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View synonyms for he
he
1[ hee; unstressed ee ]
pronoun
nominative: heobjective: themplural nominative: theypossessive: hispossessive: their or theirsobjective: him
- the male person or animal being discussed or last mentioned; that male.
- anyone (without reference to gender); that person:
He who hesitates is lost.
noun
, plural hes.
- any male person or animal; a man:
hes and shes.
adjective
- male (usually used in combination):
a he-goat.
he
2or heh
[ hey ]
noun
- the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
- any of the sounds represented by this letter.
He
3Symbol, Chemistry.
- helium.
HE
4or H.E.
- high explosive.
H.E.
5abbreviation for
- high explosive. Also HE
- His Eminence.
- His Excellency; Her Excellency.
HE
1abbreviation for
- high explosive
- His Eminence
- His ( or Her) Excellency
he
2/ he; heɪ /
noun
- the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet (ה), transliterated as h
he
3/ hiː; heɪ /
interjection
- an expression of amusement or derision Alsohe-he!hee-hee!
he
4/ iː; hiː /
pronoun
- refers to a male person or animal
he's a fine stallion
he looks interesting
- refers to an indefinite antecedent such as one, whoever, or anybody
everybody can do as he likes in this country
- refers to a person or animal of unknown or unspecified sex
a member of the party may vote as he sees fit
He
5the chemical symbol for
- helium
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Grammar Note
Traditionally, the masculine singular pronouns he, his, and him have been used generically to refer to indefinite pronouns like anyone, everyone, and someone ( Everyone who agrees should raise his right hand ) and to singular nouns that can be applied to either gender ( painter, parent, person, teacher, writer, etc.): Every writer knows that his first book is not likely to be a bestseller. This generic use is often criticized as sexist, although many speakers and writers continue the practice. Those who object to the generic use of he have developed various ways of avoiding it. One is to use he/she or she/he (or he or she or she or he ) or the appropriate case forms of these pairs: Everyone who agrees should raise his or her (or her or his or his/her or her/his ) right hand. Forms blending the feminine and masculine pronouns, as s/he, have not been widely adopted, probably because of confusion over how to say them. Another solution is to change the antecedent pronoun or noun from singular to plural so that the plural pronouns they, their, and them can be used: All who agree should raise their right hands. All writers know that their first books are not likely to be bestsellers. they none.
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Word History and Origins
Origin of he1
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English hē; cognate with Dutch hij, Old Saxon hē, Old High German her; her none, here ( def ), it 1none
Origin of he2
From Hebrew hē; cognate with Arabic hāʾ hā ( def )
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Word History and Origins
Origin of he1
Old English hē; related to Old Saxon hie, Old High German her he, Old Slavonic sĭ this, Latin cis on this side
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Example Sentences
In the trenches by the 56th's aid-post there were two Turks, each with a leg smashed to pulp by H.E.
From Project Gutenberg
The "Bertha" is an uncommonly ugly breed of nine-inch shell loaded with H.E.
From Project Gutenberg
The fuselage of my own machine was once set on fire by a chunk of burning H.E.
From Project Gutenberg
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