| 释义 |
its, poss. pron.|ɪts|
[Formed in end of 16th c. from it + 's of the possessive or genitive case, and at first commonly written it's, a spelling retained by some to the beginning of the 19th c.
The original genitive or possessive neuter was his, as in the masc., which continued in literary use till the 17th c. But with the gradual substitution of sex for grammatical gender in the concord of the pronouns, the indiscriminate use of his for male beings and for inferior animals and things without life began to be felt inappropriate, and already in the ME. period its neuter use was often avoided, substitutes being found in thereof, of it, the, and in N.W. dialect, the genitive use of hit, it, which became very common about 1600, and is still retained in Westmorland, Lancashire, S.W. Yorkshire, Cheshire, Lincolnshire, and adjacent counties. Finally, it's arose, apparently in the south of England (London, Oxford), and appears in books just before 1600. It had no doubt been colloquial for some time previous, and only gradually attained to literary recognition. Its was not admitted in the Bible of 1611 (which has thereof, besides the his, her, of old grammatical gender); the possessive it occurs once (Lev. xxv. 5), but was altered (in an edition of 1660) to its, which appears in all current editions. Its does not appear in any of the works of Shakespeare published during his life-time (in which and the first folio the possessive it occurs 15 times), but there are 9 examples of it's, and 1 of its, in the plays first printed in the folio of 1623. In one of these at least (Hen. VIII, i. i. 18; see B. below), the word is prob. Shakespeare's own (unless he wrote his). By this time it's had become common in literature, from which the possessive use of it soon disappeared; the neuter his is found as late as 1675 (see his poss. pron. 3 c); the use of the = its continued almost as late in literature, and is still dialectal, as is also the periphrastic the..of it (o't), as in Sc. ‘the heid o't’ = its head. As its arose after the h of hit had been dropped, the form hits is not found in literary use, but it is the emphatic form of its in Scotch, ‘his heid strak hits heid’.]
A. As adj. poss. pron. Of or belonging to it, or that thing (L. ejus); also refl., Of or belonging to itself, its own (L. suus).
The reflexive is often more fully its own, for which in earlier times the own, it own, were used: see own.
1598Florio, Spontaneamente, willingly,..of himselfe, of his free will, for its owne sake [1611 of free will or of it's owne sake]. 1603― Montaigne A v, From translation all Science had it's of-spring. Ibid. Ep. Ded., My weaknesse you might bidde doe it's best. Ibid. 3. Ibid. 612 Nothing remooveth from it's owne place. 1605Sylvester Du Bartas i. ii. 1191 And tempers with it's moist-full coldnes so Th' excessiue heate. 1620Shelton Quix. III. xvi. 99 In its Perfection and natural Conformity. 1623Shaks.'s 2 Hen. VI, iii. ii. 393 (written c 1593) The Cradle-babe, Dying with mothers dugge betweene it's lips. [So Temp. i. ii. 95, 393; Wint. T. i. ii. 151, 152, 157, 266; iii. iii. 46. Meas. for M. i. ii. 4 (c 1603) Heauen grant vs its peace.] 1634A. Warwick Spare Min. (1636) 15 There is nothing..to be lost (but its love) by its hate. 1647Lilly Chr. Astrol. civ. 527 Being directed by his or its Digression. 1655Fuller Ch. Hist. i. iv. §23 The Load-stone..forgetteth it's Property to draw Iron any longer. 1683Burnet tr. More's Utopia Author's Epist. (1685) 24 If he consents to it's being published. 1728T. Sheridan Persius Prol. (1739) 5 Who taught the Parrot it's usual Compliment? 1750tr. Leonardus' Mirr. Stones 132 [212] It's notorious how great its virtue is. 1802M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. vii. 47 Her warning only accelerated it's fate. 1834J. H. Newman Par. Serm. (1837) I. xvi. 234 The Gospel has its mysteries. 1879McCarthy Own Times II. xviii. 2 Its foreign policy was treacherous.
B. As absol. poss. [Cf. his absol. poss.] The absolute form of prec., used when no n. follows: Its one, its ones. rare.
1613–23Shakes. Hen. VIII, i. i. 18 (First Folio) Each following day Became the next dayes master, till the last Made former Wonders, it's. |