| 释义 |
▪ I. † her, here, n. poetic. Obs.
Forms: 1 hearra, herra, hærra, 3 herre, hærre, north. and Sc. 4–5 her, 5–6 here, (5 heere, hery, 6 hair, heir, heyr).
[OE. herra, hearra, corresp. to OFris. hêra, OS. hêrro (MDu. herre, hêr(r)e, Du. heer), OHG. hêrro (MHG. hêrre, herre, Ger. herr), ON. harri, herra (Sw., Da. herre). In OHG. and OS., a subst. use of the comparative degree hêr(o)ro of the adj. hêr ‘old’, hence ‘venerable, august’, mod.Ger. hehr ‘sublime, elevated, august, holy’, identical with OE. hár hoary, grey, ON. hárr:—OTeut. *hairo- prob. ‘hoary with age, venerable’; supposed to have been first used as a form of address to superiors: cf. the Romanic use of L. senior, in It. signore, Sp. señor, F. seigneur ‘lord’, orig. ‘older, elder’. Both in OE. and ON. adopted from OLG.; in OE. found orig. in the parts of the ‘Cædmon’ poems which are transliterated from an OS. original; also in later OE. and ME. poetry, and in Sc. to 16th c. Apparently only in poetical use.]
Lord, chief, master; man of high position or rank; sometimes more generally = Man.
a1000Cædmon's Gen. 521 Þe sende waldend god þin hearra þæs helpe of heofonrice. Ibid. 678 Nu hæbbe ic his her on handa, herra se goda; ᵹife ic hit þe ᵹeorne. c1067Poem in O.E. Chron. (MS. C.) an. 1066 Se in alle tid hyrde holdlice hærran sinum. c1205Lay. 5420 For þu ært ure hærre. 1297R. Glouc. (1724) 102 Þis lond ich habbe here so fre, þat to non herre y schal abuye. a1400–50Alexander 1920 All þe hathils & þe heris & þe hiȝe maistris. c1400Destr. Troy 10146 Antenour in angur angardly stroke, Vnhorset the here, hade hym to ground. c1470Henry Wallace vii. 41 Arnwlff..Off South hantoun, that huge hie her and lord. 1500–20Dunbar Poems lxxxi. 29, I sa ane heir in bed oppressit ly. 1513Douglas æneis v. vi. 8 Thiddir the heir [æneas] with mony thowsand gan hy. Ibid. xii. 70 Ane of the eldest herys stude about, Clepit Nautes. 1530Lyndesay Test. Pap. 338 Thov arte bot kyng of bone, Frome tyme thyne hereis hartis bene from ye gone.
Hence † here-man, lord, master.
a1400–50Alexander 4938 A! A! happy haly here man.
▪ II. † her, poss. pron., 3rd pl. Obs.
Forms: see below.
[OE. hiera, hira; hyra, hiora, hiara, heora, gen. pl., in all genders, of he; cognate with OFris. hiara, hira, MDu. hare (haerre, haer), hore, heur, Du. haar; parallel in inflexion to OS. iro, ira, ire, era, OHG. iro (MHG. ire, ir, Ger. ihr, ihrer), Goth. izê, izô. In ME. (like the gen. sing. his, hire), treated as a possessive adj., though with fewer traces of inflexion than his. It also developed the absolute forms heoren, heren, hern2, and hires, heres, hers2 (now both obs.). Already in Ormin, the use of heore, here, was encroached upon by that of þeᵹᵹre from Old Norse, which, in the form thair, the northern texts of Cursor Mundi, Hampole, etc. have exclusively; Chaucer and other southern and south-midland writers retained her; Caxton, like Ormin, had both her and their; but their appears to have prevailed before 1500, and her has long disappeared even from the dialects which retain the cognate dat.-accus. hem, 'em.]
A. Forms.
(α) 1 hiera, hira, hiora, hiara, heara, 1–2 hyra, heora, 2 hera.
c855O.E. Chron. (Parker MS.) an. 449 On hiera daᵹum Hengest and Horsa..ᵹesohton Bretene. c898Ibid. an. 894 Hiora cyning wæs ᵹewundod. Ibid. an. 896 Þa Deniscan hæfdon hira wif befæst. a950Durham Ritual (Surtees) 48 In hiara ᵹimersvnge ᵹifeaiᵹa. c950Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. vi. 5 Onfengon mearde heara [Rushw. heora lean, Ags. hyra mede, Hatton heore mede]. c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. iv. 6 Hiᵹ þe on hyra handum beron. a1100O.E. Chron. an. 1090 [Hi] aᵹefon hera castelas him to hearme. a1131Ibid. an. 1125 Heora liman, þæt wæs here elces riht hand and heora stanen beneðan. c1160Hatton Gosp. Matt. iv. 6 On heora hande. c1205Lay. 420 He heora monredne mid monscipe onfeng.
(β) 1–5 heore, here, 2–3 hore, 2–4 hare, 3–5 hire, hure, (3 huere, 4–5 hyre).
a1100O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 979 Heore rædas syndon nahtlice onᵹean Godes ᵹeþeaht. a1131Ibid. an. 1123 ⁋2 Hi..wæron æfre toᵹænes muneces and here reᵹol. a1175Cott. Hom. 225 Þine þreo sunes..and hare þreo wif. c1175Lamb. Hom. 75 Hore loking, hore blawing, hore smelling, heore feling wes al iattret. c1200Ormin Ded. 86 Acc nohht þurrh skill, acc all þurrh niþ, & all þurrh þeȝȝre sinne; & unnc birrþ biddenn Godd tatt he Forrȝife hemm here sinne. Ibid. 407, & shulenn habbenn heore læn Forr heore rihhtwisnesse. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 155 Hure riht time þenne man fasten shal. c1205Lay. 22843 Þa wifmen..kerueð of hire neose [c 1275 hure nose]. a1225Ancr. R. 70 Hit is hore meister. a1300Geste K. Horn 9 in Ritson Metr. Rom. II. 91 Huere sone hihte Horn. a1300Assump. Virg. (Camb. MS.) 713 Boþe here feet & here handes Where bounde with stronge bandes. 1340Ayenb. 35 Ham þet habbeþ onworþ to lene of hire hand ac hi doþ lene hare sergons oþer oþre men of hire pans. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. Prol. 41 Til heor Bagges and heore Balies weren bratful I-crommet. c1380Sir Ferumb. 2277 Hure helmes þay duden oppon hure hod. c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 138 (Fairf.) This was hire [v. rr. here, her, hir, theyr, thair] song, ‘the foweler we deffye’. 1387Trevisa Higden (Morris Spec. E.E. 338) Chyldern in scoles..buþ compelled for to leve here oune longage, & for to construe here lessons & here þingis a Freynsch. c1420Chron. Vilod. 69 Ye Danys..chesen hure place Ryȝt at hure owne wyll. Ibid. 871 Ryȝt at hurre wyll. Ibid. 1059 Herre song þey lafton and songon nomore. 1426Audelay Poems 17 The lust of hore lycam. c1440Gesta Rom. ii. 6 (Harl. MS.) Whenne the seruauntis hirde hire lord crye. 1482Monk of Evesham (Arb.) 15 Lyke as they deserue here in this world by here lyuyng.
β2. (?) Inflected forms.
a1123O.E. Chron. an. 1101 For heoran aᵹenan mycelan unᵹetrywðan. Ibid. an. 1119 Þa tweᵹen cyngas innan Normandiᵹe mid heoran folcan coman togædere. c1175Lamb. Hom. 101 Heo setteð heoran handan ofer ifulȝ ede men.
(γ) 2–4 heor, 2–5 her, har, (3 ar), 3–5 hor, hur, (5 hurr), 4–5 hir, hyr.
a1154O.E. Chron. an. 1135 Þa tocan þa oðre and helden her castles aᵹenes him. Ibid. an. 1140 ⁋7 [Hi] treuthes fæston ðæt her nouþer sculde besuiken other. a1175Cott. Hom. 227 Har non neste wat oðer cweð. Ibid., Þa..com se deofel to har anlicnesse. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 141 Hur eiðer alumð þe se. c1250Meid Maregrete xiii, Ðe sergaunz deden ar ernde. c1275St. Patrick's Purg. 168 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1875) Ȝif þu wolt leue on hor lore. 1297R. Glouc. (1724) 398 Hii, þat myȝte ofscapye, sone her red nome. c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 5046 He..loude ascried þem on har cry. c1340Hampole Prose Tr. (1866) 24 Of hem silfe and of hir sugettis. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. i. 97 Dauid..Dude hem swere on heor swerd to serue treuþe euere. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 153 To spoyle hor tenauntis and hor neghtboris. c1386Chaucer Prol. 32, I was of hir [v. rr. here, her] felaweshipe anon. c1420Chron. Vilod. 12 To wex þe Bretones for hurr synne. c1460Launfal 232 Har kerteles wer of Inde sandel. 1480Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxli. (1482) 270 Hyr armure..and al was whyte hertes with crounes aboute hyr nekkes. 1485― St. Wenefr. 3 Her fader & moder cam & sawe how her doughter was biheded.
B. Signification and uses.
1. gen. case of pers. and refl. pron.: Of them (L. eorum); of themselves. (In quot. a 1225 with of.)
c825Vesp. Psalter v. 10 [9] Forðon nis in muðe heara soðfestnis; heorte heara idel is. a900O.E. Chron. (Parker MS.) an. 875 ælfred cyning..hiera an ᵹefeng, ond þa oþru ᵹefliemde. Ibid. an. 895 Þa burᵹware hie ᵹefliemdon, ond hira moniᵹ hund ofsloᵹon. a1131Ibid. an. 1123 ⁋4 Þæh hit wære here unþancas. c1200Ormin 471 Whillc here shollde serrfenn firrst. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 121 Ure drihten..lokede gif here ani understoden. Ibid. 213 Þesse wise biswikeð her aið er oðer. a1225Ancr. R. 176 Ȝif nouðer of hore nere sec.
2. poss. adj. pron. (orig. poss. gen.): Belonging to them; their; also refl. belonging to themselves, their own (L. suus).
917O.E. Chron. (Parker MS.) an. 917 And ahreddon..eac hira horsa and hira wæpna micelne dæl. a1100Ibid. (Laud MS.) an. 1016 ⁋9 Swa heora ᵹewuna wæs. a1121Ibid. (Laud MS.) an. 1119 Maneᵹa..mid heora castelan. a1175Cott. Hom. 221 Þat ece fer þe ham ᵹearcod was fer hare prede. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 35 Ure helende com to helen men of heore symounden. 1382Wyclif Matt. vi. 5 Trewly y say to ȝou, thei han resseyued her meede. c1386Chaucer Prol. 11 So priketh hem nature in hir corages. 1482Marg. Paston in Paston Lett. No. 865 III. 293 They withholde her catell and hem selfe bothe from the coorte.
b. Construction with all, both: her aller, her bother, her beyre, etc.: see all D. 4, both 4 b, bo a. c.
3. After a n., as substitute for genitive inflexion.
c893K. ælfred Oros. i. i. §4 Affrica and Asia hiera landᵹemircu onginnað of Alexandria.
4. Absolutely. Afterwards expressed by hers2, and now by theirs. (F. le leur, Ger. der ihrige).
c897K. ælfred Greg. Past. xliv. 319 Ða ðe hiera mild⁓heortlice sellað. c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. v. 10 Hyra [Hatt. heora] ys heofonan rice. a1225Ancr. R. 78 [He] foluwede ham, ase hore, hwuder so heo euer wolden. 1340Ayenb. 144 Þe kingdom of heuene is hare.
▪ III. her, pers. pron., 3rd sing. fem., dat.-acc.|hɜː(r), hə(r)|
Forms: 1–5 hire, (1 hir), 2–5 hyre, (3 heore), 3–5 here, (5 heer), 3–6 hir, 4–5 hure, 5 hurre, 5–6 hyr, 5–8 (dial.) hur, (6 hare, harre), 4– her.
[OE. hire, dative case of hío, heo ‘she’, cogn. with OFris. hiri, MDu. hare, haer, hore, Du. haar; cf. also the parallel OS. iru, OHG. iru, iro (mod.G. ihr), Goth. izai. The dative began in 10th c. to be used instead of the original accusative híe, hí, híᵹ, hý, and now as indirect and direct objective represents both cases, as in ‘we met her and gave her the book to take with her’.]
1. The female being in question: the objective case of she.
a. dat. or indirect obj.
a1000Elene 963 (Z.) Gode þancode..þæs hire se willa ᵹelamp. c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. xiv. 7 Þa behet he mid aþe hyre [Lindisf. hir, Rushw. hire, Hatton hire] to syllenne. a1154O.E. Chron. an. 1140 ⁋8 [Hi] brohten hire into Oxenford, and iauen hire þe burch. a1175Cott. Hom. 227 Se aengel cydde hyre þat godes sune sceolde beon acenned of hire. c1205Lay. 3998 Þa deæde [sune] heore wæs leouere, þe quike here wes leoðere. 1297R. Glouc. (1724) 30 Þe fader..bad hire vnderstonde, To whom heo wolde y maried be. 1340–70Alex. & Dind. 562 Hure was lecherie luf. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. ii. 1 Yit kneled I on my knees and cried hire of grace. c1420Chron. Vilod. 395 Hurre was lever to her' maytoynesse and masse. 1567Satir. Poems Reform. iii. 74 Full weill was hir that day that sho was fre. 1642Rogers Naaman 498 To goe and doe as her listeth. 1712–14Pope Rape Lock iv. 130 ‘Give her the hair’—he spoke, and rapp'd his box. 1847Tennyson Princess iv. 77 O Swallow..tell her, tell her, what I tell to thee. 1870Rossetti Blessed Damozel, Her seemed she scarce had been a day One of Gods choristers.
b. Governed by prep.
c1000Ags. Gosp. John xx. 16 Da cwæð se hælend to hyre [Lindisf. hir, Hatton hire], maria. a1075O.E. Chron. (MS. C.) an. 1035 [He] let niman of hyre ealle þa betstan gærsuma..þe Cnut cing ahte. c1300Beket 25 Of hire he hadde lute blisse. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 107 With hir went many a knyght. c1400Rom. Rose 2459 If thou myght Atteyne of hire to have a sight. c1400Destr. Troy 11006 When he neighed hur negh. 1556Chron. Gr. Friars (Camden) 70 He had ij childerne by harre. Ibid. 72 The fayryst lady that she hade wyth hare..was stolne away from hare. 1634Milton Comus 264 I'll speak to her And she shall be my queen. 1712–14Pope Rape Lock ii. 6 But ev'ry eye was fix'd on her alone. 1864Tennyson En. Ard. 474 And others laugh'd at her and Philip too.
c. acc. or direct obj.
c975Rushw. Gosp. Matt. i. 25 And ne groette hire [Ags. G. he ne grette hi]. Ibid. xxii. 28 Alle hæfdun hire [Lindisf. ða ilca, Ags. hiᵹ, Hatton hy]. a1131O.E. Chron. an. 1127 He..sende hire siððen to Normandi; and mid hire ferde hire broðer Rotbert eorl of Gleucestre. a1154Ibid. an. 1140 ⁋8 Þe king..besæt hire in þe tur; and me læt hire dun on niht of þe tur mid rapes. c1275Lay. 1146 Þe deouel hire [c 1205 heo] louede. 1297R. Glouc. (1724) 12 Y ȝeue here þe to þi wyf. c1400Apol. Loll. 39 If ani of prestis..leuiþ not heer þat he holdiþ. c1400Destr. Troy 10976 He gird hir to ground, and greuit hir yll. 1556Chron. Gr. Friars (Camden) 72 Dyvers lordes and ladys browte hare on hare way. 1621Quarles Div. Poems, Esther v, He observed her; He sent for..dainty Myrrh. 1735Pope Ep. Lady 137 Offend her, and she knows not to forgive; Oblige her, and she'll hate you while you live. 1842Tennyson Day-Dream, Arrival iv, He stoops—to kiss her—on his knee.
2. For names of things grammatically feminine, or (in later use) feminine by personification.
c825Vesp. Psalter xxiii. 1 Earðe..and alle ða eardiað in hire. c1000ælfric Manual of Astron. (Wrt.) 18 Þære lyfte ᵹecynd is þæt heo sycð ælcne wætan up to hyre. c1175Lamb. Hom. 19 Al þet þe licome luueð, þet þa saule heteð, and wa is hire þer fore. c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 312/449 Al so þe sonne, þat heo mouwe schyne a-boute eche on, For alle habbez lijȝt of hire, and with-oute hire nouȝt on. c1320Cast. Love 96 Þe eorþe..And al þat euere in hire bi-lyþ. c1394P. Pl. Crede 668 And syþen þe sely soule slen & senden hyre to helle! a1400–50Alexander 1308 Bretens doun all þe bild..Drenches hire in þe hiȝ e see & drawis hire on hepis. 1538Starkey England i. iii. 78 Our mother the ground..wyl suffycyently nurysch..al bestys, fyschys, and foulys, wych are brede and brought vp apon hyr. 1598W. Phillip Linschoten (1864) 187 They pray like⁓wise to the New Moone..and salute her with great Deuotion. 1738Pope Epil. Sat. i. 143–4 Vice is undone, if she forgets her Birth..'tis the Fall degrades her to a Whore; Let Greatness own her, and she's mean no more. 1827Keble Chr. Y., SS. Simon & Jude i, The widowed Church is fain to rove..Make haste and take her home.
b. Represented as used by Welsh or Gaelic speakers for he, him, or for the speaker himself.
1526Hundr. Merry T. xcii. (1866) 150 By cottes blut and her nayle, quod the welchman, if her [a cock] be not ynough now her wyll be ynough anone for her hath a good fyre vnder her. 1657H. Crowch Welsh Trav. 3 Bid her, and other such like men. 1671Welsh Trav. 31 in Hazl. E.P.P. IV. 332 Poor Taffie fell immediately into a great deep pit. Had not a shepherd stood his friend, and helpt hur quickly out, Hur surely there had made an end, Hur makes no other doubt. 1828Scott F.M. Perth xxxiii, ‘No offence meant’, said the Highlander; ‘but her own self comes to buy an armour.’ ‘Her own self's bare shanks may trot hence with her’, answered Henry. 1893Stevenson Catriona 163 It will be made by a bogle and her wanting ta heid upon his body.
3. refl.: = herself; to herself. (Now poetic.)
c1000ælfric Gen. xxi. 16 Heo..sæt hire feorran. Ibid. xxxviii. 23 Hæbbe hire þæt heo hafaþ. c1200Ormin 2655 Ȝho ras hire upp. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 47 Hie brohte þat child mid hire in to þe temple. c1220Bestiary 241 Ðe mire..resteð hire seldum. 1340Ayenb. 260 Hy hyre sseweþ ine alle þe oþre boȝes. c1374Chaucer Compl. Mars 56 He preyede her to haste her for his sake. c1420Chron. Vilod. 765 And badde her heyȝe, and make hurr' all redy. 1611Bible Gen. xxi. 16 She went and sate her downe ouer against him. 1662Gerbier Princ. 8 She..had no time to shift her. 1666–7Dryden Ann. Mirab. ccxcvi, Like some shepherdess..Who sate to bathe her by a river's side. 1858Kingsley Sappho 20 Then peevishly she flung her on her face.
4. For the nom.; esp. in predicate after be, etc. = she. (Considered incorrect: cf. him, me.)
1698Vanbrugh Prov. Wife iv. iv, But if it prove her, all that's Woman in me shall be imploy'd to destroy her. 1840–1Dickens Humphrey's Clock, There was him and her a sitting by the fire. Mod. dial. and colloq. I am sure it was her that told me. No! it could not be her. Which is her? Her with the hat. Is that her coming?
5. her one = Sc. her lane: see one, lone.
6. quasi-n.: cf. she.
1646Crashaw Poems 137 Now, if time knows That her, whose radiant brows Weave them a garland of my vows. 1860Whittier in Westm. Gaz. (1895) 2 Jan. 8/2, ‘I have lost him. But I can never lose a her; the women are more pertinacious than the men’.
Add:[4.] b. her indoors (also 'er indoors) Brit. colloq., one's wife or girlfriend; in extended use, applied to any woman occupying a position of authority who is regarded as domineering.
The phrase was popularized by the Thames Television series Minder (1979–93), in which the leading character Arthur Daley habitually referred to his wife as ‘her indoors’. The series' original writer, Leon Griffiths, app. first heard it used by ‘a taxi-driver drinking companion of his’ (Independent (1992) 16 June 13/6).
1979L. Griffiths Smaller they Are in Minder (television script, second draft) 10 May 2 That's what her indoors doesn't understand Terry. A young bird keep [sic] you feeling young. 1984Guardian 17 Oct. 12/2 These days, her indoors (and Mr Walker too) are said to be seldom off the phone with words of wisdom for Mr MacGregor. 1986R. Sproat Stunning Punters 156, I was taking Her Indoors out for a day at the Zoo. 1988Times 2 Nov. 21/1 She [sc. the mistress of a Great Artist] is immortalized in oils, while 'Er Indoors cleans up the mess afterwards. 1992Pilot July 36/1, I began to consider buying a single-seat kitplane, a microlight, or even a taildragger. But there were howls of disagreement from Her Indoors and the rest of the tribe.
▪ IV. her, poss. pron., 3rd sing. fem.|hɜː(r), hə(r)|
Forms: 1 hiere, hyre, (hyra), 1–5 hire, 3–5 hyre, hure, hyr, (3–4 yr), 4–5 hur, (5 hurre, here), 4–6 hir, 6 hare, (are), 4– her.
[OE. hiere, hire, genitive of hío, heo ‘she’, cognate with OFris. hiri, MDu. hare, Du. haar. (Analogous to OS. ira, iro, iru, ire; OHG. ira, iro, MHG. ire, ir, Ger. ihr; Goth. izôs.) In OE. used both as an objective and possessive genitive: the former use became obs. in ME., and hire remained a possessive genitive, indistinguishable in use from a possessive adj., and is thus included in the same class with my, thy, his, our, your, their. Like these, it has developed an absolute form hers1, for which hern1 was also used in late ME., and still exists in some dialects.]
1. as gen. case of pers. pron.: Of her; of the feminine being or thing in question.
a900O.E. Chron. (Parker MS.) an. 878 Him to com þær onᵹen Sumor sæte alle..ond Hamtun scir se dæl se hiere behinon sæ was. a1225St. Marher. 2 Ha iherde on euch half hire, hu me droh to deaðe cristes icorne. a1310in Wright Lyric P. 113 Y wolde nemne hyre to day, ant y dorste hire munne.
2. poss. adj. pron. (orig. poss. gen.): Of or belonging to her; that woman's, that female's; also refl. of or belonging to herself, her own.
a900O.E. Chron. (Parker MS.) an. 888 Hire lic liþ æt Pafian. c1000Ibid. (MS. D.) an. 917 Þær wæron eac ofslæᵹene hyre þæᵹna feower. a1100Ibid. (Laud MS.) an. 1036 Þæt ælfᵹifu Hardacnutes modor sæte on Winceastre mid þæs cynges huscarlum hyra suna. c1175Lamb. Hom. 3 Heo nomen þe assa and hire colt. 1297R. Glouc. (1724) 370 Mold yr name was. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. i. 10 Ich was a-ferd of hire Face. 1382Wyclif Luke ii. 51 His modir kepte to gidere alle these wordis, beringe to gidere in hir herte. c1420Chron. Vilod. 298 Þis hard hayre he wered hurre body nexst. c1440Gesta Rom. i. 3 (Harl. MS.) My wif..wolle hyde his body by hire beddys syde. 1490Caxton Eneydos vi. 27 She drewe theym to her part. 1556Chron. Gr. Friars (Camden) 72 Shee went hare wayes. Ibid. 86 The qwenes grace came..are owne persone, with hare cepter in hare honde. 1569J. Rogers Gl. Godly Loue 181 As ritch as hir husband. 1712–14Pope Rape Lock i. 19 Belinda still her downy pillow prest Her guardian Sylph prolong'd the balmy rest. 1808Scott Marm. ii. iii, Her hopes, her fears, her joys, were all Bounded within the cloister wall. Mod. Her sister offered her services.
†b. Used of things whose names were grammatically feminine, e.g. sun, soul, book, shire, love. Obs.
c. Of things personified or spoken of as female; esp. the earth, the moon, countries, cities, ships, the Church, a university, a school, the arts, sciences, passions, virtues, vices.
c825Vesp. Psalter ciii [i]. 19 Sunne oncneow setgong hire [c 1000 Ags. Ps. (Th.), Sunne hire setlgang sweotule healdeð]. 1382etc. [see church n. 8]. 1413Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) iv. vii. 61 Thenne ganne this fayre grene appel tree to shaken hyr leues. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon i. 21 A ryver..I beleve verely that in al christendome is not her lyke. 1502in Arnolde's Chron. (1811) 223 That the chartur aforsaid in alle & euerych her articles. 1534Tindale Luke xiv. 34 Salt is good but yf salt have loste hyr saltnes what shall be seasoned ther with? 1535Coverdale 2 Chron. v. 7 The prestes broughte the Arke..vnto hir place. 1559W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 142 In whose mynde knoweledge have once builded her Bowre. Ibid. 149 The moone is xviij. daies old, the time of hir shining is x. houres. Ibid. 205 Englande, and hir principall cities. 1586T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. i. (1589) 612 There is nothing more common than the Sun, which imparteth of hir light to all the celestiall bodies. 1611Shakes. Wint. T. iii. iii. 93 The Shippe boaring the Moone with her maine Mast. 1649W. Blithe Eng. Improv. Impr. (1653) 9 The Earth..and the principall causes of her Barrenness. 1700Dryden Palamon & Arc. ii. 595 The ruined house that falls And intercepts her lord betwixt the walls. 1821Shelley Epipsych. 376 The Moon will veil her horn In thy last smiles. 1895Pall Mall G. 7 Oct. 1/3 England..has tried her best to head him off.
d. Of animals regarded as feminine, irrespectively of sex; e.g. a cat, hare, rabbit, mouse, etc.
c1220Bestiary 242 Ðe mire..fecheð hire fode. c1386Chaucer Knt.'s T. 634 The bisy larke messager of day Salueth in hir song the morwe gray. a1400–50Alexander 412 [With] þe wose of þe wede hire wengis anoyntis. 1535Coverdale Prov. vi. 6 Go to the Emmet (thou slogarde) considre hir wayes. 1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 210 The Weasil..hangeth fast upon her throat, and will not lose her hold, run the Hare never so fast. Ibid. 398 If a male Mouse be flead all over, or her tail cut off; or if her leg be bound to a post in the house, or a bell be hung about her neck, and so turned going, she will drive away all her fellows. 1642Rogers Naaman 97 The Bezor..knowing by instinct what it is she is hunted for (not her skin, but her stone).
3. After a n., a substitute for the genitive inflexion. Cf. the similar use of his, their.
c893K. ælfred Oros. i. i. §9 Nilus seo ea hire æwielme is neh þæm clife. c1435Chaucer's Wife's T. (MS. Camb. Gg. 4. 27) heading, Here begynnyt[h] the wyf of bathe hire tale. 1546State Papers (1830) I. 889 Elizabeth Holland her howse, newlie made in Suffolk. 1579Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 94 Curio..haunted Lucilla hir company. 1655Fuller Ch. Hist. viii. i. §5 Presuming on the Queen her private practice. 1659H. L'Estrange Alliance Div. Off. 455 The Excellency of our Church her burial office. [1873F. Hall Mod. Eng. 355 note, In England, to this day, the vulgar write, in their Bibles, Prayer-books, and elsewhere, ‘John Crane his book’, ‘Esther Hodges her book’, etc.]
†4. absol. = hers1 (= Ger. der, die, das ihrige).
c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 49 Duue..fedeð briddes þeh hie ne ben noht hire. a1225Ancr. R. 46 Al is hire þet holi chirche redeð oþer singeð.
▪ V. her
obs. form of hair, here, ere, higher. |