[wee] 
| 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. |
[ahy] pronoun, nominative I, possessive my or mine, objective me; plural nominative we, possessive our or ours, objective us; noun, plural I's.| 1. | the nominative singular pronoun, used by a speaker in referring to himself or herself. |
| 2. | (used to denote the narrator of a literary work written in the first person singular). |
| 3. | Metaphysics. the ego. |
, OCS azŭ, Lith aš, Skt ahám| we (wē) pron.
[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 reason for writing I is ... the orthographic habit in the middle ages of using a 'long i' (that is, j or I) whenever the letter was isolated or formed the last letter of a group; the numeral 'one' was written j or I (and three iij, etc.), just as much as the pronoun." [Otto Jespersen, "Growth and Structure of the English Language," p.233]The form ich or ik, especially before vowels, lingered in northern England until c.1400 and survived in southern dialects until 18c. The dot on the "small" letter -i- began to appear in 11c. L. manuscripts, to distinguish the letter from the stroke of another letter (such as -m- or -n-). Originally a diacritic, it was reduced to a dot with the introduction of Roman type fonts. The basic word for "I" in Japanese is watakushi, but it is not much used. Words that boys usually use are boku (polite) or ore (OH-ray), a rougher word, which can be rude depending on the situation. Girls usually use atashi (a feminine-sounding word) or the neutral watashi, but a tomboy might use boku like boys do.
i
I
The symbol for the element iodine.
iThe symbol for current.
| iodine (ī'ə-dīn') Pronunciation Key
Symbol I A shiny, grayish-black element of the halogen group. It is corrosive and poisonous and occurs in very small amounts in nature except for seaweed, in which it is abundant. Iodine compounds are used in medicine, antiseptics, and dyes. Atomic number 53; atomic weight 126.9045; melting point 113.5°C; boiling point 184.35°C; specific gravity (solid, at 20°C) 4.93; valence 1, 3, 5, 7. See Periodic Table. |
WE
A hypertext authoring system developed at the University of North Carolina.
(1994-11-07)
| We Wednesday |