we definition | Dictionary.com

we

[wee]

–plural pronoun, possessive our or ours, objective us.

1.	nominative pl. of I.

2.	(used to denote oneself and another or others): We have two children. In this block we all own our own houses.

3.	(used to denote people in general): the marvels of science that we take for granted.

4.	(used to indicate a particular profession, nationality, political party, etc., that includes the speaker or writer): We in the medical profession have moral responsibilities.

5.	Also called the royal we. (used by a sovereign, or by other high officials and dignitaries, in place of I in formal speech): We do not wear this crown without humility.

6.	Also called the editorial we. (used by editors, writers, etc., to avoid the too personal or specific I or to represent a collective viewpoint): As for this column, we will have nothing to do with shady politicians.

7.	you (used familiarly, often with mild condescension or sarcasm, as in addressing a child, a patient, etc.): We know that's naughty, don't we? It's time we took our medicine.

8.	(used in the predicate following a copulative verb): It is we who should thank you.

9.	(used in apposition with a noun, esp. for emphasis): We Americans are a sturdy lot.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME, OE wē; c. D wij, G wir, ON vēr, Goth weis

I

[ahy]

pronoun, nominative I, possessive my or mine, objective me; plural nominative we, possessive our or ours, objective us; noun, plural I's.

–pronoun

1.	the nominative singular pronoun, used by a speaker in referring to himself or herself.

–noun

2.	(used to denote the narrator of a literary work written in the first person singular).

3.	Metaphysics. the ego.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME ik, ich, i; OE ic, ih; c. G ich, ON ek, L ego, Gk eg

, OCS azŭ, Lith aš, Skt ahám

Usage note:
See me.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To we

we (wē)

pron.

Used by the speaker or writer to indicate the speaker or writer along with another or others as the subject: We made it to the lecture hall on time. We are planning a trip to Arizona this winter.
Used to refer to people in general, including the speaker or writer: "How can we enter the professions and yet remain civilized human beings?" (Virginia Woolf).
Used instead of I, especially by a writer wishing to reduce or avoid a subjective tone.
Used instead of I, especially by an editorialist, in expressing the opinion or point of view of a publication's management.
Used instead of I by a sovereign in formal address to refer to himself or herself.
Used instead of you in direct address, especially to imply a patronizing camaraderie with the addressee: How are we feeling today?

[Middle English, from Old English wē; see we- in Indo-European roots.]

Usage Note: Appositive nouns or noun phrases sometimes lead writers and speakers to choose incorrect pronoun forms. Thus us is frequently found in constructions such as Us owners will have something to say about the contract, where we is required as the subject of the sentence. Less frequently, we is substituted in positions where us should be used, as in For we students, it's a no-win situation. In all cases, the function of the pronoun within the sentence should determine its form, whether or not it is followed by a noun or noun phrase. See Usage Notes at be, I¹.

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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We\ (w[=e]), pron.; pl. of I. [Poss. Our (our) or Ours (ourz); obj. Us ([u^]s). See I.] [As. w[=e]; akin to OS. w[=i], OFries. & LG. wi, D. wij, G. wir, Icel. v[=e]r, Sw. & Dan. vi, Goth. weis, Skr. vayam. [root]190.] The plural nominative case of the pronoun of the first person; the word with which a person in speaking or writing denotes a number or company of which he is one, as the subject of an action expressed by a verb.

Note: We is frequently used to express men in general, including the speaker. We is also often used by individuals, as authors, editors, etc., in speaking of themselves, in order to avoid the appearance of egotism in the too frequent repetition of the pronoun I. The plural style is also in use among kings and other sovereigns, and is said to have been begun by King John of England. Before that time, monarchs used the singular number in their edicts. The German and the French sovereigns followed the example of King John in a. d. 1200.

Language Translation for : we

Spanish: nosotros; nosotras,

German: wir (pl.),

Japanese: 私達は

More Translations »

O.E. we, from P.Gmc. *wiz (cf. O.S. wi, O.N. ver, Dan. vi, O.Fris. wi, Du. wij, O.H.G., Ger. wir, Goth. weis "we"), from PIE *wei- (cf. Skt. vayam, O.Pers. vayam, Hitt. wesh "we," O.C.S. ve "we two," Lith. vedu "we two"). The "royal we" (use of plural pronoun to denote oneself) is at least as old as "Beowulf" (c.725); use by writers to establish an impersonal style is also from O.E.; it was especially common 19c. in unsigned editorials, to suggest staff consensus, and was lampooned as such since at least 1853 (cf. also wegotism).

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