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her

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her

[hur; unstressed her, er]
–pronoun
1. the objective case of she: We saw her this morning. Give this book to her.
2. the possessive case of she (used as an attributive adjective): Her coat is the one on the chair. I'm sorry about her leaving. Compare hers.
3. the dative case of she: I gave her the book.
4. Informal. (used instead of the pronoun she in the predicate after the verb to be): It's her. It isn't her.
–noun
5. Slang. a female: Is the new baby a her or a him?

Origin:
bef. 900; ME her(e), OE hire, gen. and dat. of hēo she (fem. of he 1 )


See he 1 , me.

her.

he

1[hee; unstressed ee] pronoun, nominative he, possessive his, objective him; plural nominative they, possessive their or theirs, objective them; noun, plural hes; adjective
–pronoun
1. the male person or animal being discussed or last mentioned; that male.
2. anyone (without reference to sex); that person: He who hesitates is lost.
–noun
3. any male person or animal; a man: hes and shes.
–adjective
4. male (usually used in combination): a he-goat.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME, OE (masc. nom. sing.); c. D hij, OS hē, OHG her he; see his, him, she, her, it 1


Traditionally, the masculine singular pronouns he1, 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 sex (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. See also they.

she

[shee] pronoun, singular nominative she, possessive her or hers, objective her; plural nominative they, possessive their or theirs, objective them; noun, plural shes.
–pronoun
1. the female person or animal being discussed or last mentioned; that female.
2. the woman: She who listens learns.
3. anything considered, as by personification, to be feminine: spring, with all the memories she conjures up.
–noun
4. a female person or animal.
5. an object or device considered as female or feminine.

Origin:
1125–75; ME, alter. of OE sēo, sīo, sīe, fem. of se the 1 ; r. OE hēo, hīo, fem. personal pronoun; see he 1 , her


See he 1 , me, they.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To her
her   (hər, ər; hûr when stressed)   
adj.   The possessive form of she.
Used as a modifier before a noun: her boots; her accomplishments.
pron.   The objective case of she.
  1. Used as the direct object of a verb: They saw her at the conference.

  2. Used as the indirect object of a verb: They gave her a round of applause.

  3. Used as the object of a preposition: This letter is addressed to her.

  4. Informal Used as a predicate nominative: It's her.

  5. Nonstandard Used reflexively as the indirect object of a verb: She got her a new job. See Note at me.

n.  A female: The dog is a her. See Usage Notes at be, I1.

[Middle English, from Old English hire; see ko- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

he 
O.E. he (see paradigm of O.E. third pers. pronoun below), from P.Gmc. *hiz, from P.Gmc. base *khi-, from PIE *ki-, the "this, here" (as opposed to "that, there") root (cf. Hittite ki "this," Gk. ekeinos "that person," O.C.S. si, Lith. sis "this"), and thus the source of the third person pronouns in O.E. The feminine, hio, was replaced in early M.E. by forms from other stems (see she), while the h- wore off O.E. neut. hit to make modern it. The P.Gmc. root is also the source of the first element in Ger. heute "today," lit. "the day" (cf. O.E. heodæg). Slang he-man "masculine fellow" is from 1832, originally among U.S. pioneers.

caseSINGULAR--PLURAL
-masc.neut.fem.(all genders)
nom.hehitheo, hiohie, hi
acc.hinehithie, hihie, hi
gen.hishishirehira, heora
dat.himhimhirehim, heom

her  (objective case)
O.E. hire, third pers. sing. fem. dat. pronoun, which beginning in 10c. replaced acc. hie (see he). Cognate with O.Fris. hiri, M.Du. hore, Du. haar, O.H.G. iru, Ger. ihr.

her  (possessive case)
O.E. hire, third pers. sing. fem. gen. form of heo "she."

she 
c.1154, probably evolved from O.E. seo, sio (acc. sie), fem. of demonstrative pronoun se "the." The O.E. word for "she" was heo, hio, however by 13c. the pronunciation of this had converged by phonetic evolution with he "he," so the fem. demonstrative pronoun probably was used in its place (cf. similar development in Du. zij, Ger. sie, Gk. he, etc.). The original h- survives in her. A relic of the O.E. pronoun is in Manchester-area dial. oo "she." She-devil "difficult woman" first recorded 1840.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: He
Function: symbol
helium
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

He
The symbol for the element helium.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Abbreviations & Acronyms
HER
Hercules (constellation)
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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