hoopron.n.

Brit.

/huː/, U.S.

/hu/

Forms: 1.

α. Old English hæo (rare), Old English hiu (Anglian), Old English hiuu (Northumbrian, rare), Old English (early Middle English East Anglian) hio, Old English (Middle English chiefly west midlands and south-western) heo, Old English (rare)–early Middle English hieo, Old English (rare)–early Middle English hyo. eOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Parker) anno 718 Hio wæs forgifen Norþanhymbra cyninge Aldferþe.OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Matt. xv. 27 Illa dixit : hiu [OE Rushw. hiu, OE West Saxon Gospels: Corpus Cambr. heo, c1200 Hatton hyo] cueð.OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Mark x. 6 Masculum et feminam fecit eos deus : woepenmon uel hee & hiuu uel wifmon worhte hia god.c1200 Serm. in Eng. & Germanic Stud. (1961) 7 62 Heo of þet frut et and makede þet hire make þer of forto etene.c1275 ( Will of Ketel (Sawyer 1519) in D. Whitelock Anglo-Saxon Wills (1930) 90 Gif ic libbe leng þanne hio [sc. my sister], þanne schal ic habben þat lond at Prestone.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 93 He wes king & heo quen.c1390 King of Tars (Vernon) l. 77 in Englische Studien (1889) 11 65 To god heo made hire preyers.a1425 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 1900) (1879) VII. 517 Elgiva myȝt conceyve no childe by the kyng and therfore heo toke that Suanus..and leyde hir silf doun as it were a child bedde and child by hir.a1450 (?a1390) J. Mirk Instr. Parish Priests (Claud.) (1974) l. 396 Þenne schale þe husbonde..Teche & preche so hys wyue, That heo a-vow no maner þynge.?a1500 in J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words (1852) 839 Withynne the castell is whyte shynyng As is the swan when heo is swymbyng.

β. Old English hia (chiefly Kentish), Old English hiæ (Mercian, rare), Old English hige (rare), Old English (early Middle English chiefly Essex and East Anglian) hie, early Middle English þie (see note below), Middle English hye (south-eastern). eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) lxxxv. 11 Laetetur cor meum ut timeat nomen tuum : blissie heorte min ðæt hie ondrede noman ðinne.eOE (Kentish) Charter: Eadweald & Cyneðryð (Sawyer 1200) in F. E. Harmer Sel. Eng. Hist. Docs. 9th & 10th Cent. (1914) 10 Ac hia hit atuge yfter hira dege swe hit him boem rehtlicast & elmestlicast were.OE (Mercian) Rushw. Gospels: Matt. xv. 23 Dimitte eam quia clamat post nos : forlet hiæ forþon þe hiæ cægeþ æfter us.OE Beowulf (2008) 2019 Oft hio beahwriðan secge [sealde], ær hie to setle geong.OE Genesis B 822 Ða spræc Eue eft, idesa scienost, wifa wlitegost; hie wæs geweorc godes.a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 161 Hie is þe heuenliches kinges dohter.a1275 (?c1200) Prov. Alfred (Trin. Cambr.) (1955) 110 Ȝif he for-swunken swoti wuere, swo hie ne þochte.c1275 Kentish Serm. in J. Hall Select. Early Middle Eng. (1920) I. 217 Hye spac to þo Serganz þet seruede of þo wyne.c1300 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 75 Wan þe maiden understud and þangles wordes þerde [emended to herde in ed.], mildeliche with milde mud to þangle þie [emended to hie in ed.] andswerde.c1330 Lai le Freine in Smith Coll. Stud. Mod. Langs. (1929) 10 iii. 4 Þat hye nil, no hye ne schal.c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham Poems (1902) 111 Þe fyfte senne hys sleuþe.., Hye brekeþ gode treuþe Wyþ god and man also.

γ. Old English (Middle English chiefly south-eastern) hi, early Middle English hiȝ, Middle English hii (south-east midlands), Middle English hij (south-east midlands), Middle English hy (chiefly south-eastern). eOE (Kentish) Glosses to Proverbs of Solomon (Vesp. D.vi) in U. Kalbhen Kentische Glossen (2003) 117 [Sapientia] clamitat : hi clepað.OE Cynewulf Crist II 559 Hafað nu se halga helle bireafod ealles þæs gafoles þe hi geardagum in þæt orlege unryhte swealg.lOE St. Margaret (Corpus Cambr.) (1994) 154 Þa seo eadiga Margareta þis eall geherde and geseah, hi hi þæs þe swiðor to Gode gebæd.a1225 ( Ælfric's Homily De Initio Creaturae (Vesp. A.xxii) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 223 Hi is ælra libbinde moder.c1330 Sir Degare (Auch.) l. 48 in W. H. French & C. B. Hale Middle Eng. Metrical Romances (1930) 289 His doughter also bi him rod; Amidde þe forest hii abod.1340 Ayenbite (1866) 26 Þeruore is hy doȝter of prede.c1400 Life St. Alexius (Trin. Oxf.) (1878) l. 515 Ope þe lich hy [a1425 Laud 463 she] lay wel longe, Hire ne myȝte noman werne.c1450 (?a1400) T. Chestre Sir Launfal (1930) l. 352 Sche badde hym aryse anoon; Hy seyde to hym, ‘Syr gantyl Knyȝt’.

δ. early Middle English yio (Irish English), early Middle English yo (north-east midlands), Middle English ȝeo (south-western), Middle English ȝheo (south-western and south-west midlands), Middle English ȝho, Middle English ȝo (chiefly south-western and south-west midlands), Middle English ȝoe (south-western). c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 2037 Þe laffdiȝ marȝe ȝho barr child Wiþþ utenn weddedd macche.c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Otho) (1963) l. 577 Ȝeo [c1275 Calig. heo] was cwene of alle wodes.a1325 (?a1300) in G. H. McKnight Middle Eng. Humorous Tales (1913) 22 Yo hat mayden malkyn.a1325 (?c1300) Northern Passion (Cambr. Gg.1.1) l. 101 In holiwrit of hir men rede Þat yio had don a sinfol dede.?c1335 in W. Heuser Kildare-Gedichte (1904) 111 Al hir ioi was ago, Þo ȝo him sei dei in rode;..deil..Neuer such nas þer none..As ȝho makid and seint Ion.a1400 Siege Jerusalem (Laud) (1932) l. 162 Þat worliche wif..Veronyk ȝo hatte.a1400 W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 656) (1873) C. ii. 44 Ȝo [c1400 Huntington HM 137 ‘Go to þe gospel’ quaþ hue; a1400 Corpus Cambr. sche, c1400 Cambr. Dd.3.13 heo, a1425 Cambr. Ff.5.35 scheo].c1425 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Harl.) 435 Ȝoe was worþy to be ycluped Mold þe god quene Vor al þe godenesse þat ȝoe dude her to Engelond.

ε. Middle English e (Essex), Middle English he (chiefly southern, south midlands, and East Anglian), Middle English hee (southern and south midlands), Middle English hey (south-western); English regional 1600s 1800s– he (south-western and south-west midlands in later use). a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 159 Lusteð nu wich maiden..and hwat he hatte, and hware he was fet.a1225 ( Ælfric's Homily De Duodecim Abusivis (Lamb. 487) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 103 Þa oðer sunne [is] forliger..þet is ihaten fornicatio; he buleð þene mon.c1300 St. Michael (Harl.) in T. Wright Pop. Treat. Sci. (1841) 136 The sonne..sent a-doun hire hete..and of fersch water he draweth up the breth.1376 in L. Morsbach Mittelengl. Originalurkunden (1923) 2 Margerie..witnysseth..þat he wol do..þat a triwe womman auste for to do.a1400 in F. J. Furnivall Polit., Relig., & Love Poems (1903) 256 Hey Endetz shameliche: Hey Draweþ dredfulliche.c1425 (?a1400) Arthur (Longleat 55) l. 584 Ther-for he dude on a Russet cote..And made heore self þo a Nonne.a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) l. 4476 Thongede hurre heyȝelyche of hurre blessede grace, Þat hee had delyueryd hym.a1500 Sir Degrevant (Cambr.) (1949) l. 1758 Gode schylde, syr, þat he be slon; We hade neuer chyl but hyr on.1673 J. Ray N. Countrey Words in Coll. Eng. Words 26 Hoo, he, in the Northwest parts of England most frequently used for she.1855 C. E. Wilson Somersetshire Dialogues 10 He be their mother.1868 S. Lysons Vulgar Tongue 46 ‘And ow does the twoad of a wife do?’ ‘Oh, he lees a bed loik a leady.’1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. at He He is used in speaking of a cow or a woman, but not of..such things as are not individual, but in the mass.1994 C. Upton et al. Surv. Eng. Dial.: Dict. & Gram. 487/1 [Worcestershire, unstressed] he.

ζ. early Middle English ge (East Anglian), early Middle English gge (East Anglian), early Middle English ghe (East Anglian), early Middle English ȝie (Essex), Middle English ȝe (chiefly Essex and south-western), Middle English ȝhe (southern and East Anglian), Middle English ye (East Anglian), Middle English yhe (East Anglian). a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 123 An oðer eadi mihte his ȝehaten mundicia, þat is, clannesse..; Ne mai ȝie iðolien none unclannesse on godes temple.c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Otho) (1963) 575 Diane ȝe was hi-hote.a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2626 Ghe kepte it wel in fostre wune, Ghe knew it for hire owen sune.c1325 in R. H. Robbins Secular Lyrics 14th & 15th Cent. (1952) 147 Yhe is fayr, and flur of alle.c1330 (c1250) Floris & Blauncheflur (Auch.) (1966) l. 572 Ȝhe saide anonriȝt, ‘Ȝhe haþ [MS had] iwaked al þis niȝt..& irad vpon hire boke.’?c1335 in W. Heuser Kildare-Gedichte (1904) 111 For to wep ȝe [emended to ȝo in ed.] nad no mo bot iiii bitter teris of blode.a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 1985 Boldli wiþ milde mod ȝhe buskes of hire chaumber.a1450 Prose Versions New Test. (Corpus Cambr.) Rom. vii. 2 A woman þat is vnder here housebonde whyles þat here housbonde lyueþ, ȝe is bounde to þe lawe.a1500 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Douce) 998 My fader was a noble baroune And my moder a lady fre..ȝhe dude neuere no lechery.

η. chiefly west midlands and south-western early Middle English þoe (see note below), Middle English ho, Middle English hoe, Middle English hoo, Middle English hu, Middle English hue, Middle English huȝe, 1600s whoo; English regional 1600s– hoo (chiefly north-western and north-west midlands), 1700s ho (Worcestershire), 1700s– ou (Gloucestershire), 1800s hu (Lancashire), 1800s– how (Derbyshire), 1800s– oo (Cheshire), 1900s– oh (Derbyshire). a1225 MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 77 Þe sunne streonþ þe lome þet ho spret in to al þis wide worlde.a1275 (?c1200) Prov. Alfred (Trin. Cambr.) (1955) 116 Þanne hue bed iwrarþed [read iwraþed] mid wordes oþer mid dedes, wimmon weped for mod, ofter þanne for eni god.?a1300 Dame Sirith 341 in G. H. McKnight Middle Eng. Humorous Tales (1913) 16 Hoe heuede a curteis hossebonde.c1300 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 77 Þoe [emended to hoe in ed.] sei hire child bitiden swics pine and deien gelteles.a1350 (c1307) in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 22 Ich bi-queþe myn herte aryht..Ouer þe see þat hue be diht.c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. ii. l. 10 Ich was aferd of hure face, thauh hue faire were.c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 1001 Þe olde auncian wyf heȝest ho sytteȝ.a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) 1506 In yche werk þat hoe wrouȝt.c1450 (c1350) Alexander & Dindimus (Bodl.) (1929) l. 562 Hure was lecherie luf þe while hue livede alse.a1500 Sir Degrevant (Cambr.) (1949) l. 702 Naþeles hoo [c1440 Thornton scho] was wel paid.c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 43 All in sikyng & sorow..Ho brast out with a birre, from hir bale hert.c1600 (c1350) Alisaunder (Greaves) (1929) l. 191 Hupes had hue faire..Hur þies all þorououte þristliche ischape.c1600 (?c1395) Pierce Ploughman's Crede (Trin. Cambr. R.3.15) (1873) l. 411 An houswife þat haþ vs bequeþen Ten pounde..Ho draweþ to þe deþe-warde, but ȝet I am in drede Lest ho turne her testament.1673 J. Ray N. Countrey Words in Coll. Eng. Words 26 Hoo, he, in the Northwest parts of England most frequently used for she.1688 T. Shadwell Squire of Alsatia iii. i. 40 Whoo kisses daintily; And whoo has a Breath like a Caw.1787 F. Grose Provinc. Gloss. Hoo. He; but in the north-west parts of England most frequently used for she.1789 W. Marshall Rural Econ. Glocestershire I. 324 ‘Ou wull’ expresses either he will, she will or it will.c1815 Lancash. Ballads & Songs 169 Hoo says hoo can tell when hoo's hurt.1870 J. B. Robinson Owd Sammy Twitcher's Visit 9 Molly sed how didna keer.1884 R. Holland Gloss. Words County of Chester (1886) 56 Ahr parson's missis is a stingy un; oo nobbur gen me afe a cantle o' soup.1901 D. Lawton in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1902) III. 220/2 [West Yorkshire] Hoo is a bonnie lass.1963 H. Orton & W. J. Halliday Surv. Eng. Dial. I. iii. 1058 We could say: We were late, weren't we? You could say of [her]: [she] was late,..? [Lancashire] Wasn't hoo?1971 H. Orton & M. V. Barry Surv. Eng. Dial. II. iii. 1039 To find out whether [she] had a [husband], you'd ask me:..married? [Cheshire] Is..hoo?

θ. Middle English a (chiefly south-western and south-west midlands), Middle English ha (chiefly west midlands); English regional 1700s– ha (south-western), 1800s– a (chiefly south-western and west midlands), 1800s– u (south-western), 1900s– ah (Lincolnshire). c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (Royal) (1981) 62 Þus hwil ha [a1250 Titus a] wiste hire, & þohte aa to witen hire meiden imeiðhad.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) 14084 Þa quene ich wulle..al mid horsen to-draȝe, For ne beo ich nauere bliðe, þa wile a beoð aliue.c1300 (c1250) Floris & Blauncheflur (Cambr.) (1966) l. 129 In Babilloine, oþer wher a beo, Þat he miȝte hire iseo.a1325 (?c1300) Northern Passion (Cambr. Gg.1.1) 103 Of Iesu ha wolde merci haue, Ho cneled doun hir bote to craue.c1400 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Tiber.) f. 29^v He ran home to uore & prayede hys wyf þat hue wolde helpe for to saue hym,..bote a dude þe contrary.c1450 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Rawl.) (1869) B. xi. l. 241 A was a puir..mayden.1746 Exmoor Scolding in Gentleman's Mag. July 354/1 Ha bed tha zet down.1851 T. Sternberg Dial. & Folk-lore Northants. 1 A, this pronoun, which has the sound of the inarticulate a, is used for he, she, and sometimes it.a1873 F. Madden in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1898) I. 2/2 A wanted me to go with her.1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. Ha, he, she, it... Thy missus is bad again idn ha?1974 W. Leeds Herefordshire Speech 45 Ă, Er, he, she, it. Ă or Er do say.

2. Combined (sometimes in contracted form) with a preceding or following word (usually a verb). a. Proclitic or with enclitic verb or pronoun early Middle English ȝe-, early Middle English ȝho- ( Ormulum), Middle English i-; English regional 1800s hoo- (Lancashire), 1800s how- (Derbyshire), 1800s– a-, 1800s– oo- (Cheshire). c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 3420 Marȝe toc All þatt ȝho sahh. & herrde. & all ȝhot held inn hire þohht.a1300 (c1275) Physiologus (1991) 170 Ðe corn ðat ȝe to caue bereð, al ȝet bit otwinne.1861 E. Waugh Rambles Lake Country 3 Hoo'd had to nurse the poor thing.1865 J. Sleigh Attempt at Derbyshire Gloss. at Firk How's a rare firk.1882 T. Hardy Two on Tower (1895) 124 A's gettin wambling on her pins.1887 T. Darlington Folk-speech S. Cheshire 77 Hoo wunna help yǒ, that oo'll nur. b. Enclitic early Middle English -a. ?a1300 Iacob & Iosep (Bodl.) (1916) 334 Þe moder swor swiþe þat bred nadda non.

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.

Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian hiu , hio ; on the further etymology see discussion at he pron., n.¹, and adj. The other West Germanic languages and Gothic show forms developed from a different stem, *si- (in some cases with inflection identical to that shown by the Old English and Old Frisian forms): Old Dutch siu , sie , sia (Middle Dutch si , sie , Dutch zij ), Old Saxon siu , sia (Middle Low German sē ), Old High German siu , sī , si (Middle High German siu , sī , si , sie , German sie ), Gothic si . Compare also Old Frisian (unstressed) se (West Frisian se ), also (probably < Dutch) West Frisian sy . On the process of later replacement in English by she , and on the origin of that form, see discussion at she pron.¹, n., and adj.Early form history. The stem vowel in the Old English and Old Frisian forms apparently arose by contraction of the vowel or glide of the pronominal base with u of the inflectional ending of the feminine nominative singular. In West Saxon, the regular reflex of this is hēo , although earlier hīo is frequently attested in some early West Saxon sources. Form and function in Old English. The distinction between the nominative and the accusative feminine singular (which is hīe , hī : see hi pron.¹) is usually maintained in West Saxon, but there is some evidence for a merger of the nominative and accusative feminine singular forms already in Old English. The nominative and accusative plural (see hi pron.²) would have provided a model for such a merger, since the plural shows two inherited form types which occur in both the nominative and accusative cases and which are homophonous, respectively, with hēo hoo pron. and its variants, and with hī hi pron.¹ and its variants; see discussion at hi pron.² This tendency to merge the case forms is apparently early: in the Vespasian Psalter early Mercian nominative singular feminine hīe (see quot. eOE¹ at Forms 1β) is identical in form with accusative singular hīe hi pron.¹ In later Old English sources the result of such an analogical merger of the case forms can be difficult to distinguish from the effects of phonological changes affecting the inherited diphthong in hīo . Forms with unrounded second element of the earlier diphthong hīo develop regularly in Kentish (compare early Kentish hīa : see quot. eOE² at Forms 1β). It seems probable that low stress also caused reduction of the diphthong or its second element in other dialects, and that occasional forms such as hīa , hīæ , hīe reflect this (compare quot. OE¹ at Forms 1β). In Northumbrian, however, nominative singular feminine hīu , hīo appears still for the most part to be distinguished in writing from accusative singular hīa , and to some extent the case forms are also distinguished in the later Mercian Rushworth Gospels. The occasional spelling hieo (which is also found for hi pron.²: see Forms 1β at that entry) perhaps merely reflects hesitation between hīo and hēo and also hīe . For an alternative interpretation connecting the spelling with the later Middle English development of forms with initial palatal semivowel (compare Forms 1δ) see W. G. Cooke in Eng. Lang. Notes 24 (1987) 1–6. For further discussion of the Old English forms see R. M. Hogg Gram. Old Eng. (1992) I. §§146–7, R. M. Hogg & R. D. Fulk Gram. Old Eng. (2011) II. §5.17.(2)–(3), and also A. S. C. Ross in Leeds Stud. in Eng. 4 (1935) 14–23. Form and function in Middle English. In Middle English there is some evidence for levelling of nominative forms to both nominative and accusative (see especially ζ. forms at hi pron.¹). Middle English (south-eastern) hī and other forms at Forms 1γ chiefly show the regular reflex of Old English (Kentish) hīo in which word-final īo is monophthongized to ī (compare R. Jordan Handb. der mittelenglischen Grammatik (ed. 2, 1934) §85). The Middle English forms in general show monophthongization of the inherited diphthong. The expected phonological development is unrounding to hē in the east midlands and the north, thereby becoming homophonous with he pron. (compare Forms 1ζ), and retention of rounding in the west midlands (compare forms such as hoe , hue at Forms 1η). Other Middle English form types reflect differing developments of this diphthong. The early Middle English forms þie at Forms 1β and þoe at Forms 1η are from a manuscript (Arundel 248) in which þ is not infrequently written for h . Use with reference to a male person. Occasional examples in late Old English and Middle English which appear to show the pronoun used with reference to a male person (see quots. below) should probably be interpreted as inverted spellings of heo (or ho ) for he he pron., probably arising from the fact that the vowels of the two pronouns were not always clearly distinguishable (especially in low stress: compare the Middle English forms he, e at Forms 1ζ, and ha, a at Forms1θ, all of which also occur as forms of he pron.); although in some instances the examples may simply show transmission errors (almost certainly so in quot. lOE¹ from a source known for its erratic spelling). Compare:lOE Salisbury Psalter: Canticles viii. 54 Suscepit Israhel puerum suum, recordatus misericordiæ suæ : ho [read he] onfeng cnapan his geþancol mildheortnesse his.lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough interpolation) anno 686 Þa wæs abbot on þære minstre Egbalth wæs gehaten; heo wæs se þridde abbot æfter Saxulfe.a1225 ( Ælfric's Homily De Initio Creaturae (Vesp. A.xxii) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 225 Heo [OE Royal he] and his wif þa bearn ȝestriende.a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 81 Half quic ho [sc. Adam] wes, þa þe he sarinesse heuede wið-innen him.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) 1310 Al his cun he wurðede;..þat lond heo lette tilien, him tuwen hired-men to.c1330 Otuel (Auch.) (1882) 1097 Oliuer ho slouȝ a noþer.c1390 (?c1350) Joseph of Arimathie (1871) 97 Þorwȝ þe grace of himself, gete him heo [sc. Herod] ne miȝt.a1400 (?a1325) Medit. on Supper of our Lord (Harl.) (1875) l. 573 Þey hye hym, and ho goþ withoutyn any stryfe.a1500 Gospel of Nicodemus (Harl. 149) f. 258^v Ho that trespasseth agenst god schal be stoned to the dethe.a1525 Eng. Conquest Ireland (Trin. Dublin) (1896) 74 He name to hym seuyn knyghtes of hys owne kyn, than that ho [a1500 Rawl. he] moost truste to har stalwardnesse.In later regional use (chiefly in the west midlands and the south west) the phonological convergence of the forms cited above probably contributed to the more generalized use of forms of hoo pron. (chiefly in low-stress positions) with reference to both male and female persons and the development of a common-gender (unemphatic or interrogative) pronoun (see sense A. 2b, and compare her pron.² 5b(b), he pron. 2c). It should be noted that there is no overall breakdown of gender distinctions in pronouns in these varieties; such forms coexist (within a complex pronominal system) alongside fully stressed and emphatic forms which retain gender marking.

Now English regional (chiefly west midlands and south-western).

A. pron. The subjective case of the feminine third person singular pronoun.

1. The female person or animal previously mentioned or implied or easily identified; = she pron.¹ 1.

ΚΠ

eOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Parker) anno 718 Hio [sc. Cuðburh] wæs forgifen Norþanhymbra cyninge Aldferþe.

OE (Mercian) Rushw. Gospels: Matt. xv. 23 Dimitte eam quia clamat post nos : forlet hiæ forþon þe hiæ cægeþ æfter us.

OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) i. 11 Heo [sc. Mary] is gebletsod ofer eallum wifhades mannum. Heo is seo heofenlice cwen, and ealra cristenra manna frofer and fultum.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 129 Forr ȝho wass swa bifundenn wif Þatt ȝho ne mihhte tæmenn.

?c1335 in W. Heuser Kildare-Gedichte (1904) 111 For to wep ȝe [emended to ȝo in ed.] nad no mo bot iiii bitter teris of blode.

c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. ii. 44 ‘Go to þe gospel,’ quaþ hue.

a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) l. 4476 Thongede hurre heyȝelyche of hurre blessede grace, Þat hee had delyueryd hym.

c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 129^v Andromaca for drede of her drem felle Miche water ho weppit and wackont the prince.

c1600 (?c1395) Pierce Ploughman's Crede (Trin. Cambr. R.3.15) (1873) 415 Godys forbode..but ho forþ passe Wil ho is in purpose wiþ vs to departen; God let her no lenger lyven.

1688 T. Shadwell Squire of Alsatia iii. i. 40 Whoo kisses daintily; And whoo has a Breath like a Caw.

1746 Exmoor Scolding in Gentleman's Mag. July 354/1 Ha bed tha zet down.

?1746 ‘T. Bobbin’ View Lancs. Dial. 4 Hoo [sc. a mare] whinnit saw when hoo saigh it.

a1819 J. Curry in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1898) I. 2/2 A wanted me to go with her.

1855 E. C. Gaskell North & South I. xi. 137 But hoo's come at last,—and hoo's welcome, as long as hoo'll keep from preaching on what hoo knows nought about.

1882 T. Hardy Two on Tower II. ii. 23 For 'a 's getting wambling on her pins.

1908 R. M. Gilchrist Good-bye to Market 101 Hoo's a high-spirited ooman..an' I'm afeared as hoo'll wear yo' aat.

1946 R. Knappett Pullet on Midden v. 35 Yon's 'is daughter wot bikes it every day past thy 'ouse; oo works i' Black's shop.

1977 R. Scollins & J. Titford Ey up, mi Duck! III. 48 Oh made a raight poppy shoo o'r'ersen, she made a real fool of herself.

†a. The thing personified or conventionally treated as female or (in early use) the thing grammatically feminine, previously mentioned or implied or easily identified. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

OE Wanderer 96 Hu seo þrag gewat, genap under nihthelm, swa heo no wære.

OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xii. 276 Swa is þeos woruld: hwiltidon heo is gesundful, & myrige on to wunienne, hwilon heo is eac swiðe styrnlic, & mid mislicum þingum gemenged, swa þæt heo foroft bið swiðe unwynsum on to eardigeanne.

a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 99 Ȝif ðu mihtest biȝeten prudentiam..hie ðe ware swiðe beheue..Heo is wis and ȝeap aȝean alle ðohtes.

a1225 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Egerton) 334 in J. Zupitza & J. Schipper Alt- u. Mitteleng. Übungsbuch (1904) 90 Ute we us bi werien wið ðises wrecches woreldes luue, þet he [a1200 Trin. Cambr. hit, a1225 Digby hi, a1300 Jesus Oxf. heo, a1300 McClean hie] maȝe us derien.

c1300 St. Thomas Becket (Laud) l. 1377 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 145 (MED) Þe sonne þat was erore so cler, deork heo is bi-come.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 28 Þis zenne is zuo perilous..Vor þet hi ys contrarious to þe holy goste.

c1400 (?c1380) Patience l. 4 Suffraunce may..þe swelme leþe, For ho quelles vche a qued.

a1450 (?a1390) J. Mirk Instr. Parish Priests (Claud.) (1974) l. 1766 Loke þat þy candel of wax hyt be..And loke algate ho brenne clere. Wayte þat ho brenne in alle wyse.

a1500 (c1400) St. Erkenwald (1977) l. 274 Ȝea, bot sayes þou of þi saule..Quere is ho stablid and stadde?

b. English regional (chiefly west midlands and south-western). Used with reference to a male person or animal (= he pron. 1), or generally as a common-gender pronoun.

ΚΠ

1787 F. Grose Provinc. Gloss. Hoo. He; but in the north-west parts of England most frequently used for she.

1789 W. Marshall Rural Econ. Glocestershire I. 324 An extra pronoun is here in use;—ou: a pronoun of the singular number;..being applied either in a masculine, a feminine, or a neuter sense. Thus ‘ou wull’ expresses either he will, she will or it will.

1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) Hoo, He or she. This word is seldom used except on the borders of Lancashire.

1851 T. Sternberg Dial. & Folk-lore Northants. 1 A, this pronoun, which has the sound of the inarticulate a, is used for he, she, and sometimes it.

1876 F.H. Burnett in Century Sept. 627/2 What th' owd lad dunnot know is na worth knowin'. Eh! hoo's a graidely foo', that hoo is.

1879 F. T. Elworthy Gram. Dial. W. Somerset in Trans. Philol. Soc. 17 177 In the 3rd person..ee [= he] and ur [= she] are both sometimes contracted into u.

1882 E. L. Chamberlain Gloss. W. Worcs. Words 1 ‘W'ahr bin a?’, ‘Thar a comes,’ may mean either where is he, she, or it?

1885 Househ. Words in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1902) III. 221/1 [North-east Gloucestershire] ‘I axed thee wheer he wur.’ ‘An' I towld thee ou hadn't come in.’

1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. A,..2. pron. He. Often written a and ha... 3. pron. She..[Hur núv·ur kaan dùe ut, kan u?], she never cannot do it, can she (he)?.. 4. pron. It. Commonly applied to inanimate objects.

1891 R. P. Chope Dial. Hartland, Devonshire Ha,..he, she, it.

1974 W. Leeds Herefordshire Speech 45 Ă, Er, he, she, it. Ă or Er do say.

†B. n.

Opposed to he: = she n. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > sex and gender > female > [noun]

hooOE

femalea1393

shea1400

OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Mark x. 6 Masculum et feminam fecit eos deus : woepenmon uel hee & hiuu uel wifmon worhte hia god.

OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 19 Hic coruus ðes hremn, swa hwæðer swa hit byð, swa he, swa heo.

OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 18 Ælc nyten byð oððe he oððe heo.

a1450 (?a1390) J. Mirk Instr. Parish Priests (Claud.) (1974) l. 1407 Þow moste þys mynne..Wheþer hyt be heo or he, ȝonge or olde, bonde or fre.

c1475 (c1399) Mum & Sothsegger (Cambr. Ll.4.14) (1936) iii. 50 Anoþer proud partriche..houeth þe eyren þat þe hue laide..And with hir corps keuereth hem.

Compounds

† = she pron.¹, n., and adj. Compounds 1. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1961) Lev. v. 6 Offre he of þe flookis anheolomb or anheogoot [a1425 Corpus Oxf. an shee lombe, or a shee geyt; a1425 L.V. a femal lomb, ethir a goet; L. agnam sive capram].

c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 337 (MED) Ay þou meng wyth þe malez þe mete ho-bestez.

a1500 (?a1390) J. Mirk Festial (Gough) (1905) 210 A qwene þat was callytte Lupa, þat ys yn Englysch, an hoo-wolfe.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2013; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	hoo
释义	hoopron.n. Brit. /huː/, U.S. /hu/ Forms: 1. α. Old English hæo (rare), Old English hiu (Anglian), Old English hiuu (Northumbrian, rare), Old English (early Middle English East Anglian) hio, Old English (Middle English chiefly west midlands and south-western) heo, Old English (rare)–early Middle English hieo, Old English (rare)–early Middle English hyo. eOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Parker) anno 718 Hio wæs forgifen Norþanhymbra cyninge Aldferþe.OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Matt. xv. 27 Illa dixit : hiu [OE Rushw. hiu, OE West Saxon Gospels: Corpus Cambr. heo, c1200 Hatton hyo] cueð.OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Mark x. 6 Masculum et feminam fecit eos deus : woepenmon uel hee & hiuu uel wifmon worhte hia god.c1200 Serm. in Eng. & Germanic Stud. (1961) 7 62 Heo of þet frut et and makede þet hire make þer of forto etene.c1275 ( Will of Ketel (Sawyer 1519) in D. Whitelock Anglo-Saxon Wills (1930) 90 Gif ic libbe leng þanne hio [sc. my sister], þanne schal ic habben þat lond at Prestone.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 93 He wes king & heo quen.c1390 King of Tars (Vernon) l. 77 in Englische Studien (1889) 11 65 To god heo made hire preyers.a1425 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 1900) (1879) VII. 517 Elgiva myȝt conceyve no childe by the kyng and therfore heo toke that Suanus..and leyde hir silf doun as it were a child bedde and child by hir.a1450 (?a1390) J. Mirk Instr. Parish Priests (Claud.) (1974) l. 396 Þenne schale þe husbonde..Teche & preche so hys wyue, That heo a-vow no maner þynge.?a1500 in J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words (1852) 839 Withynne the castell is whyte shynyng As is the swan when heo is swymbyng. β. Old English hia (chiefly Kentish), Old English hiæ (Mercian, rare), Old English hige (rare), Old English (early Middle English chiefly Essex and East Anglian) hie, early Middle English þie (see note below), Middle English hye (south-eastern). eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) lxxxv. 11 Laetetur cor meum ut timeat nomen tuum : blissie heorte min ðæt hie ondrede noman ðinne.eOE (Kentish) Charter: Eadweald & Cyneðryð (Sawyer 1200) in F. E. Harmer Sel. Eng. Hist. Docs. 9th & 10th Cent. (1914) 10 Ac hia hit atuge yfter hira dege swe hit him boem rehtlicast & elmestlicast were.OE (Mercian) Rushw. Gospels: Matt. xv. 23 Dimitte eam quia clamat post nos : forlet hiæ forþon þe hiæ cægeþ æfter us.OE Beowulf (2008) 2019 Oft hio beahwriðan secge [sealde], ær hie to setle geong.OE Genesis B 822 Ða spræc Eue eft, idesa scienost, wifa wlitegost; hie wæs geweorc godes.a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 161 Hie is þe heuenliches kinges dohter.a1275 (?c1200) Prov. Alfred (Trin. Cambr.) (1955) 110 Ȝif he for-swunken swoti wuere, swo hie ne þochte.c1275 Kentish Serm. in J. Hall Select. Early Middle Eng. (1920) I. 217 Hye spac to þo Serganz þet seruede of þo wyne.c1300 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 75 Wan þe maiden understud and þangles wordes þerde [emended to herde in ed.], mildeliche with milde mud to þangle þie [emended to hie in ed.] andswerde.c1330 Lai le Freine in Smith Coll. Stud. Mod. Langs. (1929) 10 iii. 4 Þat hye nil, no hye ne schal.c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham Poems (1902) 111 Þe fyfte senne hys sleuþe.., Hye brekeþ gode treuþe Wyþ god and man also. γ. Old English (Middle English chiefly south-eastern) hi, early Middle English hiȝ, Middle English hii (south-east midlands), Middle English hij (south-east midlands), Middle English hy (chiefly south-eastern). eOE (Kentish) Glosses to Proverbs of Solomon (Vesp. D.vi) in U. Kalbhen Kentische Glossen (2003) 117 [Sapientia] clamitat : hi clepað.OE Cynewulf Crist II 559 Hafað nu se halga helle bireafod ealles þæs gafoles þe hi geardagum in þæt orlege unryhte swealg.lOE St. Margaret (Corpus Cambr.) (1994) 154 Þa seo eadiga Margareta þis eall geherde and geseah, hi hi þæs þe swiðor to Gode gebæd.a1225 ( Ælfric's Homily De Initio Creaturae (Vesp. A.xxii) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 223 Hi is ælra libbinde moder.c1330 Sir Degare (Auch.) l. 48 in W. H. French & C. B. Hale Middle Eng. Metrical Romances (1930) 289 His doughter also bi him rod; Amidde þe forest hii abod.1340 Ayenbite (1866) 26 Þeruore is hy doȝter of prede.c1400 Life St. Alexius (Trin. Oxf.) (1878) l. 515 Ope þe lich hy [a1425 Laud 463 she] lay wel longe, Hire ne myȝte noman werne.c1450 (?a1400) T. Chestre Sir Launfal (1930) l. 352 Sche badde hym aryse anoon; Hy seyde to hym, ‘Syr gantyl Knyȝt’. δ. early Middle English yio (Irish English), early Middle English yo (north-east midlands), Middle English ȝeo (south-western), Middle English ȝheo (south-western and south-west midlands), Middle English ȝho, Middle English ȝo (chiefly south-western and south-west midlands), Middle English ȝoe (south-western). c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 2037 Þe laffdiȝ marȝe ȝho barr child Wiþþ utenn weddedd macche.c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Otho) (1963) l. 577 Ȝeo [c1275 Calig. heo] was cwene of alle wodes.a1325 (?a1300) in G. H. McKnight Middle Eng. Humorous Tales (1913) 22 Yo hat mayden malkyn.a1325 (?c1300) Northern Passion (Cambr. Gg.1.1) l. 101 In holiwrit of hir men rede Þat yio had don a sinfol dede.?c1335 in W. Heuser Kildare-Gedichte (1904) 111 Al hir ioi was ago, Þo ȝo him sei dei in rode;..deil..Neuer such nas þer none..As ȝho makid and seint Ion.a1400 Siege Jerusalem (Laud) (1932) l. 162 Þat worliche wif..Veronyk ȝo hatte.a1400 W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 656) (1873) C. ii. 44 Ȝo [c1400 Huntington HM 137 ‘Go to þe gospel’ quaþ hue; a1400 Corpus Cambr. sche, c1400 Cambr. Dd.3.13 heo, a1425 Cambr. Ff.5.35 scheo].c1425 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Harl.) 435 Ȝoe was worþy to be ycluped Mold þe god quene Vor al þe godenesse þat ȝoe dude her to Engelond. ε. Middle English e (Essex), Middle English he (chiefly southern, south midlands, and East Anglian), Middle English hee (southern and south midlands), Middle English hey (south-western); English regional 1600s 1800s– he (south-western and south-west midlands in later use). a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 159 Lusteð nu wich maiden..and hwat he hatte, and hware he was fet.a1225 ( Ælfric's Homily De Duodecim Abusivis (Lamb. 487) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 103 Þa oðer sunne [is] forliger..þet is ihaten fornicatio; he buleð þene mon.c1300 St. Michael (Harl.) in T. Wright Pop. Treat. Sci. (1841) 136 The sonne..sent a-doun hire hete..and of fersch water he draweth up the breth.1376 in L. Morsbach Mittelengl. Originalurkunden (1923) 2 Margerie..witnysseth..þat he wol do..þat a triwe womman auste for to do.a1400 in F. J. Furnivall Polit., Relig., & Love Poems (1903) 256 Hey Endetz shameliche: Hey Draweþ dredfulliche.c1425 (?a1400) Arthur (Longleat 55) l. 584 Ther-for he dude on a Russet cote..And made heore self þo a Nonne.a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) l. 4476 Thongede hurre heyȝelyche of hurre blessede grace, Þat hee had delyueryd hym.a1500 Sir Degrevant (Cambr.) (1949) l. 1758 Gode schylde, syr, þat he be slon; We hade neuer chyl but hyr on.1673 J. Ray N. Countrey Words in Coll. Eng. Words 26 Hoo, he, in the Northwest parts of England most frequently used for she.1855 C. E. Wilson Somersetshire Dialogues 10 He be their mother.1868 S. Lysons Vulgar Tongue 46 ‘And ow does the twoad of a wife do?’ ‘Oh, he lees a bed loik a leady.’1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. at He He is used in speaking of a cow or a woman, but not of..such things as are not individual, but in the mass.1994 C. Upton et al. Surv. Eng. Dial.: Dict. & Gram. 487/1 [Worcestershire, unstressed] he. ζ. early Middle English ge (East Anglian), early Middle English gge (East Anglian), early Middle English ghe (East Anglian), early Middle English ȝie (Essex), Middle English ȝe (chiefly Essex and south-western), Middle English ȝhe (southern and East Anglian), Middle English ye (East Anglian), Middle English yhe (East Anglian). a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 123 An oðer eadi mihte his ȝehaten mundicia, þat is, clannesse..; Ne mai ȝie iðolien none unclannesse on godes temple.c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Otho) (1963) 575 Diane ȝe was hi-hote.a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2626 Ghe kepte it wel in fostre wune, Ghe knew it for hire owen sune.c1325 in R. H. Robbins Secular Lyrics 14th & 15th Cent. (1952) 147 Yhe is fayr, and flur of alle.c1330 (c1250) Floris & Blauncheflur (Auch.) (1966) l. 572 Ȝhe saide anonriȝt, ‘Ȝhe haþ [MS had] iwaked al þis niȝt..& irad vpon hire boke.’?c1335 in W. Heuser Kildare-Gedichte (1904) 111 For to wep ȝe [emended to ȝo in ed.] nad no mo bot iiii bitter teris of blode.a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 1985 Boldli wiþ milde mod ȝhe buskes of hire chaumber.a1450 Prose Versions New Test. (Corpus Cambr.) Rom. vii. 2 A woman þat is vnder here housebonde whyles þat here housbonde lyueþ, ȝe is bounde to þe lawe.a1500 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Douce) 998 My fader was a noble baroune And my moder a lady fre..ȝhe dude neuere no lechery. η. chiefly west midlands and south-western early Middle English þoe (see note below), Middle English ho, Middle English hoe, Middle English hoo, Middle English hu, Middle English hue, Middle English huȝe, 1600s whoo; English regional 1600s– hoo (chiefly north-western and north-west midlands), 1700s ho (Worcestershire), 1700s– ou (Gloucestershire), 1800s hu (Lancashire), 1800s– how (Derbyshire), 1800s– oo (Cheshire), 1900s– oh (Derbyshire). a1225 MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 77 Þe sunne streonþ þe lome þet ho spret in to al þis wide worlde.a1275 (?c1200) Prov. Alfred (Trin. Cambr.) (1955) 116 Þanne hue bed iwrarþed [read iwraþed] mid wordes oþer mid dedes, wimmon weped for mod, ofter þanne for eni god.?a1300 Dame Sirith 341 in G. H. McKnight Middle Eng. Humorous Tales (1913) 16 Hoe heuede a curteis hossebonde.c1300 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 77 Þoe [emended to hoe in ed.] sei hire child bitiden swics pine and deien gelteles.a1350 (c1307) in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 22 Ich bi-queþe myn herte aryht..Ouer þe see þat hue be diht.c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. ii. l. 10 Ich was aferd of hure face, thauh hue faire were.c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 1001 Þe olde auncian wyf heȝest ho sytteȝ.a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) 1506 In yche werk þat hoe wrouȝt.c1450 (c1350) Alexander & Dindimus (Bodl.) (1929) l. 562 Hure was lecherie luf þe while hue livede alse.a1500 Sir Degrevant (Cambr.) (1949) l. 702 Naþeles hoo [c1440 Thornton scho] was wel paid.c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 43 All in sikyng & sorow..Ho brast out with a birre, from hir bale hert.c1600 (c1350) Alisaunder (Greaves) (1929) l. 191 Hupes had hue faire..Hur þies all þorououte þristliche ischape.c1600 (?c1395) Pierce Ploughman's Crede (Trin. Cambr. R.3.15) (1873) l. 411 An houswife þat haþ vs bequeþen Ten pounde..Ho draweþ to þe deþe-warde, but ȝet I am in drede Lest ho turne her testament.1673 J. Ray N. Countrey Words in Coll. Eng. Words 26 Hoo, he, in the Northwest parts of England most frequently used for she.1688 T. Shadwell Squire of Alsatia iii. i. 40 Whoo kisses daintily; And whoo has a Breath like a Caw.1787 F. Grose Provinc. Gloss. Hoo. He; but in the north-west parts of England most frequently used for she.1789 W. Marshall Rural Econ. Glocestershire I. 324 ‘Ou wull’ expresses either he will, she will or it will.c1815 Lancash. Ballads & Songs 169 Hoo says hoo can tell when hoo's hurt.1870 J. B. Robinson Owd Sammy Twitcher's Visit 9 Molly sed how didna keer.1884 R. Holland Gloss. Words County of Chester (1886) 56 Ahr parson's missis is a stingy un; oo nobbur gen me afe a cantle o' soup.1901 D. Lawton in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1902) III. 220/2 [West Yorkshire] Hoo is a bonnie lass.1963 H. Orton & W. J. Halliday Surv. Eng. Dial. I. iii. 1058 We could say: We were late, weren't we? You could say of [her]: [she] was late,..? [Lancashire] Wasn't hoo?1971 H. Orton & M. V. Barry Surv. Eng. Dial. II. iii. 1039 To find out whether [she] had a [husband], you'd ask me:..married? [Cheshire] Is..hoo? θ. Middle English a (chiefly south-western and south-west midlands), Middle English ha (chiefly west midlands); English regional 1700s– ha (south-western), 1800s– a (chiefly south-western and west midlands), 1800s– u (south-western), 1900s– ah (Lincolnshire). c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (Royal) (1981) 62 Þus hwil ha [a1250 Titus a] wiste hire, & þohte aa to witen hire meiden imeiðhad.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) 14084 Þa quene ich wulle..al mid horsen to-draȝe, For ne beo ich nauere bliðe, þa wile a beoð aliue.c1300 (c1250) Floris & Blauncheflur (Cambr.) (1966) l. 129 In Babilloine, oþer wher a beo, Þat he miȝte hire iseo.a1325 (?c1300) Northern Passion (Cambr. Gg.1.1) 103 Of Iesu ha wolde merci haue, Ho cneled doun hir bote to craue.c1400 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Tiber.) f. 29^v He ran home to uore & prayede hys wyf þat hue wolde helpe for to saue hym,..bote a dude þe contrary.c1450 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Rawl.) (1869) B. xi. l. 241 A was a puir..mayden.1746 Exmoor Scolding in Gentleman's Mag. July 354/1 Ha bed tha zet down.1851 T. Sternberg Dial. & Folk-lore Northants. 1 A, this pronoun, which has the sound of the inarticulate a, is used for he, she, and sometimes it.a1873 F. Madden in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1898) I. 2/2 A wanted me to go with her.1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. Ha, he, she, it... Thy missus is bad again idn ha?1974 W. Leeds Herefordshire Speech 45 Ă, Er, he, she, it. Ă or Er do say. 2. Combined (sometimes in contracted form) with a preceding or following word (usually a verb). a. Proclitic or with enclitic verb or pronoun early Middle English ȝe-, early Middle English ȝho- ( Ormulum), Middle English i-; English regional 1800s hoo- (Lancashire), 1800s how- (Derbyshire), 1800s– a-, 1800s– oo- (Cheshire). c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 3420 Marȝe toc All þatt ȝho sahh. & herrde. & all ȝhot held inn hire þohht.a1300 (c1275) Physiologus (1991) 170 Ðe corn ðat ȝe to caue bereð, al ȝet bit otwinne.1861 E. Waugh Rambles Lake Country 3 Hoo'd had to nurse the poor thing.1865 J. Sleigh Attempt at Derbyshire Gloss. at Firk How's a rare firk.1882 T. Hardy Two on Tower (1895) 124 A's gettin wambling on her pins.1887 T. Darlington Folk-speech S. Cheshire 77 Hoo wunna help yǒ, that oo'll nur. b. Enclitic early Middle English -a. ?a1300 Iacob & Iosep (Bodl.) (1916) 334 Þe moder swor swiþe þat bred nadda non. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian hiu , hio ; on the further etymology see discussion at he pron., n.¹, and adj. The other West Germanic languages and Gothic show forms developed from a different stem, si- (in some cases with inflection identical to that shown by the Old English and Old Frisian forms): Old Dutch siu* , sie , sia (Middle Dutch si , sie , Dutch zij ), Old Saxon siu , sia (Middle Low German sē ), Old High German siu , sī , si (Middle High German siu , sī , si , sie , German sie ), Gothic si . Compare also Old Frisian (unstressed) se (West Frisian se ), also (probably < Dutch) West Frisian sy . On the process of later replacement in English by she , and on the origin of that form, see discussion at she pron.¹, n., and adj.Early form history. The stem vowel in the Old English and Old Frisian forms apparently arose by contraction of the vowel or glide of the pronominal base with u of the inflectional ending of the feminine nominative singular. In West Saxon, the regular reflex of this is hēo , although earlier hīo is frequently attested in some early West Saxon sources. Form and function in Old English. The distinction between the nominative and the accusative feminine singular (which is hīe , hī : see hi pron.¹) is usually maintained in West Saxon, but there is some evidence for a merger of the nominative and accusative feminine singular forms already in Old English. The nominative and accusative plural (see hi pron.²) would have provided a model for such a merger, since the plural shows two inherited form types which occur in both the nominative and accusative cases and which are homophonous, respectively, with hēo hoo pron. and its variants, and with hī hi pron.¹ and its variants; see discussion at hi pron.² This tendency to merge the case forms is apparently early: in the Vespasian Psalter early Mercian nominative singular feminine hīe (see quot. eOE¹ at Forms 1β) is identical in form with accusative singular hīe hi pron.¹ In later Old English sources the result of such an analogical merger of the case forms can be difficult to distinguish from the effects of phonological changes affecting the inherited diphthong in hīo . Forms with unrounded second element of the earlier diphthong hīo develop regularly in Kentish (compare early Kentish hīa : see quot. eOE² at Forms 1β). It seems probable that low stress also caused reduction of the diphthong or its second element in other dialects, and that occasional forms such as hīa , hīæ , hīe reflect this (compare quot. OE¹ at Forms 1β). In Northumbrian, however, nominative singular feminine hīu , hīo appears still for the most part to be distinguished in writing from accusative singular hīa , and to some extent the case forms are also distinguished in the later Mercian Rushworth Gospels. The occasional spelling hieo (which is also found for hi pron.²: see Forms 1β at that entry) perhaps merely reflects hesitation between hīo and hēo and also hīe . For an alternative interpretation connecting the spelling with the later Middle English development of forms with initial palatal semivowel (compare Forms 1δ) see W. G. Cooke in Eng. Lang. Notes 24 (1987) 1–6. For further discussion of the Old English forms see R. M. Hogg Gram. Old Eng. (1992) I. §§146–7, R. M. Hogg & R. D. Fulk Gram. Old Eng. (2011) II. §5.17.(2)–(3), and also A. S. C. Ross in Leeds Stud. in Eng. 4 (1935) 14–23. Form and function in Middle English. In Middle English there is some evidence for levelling of nominative forms to both nominative and accusative (see especially ζ. forms at hi pron.¹). Middle English (south-eastern) hī and other forms at Forms 1γ chiefly show the regular reflex of Old English (Kentish) hīo in which word-final īo is monophthongized to ī (compare R. Jordan Handb. der mittelenglischen Grammatik (ed. 2, 1934) §85). The Middle English forms in general show monophthongization of the inherited diphthong. The expected phonological development is unrounding to hē in the east midlands and the north, thereby becoming homophonous with he pron. (compare Forms 1ζ), and retention of rounding in the west midlands (compare forms such as hoe , hue at Forms 1η). Other Middle English form types reflect differing developments of this diphthong. The early Middle English forms þie at Forms 1β and þoe at Forms 1η are from a manuscript (Arundel 248) in which þ is not infrequently written for h . Use with reference to a male person. Occasional examples in late Old English and Middle English which appear to show the pronoun used with reference to a male person (see quots. below) should probably be interpreted as inverted spellings of heo (or ho ) for he he pron., probably arising from the fact that the vowels of the two pronouns were not always clearly distinguishable (especially in low stress: compare the Middle English forms he, e at Forms 1ζ, and ha, a at Forms1θ, all of which also occur as forms of he pron.); although in some instances the examples may simply show transmission errors (almost certainly so in quot. lOE¹ from a source known for its erratic spelling). Compare:lOE Salisbury Psalter: Canticles viii. 54 Suscepit Israhel puerum suum, recordatus misericordiæ suæ : ho [read he] onfeng cnapan his geþancol mildheortnesse his.lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough interpolation) anno 686 Þa wæs abbot on þære minstre Egbalth wæs gehaten; heo wæs se þridde abbot æfter Saxulfe.a1225 ( Ælfric's Homily De Initio Creaturae (Vesp. A.xxii) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 225 Heo [OE Royal he] and his wif þa bearn ȝestriende.a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 81 Half quic ho [sc. Adam] wes, þa þe he sarinesse heuede wið-innen him.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) 1310 Al his cun he wurðede;..þat lond heo lette tilien, him tuwen hired-men to.c1330 Otuel (Auch.) (1882) 1097 Oliuer ho slouȝ a noþer.c1390 (?c1350) Joseph of Arimathie (1871) 97 Þorwȝ þe grace of himself, gete him heo [sc. Herod] ne miȝt.a1400 (?a1325) Medit. on Supper of our Lord (Harl.) (1875) l. 573 Þey hye hym, and ho goþ withoutyn any stryfe.a1500 Gospel of Nicodemus (Harl. 149) f. 258^v Ho that trespasseth agenst god schal be stoned to the dethe.a1525 Eng. Conquest Ireland (Trin. Dublin) (1896) 74 He name to hym seuyn knyghtes of hys owne kyn, than that ho [a1500 Rawl. he] moost truste to har stalwardnesse.In later regional use (chiefly in the west midlands and the south west) the phonological convergence of the forms cited above probably contributed to the more generalized use of forms of hoo pron. (chiefly in low-stress positions) with reference to both male and female persons and the development of a common-gender (unemphatic or interrogative) pronoun (see sense A. 2b, and compare her pron.² 5b(b), he pron. 2c). It should be noted that there is no overall breakdown of gender distinctions in pronouns in these varieties; such forms coexist (within a complex pronominal system) alongside fully stressed and emphatic forms which retain gender marking. Now English regional (chiefly west midlands and south-western). A. pron. The subjective case of the feminine third person singular pronoun. 1. The female person or animal previously mentioned or implied or easily identified; = she pron.¹ 1. ΚΠ eOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Parker) anno 718 Hio [sc. Cuðburh] wæs forgifen Norþanhymbra cyninge Aldferþe. OE (Mercian) Rushw. Gospels: Matt. xv. 23 Dimitte eam quia clamat post nos : forlet hiæ forþon þe hiæ cægeþ æfter us. OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) i. 11 Heo [sc. Mary] is gebletsod ofer eallum wifhades mannum. Heo is seo heofenlice cwen, and ealra cristenra manna frofer and fultum. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 129 Forr ȝho wass swa bifundenn wif Þatt ȝho ne mihhte tæmenn. ?c1335 in W. Heuser Kildare-Gedichte (1904) 111 For to wep ȝe [emended to ȝo in ed.] nad no mo bot iiii bitter teris of blode. c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. ii. 44 ‘Go to þe gospel,’ quaþ hue. a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) l. 4476 Thongede hurre heyȝelyche of hurre blessede grace, Þat hee had delyueryd hym. c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 129^v Andromaca for drede of her drem felle Miche water ho weppit and wackont the prince. c1600 (?c1395) Pierce Ploughman's Crede (Trin. Cambr. R.3.15) (1873) 415 Godys forbode..but ho forþ passe Wil ho is in purpose wiþ vs to departen; God let her no lenger lyven. 1688 T. Shadwell Squire of Alsatia iii. i. 40 Whoo kisses daintily; And whoo has a Breath like a Caw. 1746 Exmoor Scolding in Gentleman's Mag. July 354/1 Ha bed tha zet down. ?1746 ‘T. Bobbin’ View Lancs. Dial. 4 Hoo [sc. a mare] whinnit saw when hoo saigh it. a1819 J. Curry in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1898) I. 2/2 A wanted me to go with her. 1855 E. C. Gaskell North & South I. xi. 137 But hoo's come at last,—and hoo's welcome, as long as hoo'll keep from preaching on what hoo knows nought about. 1882 T. Hardy Two on Tower II. ii. 23 For 'a 's getting wambling on her pins. 1908 R. M. Gilchrist Good-bye to Market 101 Hoo's a high-spirited ooman..an' I'm afeared as hoo'll wear yo' aat. 1946 R. Knappett Pullet on Midden v. 35 Yon's 'is daughter wot bikes it every day past thy 'ouse; oo works i' Black's shop. 1977 R. Scollins & J. Titford Ey up, mi Duck! III. 48 Oh made a raight poppy shoo o'r'ersen, she made a real fool of herself. 2. †a. The thing personified or conventionally treated as female or (in early use) the thing grammatically feminine, previously mentioned or implied or easily identified. Obsolete. ΚΠ OE Wanderer 96 Hu seo þrag gewat, genap under nihthelm, swa heo no wære. OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xii. 276 Swa is þeos woruld: hwiltidon heo is gesundful, & myrige on to wunienne, hwilon heo is eac swiðe styrnlic, & mid mislicum þingum gemenged, swa þæt heo foroft bið swiðe unwynsum on to eardigeanne. a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 99 Ȝif ðu mihtest biȝeten prudentiam..hie ðe ware swiðe beheue..Heo is wis and ȝeap aȝean alle ðohtes. a1225 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Egerton) 334 in J. Zupitza & J. Schipper Alt- u. Mitteleng. Übungsbuch (1904) 90 Ute we us bi werien wið ðises wrecches woreldes luue, þet he [a1200 Trin. Cambr. hit, a1225 Digby hi, a1300 Jesus Oxf. heo, a1300 McClean hie] maȝe us derien. c1300 St. Thomas Becket (Laud) l. 1377 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 145 (MED) Þe sonne þat was erore so cler, deork heo is bi-come. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 28 Þis zenne is zuo perilous..Vor þet hi ys contrarious to þe holy goste. c1400 (?c1380) Patience l. 4 Suffraunce may..þe swelme leþe, For ho quelles vche a qued. a1450 (?a1390) J. Mirk Instr. Parish Priests (Claud.) (1974) l. 1766 Loke þat þy candel of wax hyt be..And loke algate ho brenne clere. Wayte þat ho brenne in alle wyse. a1500 (c1400) St. Erkenwald (1977) l. 274 Ȝea, bot sayes þou of þi saule..Quere is ho stablid and stadde? b. English regional (chiefly west midlands and south-western). Used with reference to a male person or animal (= he pron. 1), or generally as a common-gender pronoun. ΚΠ 1787 F. Grose Provinc. Gloss. Hoo. He; but in the north-west parts of England most frequently used for she. 1789 W. Marshall Rural Econ. Glocestershire I. 324 An extra pronoun is here in use;—ou: a pronoun of the singular number;..being applied either in a masculine, a feminine, or a neuter sense. Thus ‘ou wull’ expresses either he will, she will or it will. 1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) Hoo, He or she. This word is seldom used except on the borders of Lancashire. 1851 T. Sternberg Dial. & Folk-lore Northants. 1 A, this pronoun, which has the sound of the inarticulate a, is used for he, she, and sometimes it. 1876 F.H. Burnett in Century Sept. 627/2 What th' owd lad dunnot know is na worth knowin'. Eh! hoo's a graidely foo', that hoo is. 1879 F. T. Elworthy Gram. Dial. W. Somerset in Trans. Philol. Soc. 17 177 In the 3rd person..ee [= he] and ur [= she] are both sometimes contracted into u. 1882 E. L. Chamberlain Gloss. W. Worcs. Words 1 ‘W'ahr bin a?’, ‘Thar a comes,’ may mean either where is he, she, or it? 1885 Househ. Words in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1902) III. 221/1 [North-east Gloucestershire] ‘I axed thee wheer he wur.’ ‘An' I towld thee ou hadn't come in.’ 1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. A,..2. pron. He. Often written a and ha... 3. pron. She..[Hur núv·ur kaan dùe ut, kan u?], she never cannot do it, can she (he)?.. 4. pron. It. Commonly applied to inanimate objects. 1891 R. P. Chope Dial. Hartland, Devonshire Ha,..he, she, it. 1974 W. Leeds Herefordshire Speech 45 Ă, Er, he, she, it. Ă or Er do say. †B. n. Opposed to he: = she n. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > life > sex and gender > female > [noun] hooOE femalea1393 shea1400 OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Mark x. 6 Masculum et feminam fecit eos deus : woepenmon uel hee & hiuu uel wifmon worhte hia god. OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 19 Hic coruus ðes hremn, swa hwæðer swa hit byð, swa he, swa heo. OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 18 Ælc nyten byð oððe he oððe heo. a1450 (?a1390) J. Mirk Instr. Parish Priests (Claud.) (1974) l. 1407 Þow moste þys mynne..Wheþer hyt be heo or he, ȝonge or olde, bonde or fre. c1475 (c1399) Mum & Sothsegger (Cambr. Ll.4.14) (1936) iii. 50 Anoþer proud partriche..houeth þe eyren þat þe hue laide..And with hir corps keuereth hem. Compounds † = she pron.¹, n., and adj. Compounds 1. Obsolete. ΚΠ a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1961) Lev. v. 6 Offre he of þe flookis anheolomb or anheogoot [a1425 Corpus Oxf. an shee lombe, or a shee geyt; a1425 L.V. a femal lomb, ethir a goet; L. agnam sive capram]. c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 337 (MED) Ay þou meng wyth þe malez þe mete ho-bestez. a1500 (?a1390) J. Mirk Festial (Gough) (1905) 210 A qwene þat was callytte Lupa, þat ys yn Englysch, an hoo-wolfe. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2013; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < pron.n.eOE
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