▪ I. us, pers. pron.
(ʌs)
Forms: α. 1–2 {uacu}s, 3–5 (9 dial.) ous, 4–5 ows; 3– us (3 Orm., 7 uss, 4 os, 6 Sc. usz), 3–7 vs (5 vsse, 7 vss), 4 vus, 4–6, Sc. 7 ws (6 Sc. wsz), 9 north. dial. uz. β. 2–5, 9 north. dial. hus (5 huse), 9 north. dial. and Sc. huz. See also 's 3.
[Common Teutonic: OE. {uacu}s, = OFris. ûs (WFris. {uacu}s, NFris. üüs), OS. (MLG.) ûs (LG. ûs, üs), ON. and Icel. oss (Norw., Sw., Da. os); these forms have lost an n which appears in MDu. (and Du.) ons, OHG. (MHG. and G.) uns, Goth. uns (and unsis); the stem represents the weak grade of Indo-Eur. *nes, retained in Skr. nas.]
The objective case of the pronoun we, repr. the OE. accusative and dative.
I. With reference to two or more persons.
1. a. Accusative, as direct object of a verb.
| c 825 Vesp. Ps. xliii. 26 Aris dryhten ᵹefultume us & ᵹefrea us. c 975 Rushw. Gosp. Matt. vi. 13 Ne ᵹelaet us ᵹelaede in costnungae ah ᵹelese us of yfle. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 53 Þe feder, and þe sune,..iscilde us þer wið. c 1205 Lay. 26490 Nimeð heom, slæh heom: Iscend heo us habbeoð. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1886 Vor godes loue bring us of þis wrechede. c 1300 Cursor M. 12622 Leue sun, qui has þou gloppend hus? c 1315 Shoreham i. 711 Hys blod he let os drynke. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 11785 Auaunce now boþe þy self & ous. c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 748 To the soper sette he vs anon And serued vs with vitaille. c 1460 Towneley Myst. xx. 189 Here is oone of his men That thus vnwynly gars vs wake. 1480 Cely Papers (Camden) 43 Jhesu kepe you and huse. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 6 Vnto the tyme it hath brought vs to our iourneys ende. 1581 Campion in R. Simpson Life (1907) 435 In condemning us you condemn all your own ancestors. 1632 Milton L'Allegro 117 Towred Cities please us then. 1665 Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1677) 174 The Sultan..ushered us to our lodging. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 374 ¶1 If our past Actions reproach us. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. iv, These rufflings..will only make us hated. 1802 Wordsw. Milton 7 We are selfish men; Oh! raise us up. 1877 Lowell Bankside 7 The same shadows on the water lean, Outlasting us. |
b. Dative, as indirect object, = To us.
| α c 825 Vesp. Ps. iv. 6 Hwelc oteaweð us god? c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xix. §1 Behealde he..hu neara þære eorðan stede is, þeah heo us rum þince. c 1000 ælfric Hom. II. 124 Us ᵹedafenað þæt we Godes swingle.. ondrædan. c 1055 Byrhtferth's Handboc in Anglia VIII. 306 Us com nu to mode hu se arwurða abbud [etc.]. c 1200 Ormin Ded. 175 Off all þiss god uss brinngeþþ word. c 1205 Lay. 25577 Lauer sæi us þi sweuen. c 1275 Ibid. 902 Þis vs þincheþ wel idon. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1081 Gret vilte þou askest ous. a 1310 in Wright Lyric P. xxv. 73 Jesu, my soule bidde y the, Everemore wel us be. 1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 447 Þanne is vs grayþed no graue in þe grounde doluen. c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 785 Vs thoughte it was noght worth to make it wys. c 1386 ― Can. Yeom. Prol. & T. 393 Vs moste putte oure good in auenture. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. i. 175 We myȝte be lordes aloft and lyue as vs luste. c 1440 Pallad. on Husb. i. 8 Tilynge is vs to write of euery londe. c 1450 Mirk's Festial i. 1 God..ȝif vs all his blessyng. 1508 Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 153 Confese ws the treuth. 1535 Coverdale 1 Chron. xiii. 19 It mighte cost vs oure neckes. 1611 Donne Anat. World 21 Enough is us to praise them. 1659 Marquis of Newcastle in Nicholas Papers (Camden) IV. 125 God sende vss a good meetinge att Whit Hall. 1668 Marvell Corr. Wks. (Grosart) II. 258 Lord Bellasis writ the letter..and red us it over. a 1700 in Cath. Rec. Soc. Publ. VIII. 25 This year the widdow Belt gave us 12 Gennis. 1743 Bulkeley & Cummins Voy. S. Seas 20 It had almost cost us our Lives. 1819 Shelley Cenci iii. i. 328 Give us clothes, father! Give us better food! 1847 Tennyson Princess iv. 396 Unless you send us back Our son, on the instant, whole. |
| β a 1175 Cott. Hom. 223 God hus for-bead þes trowes westm. a 1300 Cursor M. 114 For to do man knaw hir kyn, Þat hus scli wirschip cum to wyn. c 1300 Havelok 1217 Wel is hus we sen þe on lyue. a 1400–50 Wars Alexander 3518 So sall I gete hus ay þe gree. c 1460 Towneley Myst. iii. 46 Oyle of mercy he hus hight. 1828 Carr Craven Gloss. s.v. Huz, Shoe gavv huz ten words for yan. |
c. As object of a prep. (or other governing word or phrase). one of us: see one numeral a., pron., etc. B. 15 b.
| c 825 Vesp. Ps. iv. 7 Ᵹetacnad is ofer us leht ondwlitan ðines dryhten. 971 Blickling Hom. 115 And æᵹhwonon þes middanᵹeard flyhþ from us mid mycelre biternesse. c 1100 O.E. Chron. (MS. D) an. 1052, Betwyx us sylfum to mycclum forwyrde. a 1175 Cott. Hom. 229 He com to us, þat he wolde for hus deað þrowian. c 1205 Lay. 25288 Þu art hæxt ouer us. a 1300 Cursor M. 4533 Aiþer of hus a drem we sau. c 1315 Shoreham iv. 124 No longeþ noþyng to ous. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 1 Good is that we also..among ous hiere Do wryte of newe som matiere. 1405 Lay Folks Mass Bk., Bid. Prayer ii. 66 At sche pray for hus. c 1475 Golagros & Gaw. 323, I rede we cast ws betuene, How best is to done. 1508 Dunbar Gold. Targe 197 The bataill broucht on bordour hard vs by. 1584 Allen in Cath. Rec. Soc. Publ. V. 116 The whole worlde did runne from Christe..after Edwarde the vj{supt}{suph} with us into Zwynglianisme. 1659 Nicholas Papers (Camden) IV. 95, 3 Spanish men of warre..came vp with vs and fired at vs. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 374 ¶1 So most of us take Occasion to sit still. 1748 Richardson Clarissa (1768) I. 173 We have but one mind between us. 1815 Scott Antiq. xv, He hasna settled his account..wi' huz for sax months. 1845 J. Coulter Adv. in Pacific xiii. 184 Our enemy numbers three times us. 1880 Tennyson tr. Battle of Brunanburh v, Fiercely we hack'd at the flyers before us. |
d. With participles in absolute construction.
| 1549 Coverdale, etc. Erasm. Par. Acts 24 b, Vntill he ascended vp (all vs beholdyng hym) to heauen. 1667 Milton P.L. vii. 142 This inaccessible high strength,..us dispossest, He trusted to have seis'd. |
e. In ethical dative. Obs. exc. arch.
| 1685 Travestin Siege Newheusel 48 They also killed us Captain Feluck. 1711 Lond. Gaz. No. 4864/1 They wounded us only one Man. |
f. Persons like ourselves; ordinary citizens, as opp. to those in authority.
| 1948 Observer 17 Oct. 5/2 The ‘whistle stops’..break down the difference between ‘them’ and ‘us’. 1957, etc. [see them pers. pron. 1 e]. 1962, etc. [see them pers. pron. 3 c]. 1984 Times Lit. Suppl. 26 Oct. 1206/1 The Chinese awareness of ‘us and them’ is intense, pervasive and hard to break down. |
2. Reflexive, = Ourselves. (Also † us selven: see self A. 3.) † a. Accusative, as direct object of a verb. Obs.
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 37 Ᵹeþencean we ᵹeornlice þæt we us healdan on þas tid, & on ælce, wiþ þa heafodlican leahtras. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 69 And halde we us from uniwil. c 1200 Ormin 7542 Ȝiff we wolldenn shunenn aȝȝ To fillenn uss wiþþ esstess. a 1300 E.E. Psalter xcix. 3 And he vs made, and our-self noght vs. c 1386 Chaucer Merch. T. 597 For we han leue to pleye vs by the lawe. c 1430 Hymns Virgin (1867) 19 For we may not hide us from þin iȝe. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (1531) 26 We may lerne how to prepare vs towarde our iourney. 1594 Kyd Cornelia iv. i. 160 Shall we..Submit vs to vnurged slauerie. 1625 Purchas Pilgrims I. ii. 1133 We made vs fast to the stones of them. 1719 De Foe Crusoe ii. (Globe) 552 We stopp'd..to refresh us. 1729 Law Serious C. xvi. 289 We must not let this hour pass, without presenting us to him. |
b. Dative, as indirect object, or as object of a prep. Obs. exc. dial.
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Luke iii. 8 We habbað us to fæder abraham. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 65 Her is swiþe ufel bone, Ȝif we hetieð us bitwene. c 1500 Yng. Children's Bk. 27 in Babees Bk. 19 Fore oure mete, & drynke, & vs, Thanke we owre lord Ihesus. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. ii. iv. 5 We haue not spoke vs yet of Torch-bearers. 1600 ― A.Y.L. ii. i. 21 Come, shall we goe and kill vs venison? 1605 ― Macb. iv. iii. 214 Let's make vs Med'cines of our great Reuenge. 1861 O. W. Norton Army Lett. (1903) 35 We..then took possession of a stack of wheat and made us good beds and slept well. 1907 S. E. White Arizona Nights x. 166 We got us timbers, and made a scow. 1928 ‘M. Chapman’ Happy Mountain 42 We'll make us a heap o' cash money. 1942 Sat. Even. Post 22 Aug. 42/3 Le's go and wake us up a preacher. |
c. After some verbs of motion or posture. Now arch. or dial.
| c 1350 Will. Palerne 4594 Þus sped we vs out of spayne. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 72 b, These thynges..we shall spede vs..to declare. 1587 [see hie v.1 3]. 1599 George a Greene B 2 b, Let vs hye vs to Wakefield. 1641 [see hie v.1 3]. 1781 Cowper Expost. 289 The cry..is still the same—Speed us away to battle and to fame. 1892 in Eng. Dial. Dict. s.v., We sat us dahn on a wall top. |
† 3. Each other. Obs. rare.
| 13.. Guy Warw. (A.) 4575 Ouer alle oþer we loueden ous. c 1400 T. Chestre Launfal 108 But, syr meyr,..May y take with the sojour? Som tyme we knewe us yore. |
4. In restricted use with defining term added.
| c 1400 Brut i. lxxx. 81 To maken oppen werr and contak aȝeyns vs of Rome. a 1547 Surrey æneid ii. 252 Us caitifes then a far more dredful chaunce Befell. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, ii. ii. 89 Bacon-fed Knaues, they hate vs youth. 1612 R. Churton Olde Thrift newly revived 38 The true state and dislike of vs Husband-men and Farmers. 1641 in A. H. Matthew Convers. Sir T. Matthew (1904) 176 Concerning the loyalty of us Catholics. a 1680 T. Goodwin Wks. (1861) I. 152 None of us creatures had ever come into this after-account. a 1718 Prior Epilogue to Phædra 5 To let Us Moderns know How Women lov'd two thousand years ago. 1814 Spaniards ii. ii, Thou 'rt..fond to pass The inventions..As real facts upon us simple men. 1825 Scott Talism. xxv, Thou art ever prompt to pleasure us poor women. c 1850 Lowell Interview M. Standish x, They understand us Pilgrims! 1871 Jowett Plato I. 154 None of us unskilled individuals can..become physicians. |
5. a. Used as a nominative, in place of we. Now dial.
| 1607 Dekker & Webster Sir T. Wyat B j, Come my Lords, shall vs march? 1699 O. Haig in J. Russell Haigs xi. (1881) 339 May us and all our posterity be thankful to Heaven. 1737 Dyche Dict., We, ourselves, us that are present. a 1775 Dick o' the Cow ii. in Child Ball. III. 464 England and us has been long at a feed. 1846– in general dialect use (Eng. Dial. Dict.). 1880 Mrs. Parr Adam & Eve II. 25 Us'll have down the big Bible and read chapters verse by verse. 1904 [see up v. 4]. |
b. With n. or adj. numeral in apposition.
| c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon ix. 212 None other shall knowe the same, but oonly we, vs thre. 1611 Shakes. Cymb. v. iv. 70 For this..we came, our Parents, and vs twaine. 1663 Pepys Diary 8 June, Mr. Coventry and us two did discourse with the Duke. 1814 Moore Mem. (1853) II. 36 A thing us men ought..to bless God for. 1840 Thackeray Barber Cox May, What enjoyments us aristocracy used to have! 1853 Dickens Bleak Ho. vii, Us London lawyers don't often get an out. 1889 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms xxxv, Only us five were in possession of the secret. |
c. In continuative or exclamatory clauses introduced by and.
| 1848 Dickens Dombey xlvi, And him so rich..And us so poor! |
d. In the predicate after the verb to be.
Common in dialect and colloquial use, and occasionally employed in writing.
| 1883 Stevenson Treas. Isl. xxx, It's us must break the treaty when the times come. 1890 W. James Princ. Psychol. I. 291 Our bodies themselves, are they simply ours, or are they us? 1897 Westm. Gaz. 25 Sept. 8/2 That is one of the things we all take for granted—because the Empire is Us. |
e. As adj., suited to or representative of our tastes, personality, etc.; appropriate for us. Usu. predic.
| 1940 M. Dickens Mariana viii. 312 ‘How could you know I'd like something like this?’..‘It just looked absolutely us, somehow.’ |
6. The word us.
| 1748 Richardson Clarissa (1768) VII. 18 If by thy We's and Us's thou meanest thyself or me. |
7. Naut. = Our vessel.
| 1622 R. Hawkins Voy S. Sea 66 We had taken the Vice-admirall, the first time shee bourded with vs. 1719 De Foe Crusoe ii. (Globe) 519 They crowded after us, and endeavoured to come under our Stern, so as to board us. c 1800 in N. & Q. 12th Ser. XI. 42 Gen[era]l Bowls..happened to be on board of us, taking his passage..to Jamaica. |
II. With reference to a single person.
8. a. Used by a sovereign or other potentate or magnate. Cf. we pron. 2 a. Also quasi-n. (quot. 1863).
In older Sc. also used for we before the name of a person.
| 1258 Henry III Proclam. 4 And we hoaten alle vre treowe in þe treowþe þæt heo vs oȝen. 1425 Reg. Mag. Sigilli Scot. 11/1 Be it kend tel al men throwch thir present letteris ws Archibald Erle of Douglas [etc.]. 1436 K. Henry VI in Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm., Var. Coll. IV. 200 That he may wythoute delay certefie Us of the same. 1477 Jas. III in Excheq. Rolls Scotl. VIII. 403 note, Landis..the quhilkis umquhile Cuthbert Colvile had of ws of before. 1579 Queen Elizabeth in Nicolas Hatton (1847) 106 Such Princes as..have sought us in way of marriage. 1585 Jas. VI in Spalding Club Misc. I. 3 Send the samen extract attentiklie subscriuit be the shireff clerk to ws. 1601 Queen Elizabeth in Moryson Itin. ii. (1617) 151 Tell Our Army from Vs, that [etc.]. 1708 Royal Proclam. 18 Jan., in Lond. Gaz., They shall be liable to be Imprest, except the Watermen belonging to Us. 1710 in Nairne Peerage Evidence (1874) 151 Be it kend to all men by thir present letters Us William lord Nairne..Forasmuch as we considering it [etc.]. 1823 Scott Quentin D. xxvii, Should our host murder us on this spot—us, his King and his kinsman. 1850 Card. Wiseman Pastoral 7 Oct., His Holiness was pleased to raise us..to the rank of Cardinal Priest of the Holy Roman Church. 1863 ‘Ouida’ Held in Bondage i, I did know his family—the royal-sounding ‘Us’. |
b. In editorial or authorial use.
| 1835 J. Poole Sk. & Recoll. I. 87 Respecting the subscriptions..to his weekly balls, it is not for us to speak. 1895 Westm. Gaz. 9 May 2/2 The man chosen to do it was the one public man who is supposed never to read Us. |
9. dial. and colloq. Me; to me.
| 1828 Carr Craven Gloss. s.v., ‘Give us some bread,’ i.e. give me some bread. 1854– in dialect use (Eng. Dial. Dict.). 1857 Hughes Tom Brown i. iv, Tell us something more about the pea-shooting. |
▪ II. us
obs. f. use n.