man, lord, master.
| a 1400–50 Alexander 4938 A! A! happy haly here man. |
▪ II. † her, poss. pron., 3rd pl. Obs.
Forms: see below.
[OE. hiera, hira; hyra, hiora, hiara, heora, gen. pl., in all genders, of he; cognate with OFris. hiara, hira, MDu. hare (haerre, haer), hore, heur, Du. haar; parallel in inflexion to OS. iro, ira, ire, era, OHG. iro (MHG. ire, ir, Ger. ihr, ihrer), Goth. izê, izô. In ME. (like the gen. sing. his, hire), treated as a possessive adj., though with fewer traces of inflexion than his. It also developed the absolute forms heoren, heren, hern2, and hires, heres, hers2 (now both obs.). Already in Ormin, the use of heore, here, was encroached upon by that of þeᵹᵹre from Old Norse, which, in the form thair, the northern texts of Cursor Mundi, Hampole, etc. have exclusively; Chaucer and other southern and south-midland writers retained her; Caxton, like Ormin, had both her and their; but their appears to have prevailed before 1500, and her has long disappeared even from the dialects which retain the cognate dat.-accus. hem, 'em.]
A. Forms.
(α) 1 hiera, hira, hiora, hiara, heara, 1–2 hyra, heora, 2 hera.
| c 855 O.E. Chron. (Parker MS.) an. 449 On hiera daᵹum Hengest and Horsa..ᵹesohton Bretene. c 898 Ibid. an. 894 Hiora cyning wæs ᵹewundod. Ibid. an. 896 Þa Deniscan hæfdon hira wif befæst. a 950 Durham Ritual (Surtees) 48 In hiara ᵹimersvnge ᵹifeaiᵹa. c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. vi. 5 Onfengon mearde heara [Rushw. heora lean, Ags. hyra mede, Hatton heore mede]. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. iv. 6 Hiᵹ þe on hyra handum beron. a 1100 O.E. Chron. an. 1090 [Hi] aᵹefon hera castelas him to hearme. a 1131 Ibid. an. 1125 Heora liman, þæt wæs here elces riht hand and heora stanen beneðan. c 1160 Hatton Gosp. Matt. iv. 6 On heora hande. c 1205 Lay. 420 He heora monredne mid monscipe onfeng. |
(β) 1–5 heore, here, 2–3 hore, 2–4 hare, 3–5 hire, hure, (3 huere, 4–5 hyre).
| a 1100 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 979 Heore rædas syndon nahtlice onᵹean Godes ᵹeþeaht. a 1131 Ibid. an. 1123 ¶2 Hi..wæron æfre toᵹænes muneces and here reᵹol. a 1175 Cott. Hom. 225 Þine þreo sunes..and hare þreo wif. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 75 Hore loking, hore blawing, hore smelling, heore feling wes al iattret. c 1200 Ormin Ded. 86 Acc nohht þurrh skill, acc all þurrh niþ, & all þurrh þeȝȝre sinne; & unnc birrþ biddenn Godd tatt he Forrȝife hemm here sinne. Ibid. 407, & shulenn habbenn heore læn Forr heore rihhtwisnesse. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 155 Hure riht time þenne man fasten shal. c 1205 Lay. 22843 Þa wifmen..kerueð of hire neose [c 1275 hure nose]. a 1225 Ancr. R. 70 Hit is hore meister. a 1300 Geste K. Horn 9 in Ritson Metr. Rom. II. 91 Huere sone hihte Horn. a 1300 Assump. Virg. (Camb. MS.) 713 Boþe here feet & here handes Where bounde with stronge bandes. 1340 Ayenb. 35 Ham þet habbeþ onworþ to lene of hire hand ac hi doþ lene hare sergons oþer oþre men of hire pans. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. Prol. 41 Til heor Bagges and heore Balies weren bratful I-crommet. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 2277 Hure helmes þay duden oppon hure hod. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 138 (Fairf.) This was hire [v. rr. here, her, hir, theyr, thair] song, ‘the foweler we deffye’. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Morris Spec. E.E. 338) Chyldern in scoles..buþ compelled for to leve here oune longage, & for to construe here lessons & here þingis a Freynsch. c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 69 Ye Danys..chesen hure place Ryȝt at hure owne wyll. Ibid. 871 Ryȝt at hurre wyll. Ibid. 1059 Herre song þey lafton and songon nomore. 1426 Audelay Poems 17 The lust of hore lycam. c 1440 Gesta Rom. ii. 6 (Harl. MS.) Whenne the seruauntis hirde hire lord crye. 1482 Monk of Evesham (Arb.) 15 Lyke as they deserue here in this world by here lyuyng. |
β2. (?) Inflected forms.
| ? a 1123 O.E. Chron. an. 1101 For heoran aᵹenan mycelan unᵹetrywðan. Ibid. an. 1119 Þa tweᵹen cyngas innan Normandiᵹe mid heoran folcan coman togædere. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 101 Heo setteð heoran handan ofer ifulȝ ede men. |
(γ) 2–4 heor, 2–5 her, har, (3 ar), 3–5 hor, hur, (5 hurr), 4–5 hir, hyr.
| a 1154 O.E. Chron. an. 1135 Þa tocan þa oðre and helden her castles aᵹenes him. Ibid. an. 1140 ¶7 [Hi] treuthes fæston ðæt her nouþer sculde besuiken other. a 1175 Cott. Hom. 227 Har non neste wat oðer cweð. Ibid., Þa..com se deofel to har anlicnesse. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 141 Hur eiðer alumð þe se. c 1250 Meid Maregrete xiii, Ðe sergaunz deden ar ernde. c 1275 St. Patrick's Purg. 168 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1875) Ȝif þu wolt leue on hor lore. 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 398 Hii, þat myȝte ofscapye, sone her red nome. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 5046 He..loude ascried þem on har cry. c 1340 Hampole Prose Tr. (1866) 24 Of hem silfe and of hir sugettis. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. i. 97 Dauid..Dude hem swere on heor swerd to serue treuþe euere. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 153 To spoyle hor tenauntis and hor neghtboris. c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 32, I was of hir [v. rr. here, her] felaweshipe anon. c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 12 To wex þe Bretones for hurr synne. c 1460 Launfal 232 Har kerteles wer of Inde sandel. 1480 Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxli. (1482) 270 Hyr armure..and al was whyte hertes with crounes aboute hyr nekkes. 1485 ― St. Wenefr. 3 Her fader & moder cam & sawe how her doughter was biheded. |
B. Signification and uses.
1. gen. case of pers. and refl. pron.: Of them (L. eorum); of themselves. (In quot. a 1225 with of.)
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter v. 10 [9] Forðon nis in muðe heara soðfestnis; heorte heara idel is. a 900 O.E. Chron. (Parker MS.) an. 875 ælfred cyning..hiera an ᵹefeng, ond þa oþru ᵹefliemde. Ibid. an. 895 Þa burᵹware hie ᵹefliemdon, ond hira moniᵹ hund ofsloᵹon. a 1131 Ibid. an. 1123 ¶4 Þæh hit wære here unþancas. c 1200 Ormin 471 Whillc here shollde serrfenn firrst. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 121 Ure drihten..lokede gif here ani understoden. Ibid. 213 Þesse wise biswikeð her aið er oðer. a 1225 Ancr. R. 176 Ȝif nouðer of hore nere sec. |
2. poss. adj. pron. (orig. poss. gen.): Belonging to them; their; also refl. belonging to themselves, their own (L. suus).
| 917 O.E. Chron. (Parker MS.) an. 917 And ahreddon..eac hira horsa and hira wæpna micelne dæl. a 1100 Ibid. (Laud MS.) an. 1016 ¶9 Swa heora ᵹewuna wæs. a 1121 Ibid. (Laud MS.) an. 1119 Maneᵹa..mid heora castelan. a 1175 Cott. Hom. 221 Þat ece fer þe ham ᵹearcod was fer hare prede. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 35 Ure helende com to helen men of heore symounden. 1382 Wyclif Matt. vi. 5 Trewly y say to ȝou, thei han resseyued her meede. c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 11 So priketh hem nature in hir corages. 1482 Marg. Paston in Paston Lett. No. 865 III. 293 They withholde her catell and hem selfe bothe from the coorte. |
b. Construction with all, both: her aller, her bother, her beyre, etc.: see all D. 4, both 4 b, bo a. c.
3. After a n., as substitute for genitive inflexion.
| c 893 K. ælfred Oros. i. i. §4 Affrica and Asia hiera landᵹemircu onginnað of Alexandria. |
4. Absolutely. Afterwards expressed by hers2, and now by theirs. (F. le leur, Ger. der ihrige).
| c 897 K. ælfred Greg. Past. xliv. 319 Ða ðe hiera mild⁓heortlice sellað. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. v. 10 Hyra [Hatt. heora] ys heofonan rice. a 1225 Ancr. R. 78 [He] foluwede ham, ase hore, hwuder so heo euer wolden. 1340 Ayenb. 144 Þe kingdom of heuene is hare. |
▪ III. her, pers. pron., 3rd sing. fem., dat.-acc.
(hɜː(r), hə(r))
Forms: 1–5 hire, (1 hir), 2–5 hyre, (3 heore), 3–5 here, (5 heer), 3–6 hir, 4–5 hure, 5 hurre, 5–6 hyr, 5–8 (dial.) hur, (6 hare, harre), 4– her.
[OE. hire, dative case of h{iacu}o, heo ‘she’, cogn. with OFris. hiri, MDu. hare, haer, hore, Du. haar; cf. also the parallel OS. iru, OHG. iru, iro (mod.G. ihr), Goth. izai. The dative began in 10th c. to be used instead of the original accusative h{iacu}e, h{iacu}, h{iacu}ᵹ, h{yacu}, and now as indirect and direct objective represents both cases, as in ‘we met her and gave her the book to take with her’.]
1. The female being in question: the objective case of she. a. dat. or indirect obj.
| a 1000 Elene 963 (Z.) Gode þancode..þæs hire se willa ᵹelamp. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xiv. 7 Þa behet he mid aþe hyre [Lindisf. hir, Rushw. hire, Hatton hire] to syllenne. a 1154 O.E. Chron. an. 1140 ¶8 [Hi] brohten hire into Oxenford, and iauen hire þe burch. a 1175 Cott. Hom. 227 Se aengel cydde hyre þat godes sune sceolde beon acenned of hire. c 1205 Lay. 3998 Þa deæde [sune] heore wæs leouere, þe quike here wes leoðere. 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 30 Þe fader..bad hire vnderstonde, To whom heo wolde y maried be. 1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 562 Hure was lecherie luf. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. ii. 1 Yit kneled I on my knees and cried hire of grace. c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 395 Hurre was lever to her' maytoynesse and masse. 1567 Satir. Poems Reform. iii. 74 Full weill was hir that day that sho was fre. 1642 Rogers Naaman 498 To goe and doe as her listeth. 1712–14 Pope Rape Lock iv. 130 ‘Give her the hair’—he spoke, and rapp'd his box. 1847 Tennyson Princess iv. 77 O Swallow..tell her, tell her, what I tell to thee. 1870 Rossetti Blessed Damozel, Her seemed she scarce had been a day One of Gods choristers. |
b. Governed by prep.
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. John xx. 16 Da cwæð se hælend to hyre [Lindisf. hir, Hatton hire], maria. a 1075 O.E. Chron. (MS. C.) an. 1035 [He] let niman of hyre ealle þa betstan gærsuma..þe Cnut cing ahte. c 1300 Beket 25 Of hire he hadde lute blisse. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 107 With hir went many a knyght. c 1400 Rom. Rose 2459 If thou myght Atteyne of hire to have a sight. c 1400 Destr. Troy 11006 When he neighed hur negh. 1556 Chron. Gr. Friars (Camden) 70 He had ij childerne by harre. Ibid. 72 The fayryst lady that she hade wyth hare..was stolne away from hare. 1634 Milton Comus 264 I'll speak to her And she shall be my queen. 1712–14 Pope Rape Lock ii. 6 But ev'ry eye was fix'd on her alone. 1864 Tennyson En. Ard. 474 And others laugh'd at her and Philip too. |
c. acc. or direct obj.
| c 975 Rushw. Gosp. Matt. i. 25 And ne groette hire [Ags. G. he ne grette hi]. Ibid. xxii. 28 Alle hæfdun hire [Lindisf. ða ilca, Ags. hiᵹ, Hatton hy]. a 1131 O.E. Chron. an. 1127 He..sende hire siððen to Normandi; and mid hire ferde hire broðer Rotbert eorl of Gleucestre. a 1154 Ibid. an. 1140 ¶8 Þe king..besæt hire in þe tur; and me læt hire dun on niht of þe tur mid rapes. c 1275 Lay. 1146 Þe deouel hire [c 1205 heo] louede. 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 12 Y ȝeue here þe to þi wyf. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 39 If ani of prestis..leuiþ not heer þat he holdiþ. c 1400 Destr. Troy 10976 He gird hir to ground, and greuit hir yll. 1556 Chron. Gr. Friars (Camden) 72 Dyvers lordes and ladys browte hare on hare way. 1621 Quarles Div. Poems, Esther v, He observed her; He sent for..dainty Myrrh. 1735 Pope Ep. Lady 137 Offend her, and she knows not to forgive; Oblige her, and she'll hate you while you live. 1842 Tennyson Day-Dream, Arrival iv, He stoops—to kiss her—on his knee. |
2. For names of things grammatically feminine, or (in later use) feminine by personification.
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter xxiii. 1 Earðe..and alle ða eardiað in hire. c 1000 ælfric Manual of Astron. (Wrt.) 18 Þære lyfte ᵹecynd is þæt heo sycð ælcne wætan up to hyre. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 19 Al þet þe licome luueð, þet þa saule heteð, and wa is hire þer fore. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 312/449 Al so þe sonne, þat heo mouwe schyne a-boute eche on, For alle habbez lijȝt of hire, and with-oute hire nouȝt on. c 1320 Cast. Love 96 Þe eorþe..And al þat euere in hire bi-lyþ. c 1394 P. Pl. Crede 668 And syþen þe sely soule slen & senden hyre to helle! a 1400–50 Alexander 1308 Bretens doun all þe bild..Drenches hire in þe hiȝ e see & drawis hire on hepis. 1538 Starkey England i. iii. 78 Our mother the ground..wyl suffycyently nurysch..al bestys, fyschys, and foulys, wych are brede and brought vp apon hyr. 1598 W. Phillip Linschoten (1864) 187 They pray like⁓wise to the New Moone..and salute her with great Deuotion. 1738 Pope Epil. Sat. i. 143–4 Vice is undone, if she forgets her Birth..'tis the Fall degrades her to a Whore; Let Greatness own her, and she's mean no more. 1827 Keble Chr. Y., SS. Simon & Jude i, The widowed Church is fain to rove..Make haste and take her home. |
b. Represented as used by Welsh or Gaelic speakers for he, him, or for the speaker himself.
| 1526 Hundr. Merry T. xcii. (1866) 150 By cottes blut and her nayle, quod the welchman, if her [a cock] be not ynough now her wyll be ynough anone for her hath a good fyre vnder her. 1657 H. Crowch Welsh Trav. 3 Bid her, and other such like men. 1671 Welsh Trav. 31 in Hazl. E.P.P. IV. 332 Poor Taffie fell immediately into a great deep pit. Had not a shepherd stood his friend, and helpt hur quickly out, Hur surely there had made an end, Hur makes no other doubt. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth xxxiii, ‘No offence meant’, said the Highlander; ‘but her own self comes to buy an armour.’ ‘Her own self's bare shanks may trot hence with her’, answered Henry. 1893 Stevenson Catriona 163 It will be made by a bogle and her wanting ta heid upon his body. |
3. refl.: = herself; to herself. (Now poetic.)
| c 1000 ælfric Gen. xxi. 16 Heo..sæt hire feorran. Ibid. xxxviii. 23 Hæbbe hire þæt heo hafaþ. c 1200 Ormin 2655 Ȝho ras hire upp. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 47 Hie brohte þat child mid hire in to þe temple. c 1220 Bestiary 241 Ðe mire..resteð hire seldum. 1340 Ayenb. 260 Hy hyre sseweþ ine alle þe oþre boȝes. c 1374 Chaucer Compl. Mars 56 He preyede her to haste her for his sake. c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 765 And badde her heyȝe, and make hurr' all redy. 1611 Bible Gen. xxi. 16 She went and sate her downe ouer against him. 1662 Gerbier Princ. 8 She..had no time to shift her. 1666–7 Dryden Ann. Mirab. ccxcvi, Like some shepherdess..Who sate to bathe her by a river's side. 1858 Kingsley Sappho 20 Then peevishly she flung her on her face. |
4. For the nom.; esp. in predicate after be, etc. = she. (Considered incorrect: cf. him, me.)
| 1698 Vanbrugh Prov. Wife iv. iv, But if it prove her, all that's Woman in me shall be imploy'd to destroy her. 1840–1 Dickens Humphrey's Clock, There was him and her a sitting by the fire. Mod. dial. and colloq. I am sure it was her that told me. No! it could not be her. Which is her? Her with the hat. Is that her coming? |
5. her one = Sc. her lane: see one, lone.
6. quasi-n.: cf. she.
| 1646 Crashaw Poems 137 Now, if time knows That her, whose radiant brows Weave them a garland of my vows. 1860 Whittier in Westm. Gaz. (1895) 2 Jan. 8/2, ‘I have lost him. But I can never lose a her; the women are more pertinacious than the men’. |
Add: [4.] b. her indoors (also 'er indoors) Brit. colloq., one's wife or girlfriend; in extended use, applied to any woman occupying a position of authority who is regarded as domineering.
The phrase was popularized by the Thames Television series Minder (1979–93), in which the leading character Arthur Daley habitually referred to his wife as ‘her indoors’. The series' original writer, Leon Griffiths, app. first heard it used by ‘a taxi-driver drinking companion of his’ (Independent (1992) 16 June 13/6).
| 1979 L. Griffiths Smaller they Are in Minder (television script, second draft) 10 May 2 That's what her indoors doesn't understand Terry. A young bird keep [sic] you feeling young. 1984 Guardian 17 Oct. 12/2 These days, her indoors (and Mr Walker too) are said to be seldom off the phone with words of wisdom for Mr MacGregor. 1986 R. Sproat Stunning Punters 156, I was taking Her Indoors out for a day at the Zoo. 1988 Times 2 Nov. 21/1 She [sc. the mistress of a Great Artist] is immortalized in oils, while 'Er Indoors cleans up the mess afterwards. 1992 Pilot July 36/1, I began to consider buying a single-seat kitplane, a microlight, or even a taildragger. But there were howls of disagreement from Her Indoors and the rest of the tribe. |
▪ IV. her, poss. pron., 3rd sing. fem.
(hɜː(r), hə(r))
Forms: 1 hiere, hyre, (hyra), 1–5 hire, 3–5 hyre, hure, hyr, (3–4 yr), 4–5 hur, (5 hurre, here), 4–6 hir, 6 hare, (are), 4– her.
[OE. hiere, hire, genitive of h{iacu}o, heo ‘she’, cognate with OFris. hiri, MDu. hare, Du. haar. (Analogous to OS. ira, iro, iru, ire; OHG. ira, iro, MHG. ire, ir, Ger. ihr; Goth. izôs.) In OE. used both as an objective and possessive genitive: the former use became obs. in ME., and hire remained a possessive genitive, indistinguishable in use from a possessive adj., and is thus included in the same class with my, thy, his, our, your, their. Like these, it has developed an absolute form hers1, for which hern1 was also used in late ME., and still exists in some dialects.]
1. as gen. case of pers. pron.: Of her; of the feminine being or thing in question.
| a 900 O.E. Chron. (Parker MS.) an. 878 Him to com þær onᵹen Sumor sæte alle..ond Hamtun scir se dæl se hiere behinon sæ was. a 1225 St. Marher. 2 Ha iherde on euch half hire, hu me droh to deaðe cristes icorne. a 1310 in Wright Lyric P. 113 Y wolde nemne hyre to day, ant y dorste hire munne. |
2. poss. adj. pron. (orig. poss. gen.): Of or belonging to her; that woman's, that female's; also refl. of or belonging to herself, her own.
| a 900 O.E. Chron. (Parker MS.) an. 888 Hire lic liþ æt Pafian. c 1000 Ibid. (MS. D.) an. 917 Þær wæron eac ofslæᵹene hyre þæᵹna feower. a 1100 Ibid. (Laud MS.) an. 1036 Þæt ælfᵹifu Hardacnutes modor sæte on Winceastre mid þæs cynges huscarlum hyra suna. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 3 Heo nomen þe assa and hire colt. 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 370 Mold yr name was. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. i. 10 Ich was a-ferd of hire Face. 1382 Wyclif Luke ii. 51 His modir kepte to gidere alle these wordis, beringe to gidere in hir herte. c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 298 Þis hard hayre he wered hurre body nexst. c 1440 Gesta Rom. i. 3 (Harl. MS.) My wif..wolle hyde his body by hire beddys syde. 1490 Caxton Eneydos vi. 27 She drewe theym to her part. 1556 Chron. Gr. Friars (Camden) 72 Shee went hare wayes. Ibid. 86 The qwenes grace came..are owne persone, with hare cepter in hare honde. 1569 J. Rogers Gl. Godly Loue 181 As ritch as hir husband. 1712–14 Pope Rape Lock i. 19 Belinda still her downy pillow prest Her guardian Sylph prolong'd the balmy rest. 1808 Scott Marm. ii. iii, Her hopes, her fears, her joys, were all Bounded within the cloister wall. Mod. Her sister offered her services. |
† b. Used of things whose names were grammatically feminine, e.g. sun, soul, book, shire, love. Obs. c. Of things personified or spoken of as female; esp. the earth, the moon, countries, cities, ships, the Church, a university, a school, the arts, sciences, passions, virtues, vices.
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter ciii [i]. 19 Sunne oncneow setgong hire [c 1000 Ags. Ps. (Th.), Sunne hire setlgang sweotule healdeð]. 1382 etc. [see church n. 8]. 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) iv. vii. 61 Thenne ganne this fayre grene appel tree to shaken hyr leues. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon i. 21 A ryver..I beleve verely that in al christendome is not her lyke. 1502 in Arnolde's Chron. (1811) 223 That the chartur aforsaid in alle & euerych her articles. 1534 Tindale Luke xiv. 34 Salt is good but yf salt have loste hyr saltnes what shall be seasoned ther with? 1535 Coverdale 2 Chron. v. 7 The prestes broughte the Arke..vnto hir place. 1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 142 In whose mynde knoweledge have once builded her Bowre. Ibid. 149 The moone is xviij. daies old, the time of hir shining is x. houres. Ibid. 205 Englande, and hir principall cities. 1586 T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. i. (1589) 612 There is nothing more common than the Sun, which imparteth of hir light to all the celestiall bodies. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. iii. iii. 93 The Shippe boaring the Moone with her maine Mast. 1649 W. Blithe Eng. Improv. Impr. (1653) 9 The Earth..and the principall causes of her Barrenness. 1700 Dryden Palamon & Arc. ii. 595 The ruined house that falls And intercepts her lord betwixt the walls. 1821 Shelley Epipsych. 376 The Moon will veil her horn In thy last smiles. 1895 Pall Mall G. 7 Oct. 1/3 England..has tried her best to head him off. |
d. Of animals regarded as feminine, irrespectively of sex; e.g. a cat, hare, rabbit, mouse, etc.
| c 1220 Bestiary 242 Ðe mire..fecheð hire fode. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 634 The bisy larke messager of day Salueth in hir song the morwe gray. a 1400–50 Alexander 412 [With] þe wose of þe wede hire wengis anoyntis. 1535 Coverdale Prov. vi. 6 Go to the Emmet (thou slogarde) considre hir wayes. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 210 The Weasil..hangeth fast upon her throat, and will not lose her hold, run the Hare never so fast. Ibid. 398 If a male Mouse be flead all over, or her tail cut off; or if her leg be bound to a post in the house, or a bell be hung about her neck, and so turned going, she will drive away all her fellows. 1642 Rogers Naaman 97 The Bezor..knowing by instinct what it is she is hunted for (not her skin, but her stone). |
3. After a n., a substitute for the genitive inflexion. Cf. the similar use of his, their.
| c 893 K. ælfred Oros. i. i. §9 Nilus seo ea hire æwielme is neh þæm clife. c 1435 Chaucer's Wife's T. (MS. Camb. Gg. 4. 27) heading, Here begynnyt[h] the wyf of bathe hire tale. 1546 State Papers (1830) I. 889 Elizabeth Holland her howse, newlie made in Suffolk. 1579 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 94 Curio..haunted Lucilla hir company. 1655 Fuller Ch. Hist. viii. i. §5 Presuming on the Queen her private practice. 1659 H. L'Estrange Alliance Div. Off. 455 The Excellency of our Church her burial office. [1873 F. Hall Mod. Eng. 355 note, In England, to this day, the vulgar write, in their Bibles, Prayer-books, and elsewhere, ‘John Crane his book’, ‘Esther Hodges her book’, etc.] |
† 4. absol. = hers1 (= Ger. der, die, das ihrige).
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 49 Duue..fedeð briddes þeh hie ne ben noht hire. a 1225 Ancr. R. 46 Al is hire þet holi chirche redeð oþer singeð. |
▪ V. her
obs. form of hair, here, ere, higher.