itsadj.pron.

Brit.

/ɪts/, U.S.

/ɪts/

Forms: 1500s–1700s yts, 1500s– its, 1600s 'ts, 1600s–1700s itts, 1600s–1700s (1800s– regional and nonstandard) it's, 1700s (1800s– nonstandard) its'; also Scottish 1800s 'ts, 1800s– hits, 1900s– uts.

Origin: Probably formed within English, by conversion. Or perhaps a variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymons: it pron.; it adj.

Etymology: Probably partly < it pron. + genitive ending -s , and partly a variant of it adj. remodelled with the genitive ending -s . Compare the pronoun forms hers pron.¹, hers pron.², theirs pron., ours pron., yours pron., and also the adjective forms hers adj., theirs adj., ours adj., yours adj. (although the latter for the most part occur only in restricted contexts).The earlier form of the neuter third singular possessive pronoun and possessive adjective was his : see his pron.¹ and his adj., and see these entries on the gradual loss of reference to inanimate subjects. With the use of its as possessive adjective, compare earlier it adj. 1, and also alternative constructions with of it (see it pron. 5b), thereof adv. 1c, hereof adv. 1, of the same (compare e.g. quot. 1484 at same pron. 4a), or the adj. 8a. The spread of its as possessive adjective seems to have been rapid in written sources from the late 16th cent. onwards, although it does not appear for instance in the Bible of 1611. (This does show it adj. 1 once (see quot. 1611 at it adj. 1), which was later altered, in an edition of 1660 and in later editions, to its.) Formerly (like the possessive pronouns hers, ours, yours, theirs) often written with an apostrophe as it’s, corresponding to the conventional spelling of genitive –s when affixed to nouns. Since the 19th cent. such spelling has been considered nonstandard, although it is still relatively common. In current English the relative frequency of its as possessive adjective as against alternative constructions (especially of it) varies in different varieties; in certain regional varieties, e.g. in Scots, the possessive construction of it is more common (and has a slightly wider application) than in standard English.

A. adj. Possessive adjective (determiner) corresponding to it pron. (originally the possessive use of the genitive of the pronoun).

Of it; which belongs or relates to it. Also reflexive: of itself; which belongs or relates to itself, its own.The reflexive is often more fully its own, for which in earlier times the own, it own, were used: see the own at own adj. 2b, it own at it adj. 1.

a. Modifying a noun indicating something that is possessed by or an attribute of a thing or an animate being referred to as it, or a verbal noun with which its is in subjective or objective relation.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > owning > [adjective] > own > his, her, its, or their > its

hisOE

itselfa1400

itc1400

its1577

1577 R. Robinson Certain Select Hist. Christian Recreations sig. B.vii There stands a bedde, its death to tell.

1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes Spontaneamente, willingly,..of himselfe, of his free will, for its owne sake [1611 of free will or of it's owne sake].

1603 J. Florio in tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. i. Ep. Ded. sig. A3^v My weaknesse you might bidde doe it's best.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) iii. ii. 396 The Cradle-babe, Dying with mothers dugge betweene it's lips.

1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. i. 26 The Load-stone..forgetteth it's Property to draw Iron any longer.

1666 G. Harvey Morbus Anglicus iii. 16 The Infant..makes its sally out of the Womb.

1728 T. Sheridan tr. Persius Satyrs Prol. 5 Who taught the Parrot it's usual Complement?

1767 W. Dodd Poems 238 When the just-waken'd babe its mother view'd.

1788 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 78 129 As much common salt as lowered its freezing point to 28°.

1801 M. Edgeworth Forester in Moral Tales I. 57 Her warning only accelerated it's fate.

1834 J. H. Newman Parochial Serm. (1837) I. xvi. 234 The Gospel has its mysteries.

1879 J. McCarthy Hist. our Own Times II. xviii. 2 Its foreign policy was treacherous.

1925 S. Lewis Arrowsmith i. 2 The bedroom with its tottering bureau and its cot of frowsy blankets.

1965 A. Blaauw in A. Blaauw & M. Schmidt Galactic Struct. xx. 443 Stars must have formed during the contracting stage as well as after its completion.

2006 New Yorker 16 Jan. 15/2 Its members have spent time in Mali, Ivory Coast, and Guinea.

b. Modifying a verbal noun, gerund, or gerundival clause, forming an embedded phrase corresponding to a clause consisting of it and a main verb.

ΚΠ

1622 R. Hawkins Observ. Voiage South Sea xliii. 103 Which (for conservation) is mingled with Lyme in its making.

1644 P. Hunton Vindic. Treat. Monarchy iv. 22 Neither its being supreme doth hinder its limitablenesse.

1694 W. Salmon Pharmacopœia Bateana i. ix. 594/1 You need not fear its fulminating in the drying.

1751 Bp. G. Burnet & T. Williamson tr. T. More Utopia Author's Epist. 32 If he consents to it's being published.

1786 R. Price Let. 18 Jan. in Corr. (1991) II. 335 It is an annuity the price of which will be always kept down by its having a fix'd capital at which it will be redeemed.

1841 W. Savage Dict. Art of Printing 597 To mark the errors, previous to its being put to press.

1892 Daily News 19 Apr. 3/5 The impossibility of..preventing its [sc. a deer's] getting into the forest.

1936 N. Feather Introd. Nucl. Physics iv. 56 Without its becoming necessary to particularise further.

2004 Times Lit. Suppl. 14 May 9/1 The probabilities of its being unique in a cosmos so unimaginably vast.

B. pron.

As possessive pronoun: its one, its ones; that or those belonging or relating to it. Cf. his pron.¹ rare.

ΚΠ

1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII i. i. 18 Each following day Became the next dayes master, till the last Made former Wonders, it's.

1835 W. Scott Infantry Tactics II. 51 The second division has already taken its position in the column, the third has nearly taken its.

1864 M. V. Victor in W. T. Coggeshall Poets & Poetry of West 521/2 'Twas of royal rank, for all the past Was its by right of birth.

1920 E. F. Corbett Puritan & Pagan xxiv. 294 The crowd which was hers, and she its.

1932 ‘L. G. Gibbon’ Sunset Song i. 45 There are better things than your books or studies or loving or bedding, there's the countryside your own, you its, in the days when you're neither bairn nor woman.

2004 I. M. Banks Algebraist (2005) i. 8 Claiming the vengeance that was so surely its, exacting the price its enemies all deserved to pay.

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

单词	its
释义	itsadj.pron. Brit. /ɪts/, U.S. /ɪts/ Forms: 1500s–1700s yts, 1500s– its, 1600s 'ts, 1600s–1700s itts, 1600s–1700s (1800s– regional and nonstandard) it's, 1700s (1800s– nonstandard) its'; also Scottish 1800s 'ts, 1800s– hits, 1900s– uts. Origin: Probably formed within English, by conversion. Or perhaps a variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymons: it pron.; it adj. Etymology: Probably partly < it pron. + genitive ending -s , and partly a variant of it adj. remodelled with the genitive ending -s . Compare the pronoun forms hers pron.¹, hers pron.², theirs pron., ours pron., yours pron., and also the adjective forms hers adj., theirs adj., ours adj., yours adj. (although the latter for the most part occur only in restricted contexts).The earlier form of the neuter third singular possessive pronoun and possessive adjective was his : see his pron.¹ and his adj., and see these entries on the gradual loss of reference to inanimate subjects. With the use of its as possessive adjective, compare earlier it adj. 1, and also alternative constructions with of it (see it pron. 5b), thereof adv. 1c, hereof adv. 1, of the same (compare e.g. quot. 1484 at same pron. 4a), or the adj. 8a. The spread of its as possessive adjective seems to have been rapid in written sources from the late 16th cent. onwards, although it does not appear for instance in the Bible of 1611. (This does show it adj. 1 once (see quot. 1611 at it adj. 1), which was later altered, in an edition of 1660 and in later editions, to its.) Formerly (like the possessive pronouns hers, ours, yours, theirs) often written with an apostrophe as it’s, corresponding to the conventional spelling of genitive –s when affixed to nouns. Since the 19th cent. such spelling has been considered nonstandard, although it is still relatively common. In current English the relative frequency of its as possessive adjective as against alternative constructions (especially of it) varies in different varieties; in certain regional varieties, e.g. in Scots, the possessive construction of it is more common (and has a slightly wider application) than in standard English. A. adj. Possessive adjective (determiner) corresponding to it pron. (originally the possessive use of the genitive of the pronoun). Of it; which belongs or relates to it. Also reflexive: of itself; which belongs or relates to itself, its own.The reflexive is often more fully its own, for which in earlier times the own, it own, were used: see the own at own adj. 2b, it own at it adj. 1. a. Modifying a noun indicating something that is possessed by or an attribute of a thing or an animate being referred to as it, or a verbal noun with which its is in subjective or objective relation. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > owning > [adjective] > own > his, her, its, or their > its hisOE itselfa1400 itc1400 its1577 1577 R. Robinson Certain Select Hist. Christian Recreations sig. B.vii There stands a bedde, its death to tell. 1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes Spontaneamente, willingly,..of himselfe, of his free will, for its owne sake [1611 of free will or of it's owne sake]. 1603 J. Florio in tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. i. Ep. Ded. sig. A3^v My weaknesse you might bidde doe it's best. a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) iii. ii. 396 The Cradle-babe, Dying with mothers dugge betweene it's lips. 1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. i. 26 The Load-stone..forgetteth it's Property to draw Iron any longer. 1666 G. Harvey Morbus Anglicus iii. 16 The Infant..makes its sally out of the Womb. 1728 T. Sheridan tr. Persius Satyrs Prol. 5 Who taught the Parrot it's usual Complement? 1767 W. Dodd Poems 238 When the just-waken'd babe its mother view'd. 1788 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 78 129 As much common salt as lowered its freezing point to 28°. 1801 M. Edgeworth Forester in Moral Tales I. 57 Her warning only accelerated it's fate. 1834 J. H. Newman Parochial Serm. (1837) I. xvi. 234 The Gospel has its mysteries. 1879 J. McCarthy Hist. our Own Times II. xviii. 2 Its foreign policy was treacherous. 1925 S. Lewis Arrowsmith i. 2 The bedroom with its tottering bureau and its cot of frowsy blankets. 1965 A. Blaauw in A. Blaauw & M. Schmidt Galactic Struct. xx. 443 Stars must have formed during the contracting stage as well as after its completion. 2006 New Yorker 16 Jan. 15/2 Its members have spent time in Mali, Ivory Coast, and Guinea. b. Modifying a verbal noun, gerund, or gerundival clause, forming an embedded phrase corresponding to a clause consisting of it and a main verb. ΚΠ 1622 R. Hawkins Observ. Voiage South Sea xliii. 103 Which (for conservation) is mingled with Lyme in its making. 1644 P. Hunton Vindic. Treat. Monarchy iv. 22 Neither its being supreme doth hinder its limitablenesse. 1694 W. Salmon Pharmacopœia Bateana i. ix. 594/1 You need not fear its fulminating in the drying. 1751 Bp. G. Burnet & T. Williamson tr. T. More Utopia Author's Epist. 32 If he consents to it's being published. 1786 R. Price Let. 18 Jan. in Corr. (1991) II. 335 It is an annuity the price of which will be always kept down by its having a fix'd capital at which it will be redeemed. 1841 W. Savage Dict. Art of Printing 597 To mark the errors, previous to its being put to press. 1892 Daily News 19 Apr. 3/5 The impossibility of..preventing its [sc. a deer's] getting into the forest. 1936 N. Feather Introd. Nucl. Physics iv. 56 Without its becoming necessary to particularise further. 2004 Times Lit. Suppl. 14 May 9/1 The probabilities of its being unique in a cosmos so unimaginably vast. B. pron. As possessive pronoun: its one, its ones; that or those belonging or relating to it. Cf. his pron.¹ rare. ΚΠ 1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII i. i. 18 Each following day Became the next dayes master, till the last Made former Wonders, it's. View more context for this quotation 1835 W. Scott Infantry Tactics II. 51 The second division has already taken its position in the column, the third has nearly taken its. 1864 M. V. Victor in W. T. Coggeshall Poets & Poetry of West 521/2 'Twas of royal rank, for all the past Was its by right of birth. 1920 E. F. Corbett Puritan & Pagan xxiv. 294 The crowd which was hers, and she its. 1932 ‘L. G. Gibbon’ Sunset Song i. 45 There are better things than your books or studies or loving or bedding, there's the countryside your own, you its, in the days when you're neither bairn nor woman. 2004 I. M. Banks Algebraist (2005) i. 8 Claiming the vengeance that was so surely its, exacting the price its enemies all deserved to pay. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < adj.pron.1577
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