He

Pronunciation

• UK enPR: hÄ“, IPA: /ˈhiː/, unstressed IPA: /hi/, /i/
• US enPR: hÄ“, IPA: /hi/
• Rhymes: -iː

From Middle English he, from Old English hē ("he"), from Proto-Germanic *hiz ("this, this one"), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱe-, *ḱey- ("this, here"). Cognate with Scots he ("he"), North Frisian hi ("he"), Saterland Frisian hie ("he"), West Frisian hy ("he"), Dutch hij ("he"), German Low German he ("he"), Danish han ("he"). Related to here.

Full definition of he

Pronoun

1. (personal) Refers to a male person or animal already known or implied.
• July 18 2012, Scott Tobias, AV Club The Dark Knight Riseshttp://www.avclub.com/articles/the-dark-knight-rises-review-batman,82624/Though Bane’s sing-song voice gives his pronouncements a funny lilt, he doesn’t have any of the Joker’s deranged wit, and Nolan isn’t interested in undercutting his seriousness for the sake of a breezier entertainment.
2. (personal) Refers to a person whose gender is unknown.
3. (personal) Refers to an animal whose gender is unknown.

Usage notes

See for other personal pronouns.

he has traditionally been used as a gender-neutral pronoun, but since the mid-20th century such usage is considered sexist by some. As a result, some writers and speakers alternate he and she as the indefinite person in their work, or use the singular they.

Synonyms

• (personal, A person whose gender is unknown) he or she, he/she, s/he, informal they, Spivak ey
• (personal, An animal whose gender is unknown) it

Noun

1. The game of tag, or it, in which the player attempting to catch the others is called "he".
2. (informal) A male person.Alex totally is a he.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /heɪː/

Transliteration of various Semitic letters, such as Phoenician 𐤄, Hebrew ה and Syriac ܗ (h, "hē").

Alternative forms

• hay
• hei
• hey

Noun