theypron.adj.adv.n.

Brit.

/ðeɪ/, U.S.

/ðeɪ/

Forms: 1.

α. early Middle English hay (northern; perhaps transmission error), early Middle English þeȝȝ ( Ormulum), early Middle English ðeȝȝ ( Ormulum), early Middle English ðei, Middle English ai (transmission error), Middle English ȝei (East Anglian), Middle English ȝey (Norfolk and Surrey), Middle English þai, Middle English þaie, Middle English þaij, Middle English þaþ (northern), Middle English þauȝ (perhaps transmission error), Middle English þay, Middle English þaye, Middle English þeȝ, Middle English þei, Middle English þeie, Middle English þeih, Middle English þey, Middle English þeye, Middle English thae (south-west midlands), Middle English þhei, Middle English theigh, Middle English theyȝ, Middle English yae, Middle English yai, Middle English yaie, Middle English yaye, Middle English yeie, Middle English yia (transmission error), Middle English–1500s thai, Middle English–1500s thaie, Middle English–1500s thaye, Middle English–1500s yay, Middle English–1500s yei, Middle English–1500s yey, Middle English–1600s thei, Middle English–1600s theie, Middle English–1600s theye, Middle English–1700s thay, Middle English– they, 1500s thej, 1600s theij, 1600s–1700s th'; English regional 1800s– thaay, 1800s– thae (north-eastern), 1800s– thay (chiefly south-western and south-west midlands); U.S. regional 1900s– thei' (in sense B. 2, in African-American usage); Scottish pre-1700 thaie, pre-1700 thaiy, pre-1700 theie, pre-1700 yai, pre-1700 yaj, pre-1700 yay, pre-1700 yey, pre-1700 yhai, pre-1700 1700s– thay, pre-1700 1700s– they, pre-1700 1800s thae, pre-1700 1800s thaye, pre-1700 1800s thei, pre-1700 1800s theye, pre-1700 1800s– thai. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 125–7 & swa þeȝȝ leddenn heore lif Till þatt teȝȝ wærenn alde. Þatt naffdenn ðeȝȝ þurrh þeȝȝre streon. Ne sune child. ne dohhterr.a1200 (?OE) MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 189 Fleshliche lustes..beoð þe smeðere him to biswikende for þan þe þei nehȝie wunien.a1250 Wohunge ure Lauerd in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 277 Þai grennede for gladschipe euchan toward oðer, as wode wulues þat fainen of hare praie.a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 573 Mete quorbi ðei migten liuen.a1325 (?a1300) in G. H. McKnight Middle Eng. Humorous Tales (1913) 24 Gef yat hay may heng hey, And gef yat hy may se, Yat yay be heng' on a tre. ▸ c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Matt. vi. 5 Thei han resseyued her meede.c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xix. 416 Þere they ligge..moste, lecherye þere regneth.c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 40 To telle yow al the condicion Of eech of hem..whiche they weere and of what degree.a1450 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Lamb.) (1887) i. l. 2747 Þay wyste alle at ones.c1450 (?a1402) J. Trevisa De Regimine Principum (Digby 233) f. 3 Theyȝ that bien corrupt appetite defre in other sciens.a1500 (a1450) Generides (Trin. Cambr.) l. 2633 So fought y^ei still.a1557 J. Cheke tr. Gospel St. Matthew (1843) xxvi. 15 Yei appointed him 30 silverlinges.c1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) ii. 101 Than to Dalkeith thai maid thame boun.1586 in W. Fraser Chiefs of Grant (1883) III. 163 Wyth sic diligens as thae gwdlie may.c1603–8 J. Kamington in R. Maitland Geneal. House & Surname Setoun (1830) 39 Thy constant clan thaiy ar discend of kings.1622 in H. Paton Suppl. Rep. MSS Earl of Mar & Kellie (1930) 104 Be all lykelyeheade thaye are at Prage before this tyme, or then thaye have fothin a battell.1674 S. Butler Hudibras (new ed.) i. i. 20 They stoutly in defence on't stood..And till th' were storm'd, and beaten out Ne'r left the Fortify'd Redoubt.1709 J. Watson Choice Coll. Scots Poems ii. 20 Amaisdlie, and baisdlie, Richt bissilie thay ran.1775 J. Greenman Jrnl. Dec. in Diary of Common Soldier (1978) 23 Thay formed them Selvs along the rampers.1857 H. S. Riddell Bk. Psalms Lowland Sc. xxi. 11 Ane mischeevous contræivence whilk thaye werna yeable til carryie throwe.1889 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. (ed. 2) (at cited word) Thaay could n't tell what it was maade on fer dirt.1894 J. W. M'Laren Tibbie & Tam 12 Thae were confronted at ilka turn by birkies wi' broads afore and ahint them.1968 H. Oster in A. Dundes Mother Wit (1973) 554/1 They steal the chickens, then they would tie thei' legs together.1995 D. Purves Hert’s Bluid 20 At the tyme thai open Paurliement, thai hae ane unco chiel, Blek Rod, that thryce maun chap the chaumer dure.2012 Independent on Sunday 15 Jan. (New Review) 23/3 What will they do?

β. early Middle English teȝȝ ( Ormulum), Middle English day, Middle English dei, Middle English ta, Middle English tai, Middle English tay, Middle English tei, Middle English tey, Middle English (1800s– regional) dey; U.S. regional 1900s– day (in African-American usage); Scottish pre-1700 dai (south-western), pre-1700 day (south-western), 1800s– dey (Shetland and Orkney); Caribbean 1900s– da, 1900s– deh, 1900s– dey. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 18218 Forr þatt teȝȝ wolldenn bliþeliȝ. Harrdnenn..Þatt teȝȝre bapptisstess fulluhht. Wass bettre.a1250 Wohunge ure Lauerd in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 273 Þu band ta helle dogges, and reftes ham hare praie þat tai hefden grediliche gripen.a1300 (?a1250) Serm. (Trin. Cambr.) in Bull. Mod. Humanities Res. Assoc. (1928) 2 106 Among manie oþere songis, þat litil ben wort þat tei singin, so sein þei þus.?a1350 Guy of Warwick (BL Add.) (1974) l. 1089 It was na man that tay come ate That al tu dust thay hym smate.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Coll. Phys.) 23254 Þat dreri din, þat balful berre, Þat ta [a1400 Vesp. þai] witoutin stint sal here.a1425 Rule St. Benet (Lansd.) (1902) 10 Yeme þaim, þat tay foliz þe wordis of god.1449 R. Wenyngton in Paston Lett. & Papers (2005) III. 69 And dey bade do my wurst, by cause I had so fewe schyppys and so smale, that they scornyd wyth me.c1450 (a1400) Libeaus Desconus (Calig. A.ii) (1969) 538 Þus departede day, Lybeaus and þat may, As þey hadden tyȝt.1832 W. Irving Jrnl. (1919) III. 180 ‘Look at these Delawares,’ say the Osages, ‘dey got short legs—no can run—must stand and fight a great heap.’1898 ‘Junda’ Echoes from Klingrahool 6 Dey liftet der faces ta ljook at da sky.1931 J. T. S. Leask Peculiar People 125 Dey haved doon deir etches, luppid api deir horse, an' reed for da Skerries at a spunder.1994 L. Johnson in J. Robertson Tongue in yer Heid 164 Dey solisted a meenit, dan a blue-cled wife got oot, an da car set aff fer da nordert.

γ. Middle English þe, Middle English ye, Middle English–1600s the; Scottish pre-1700 the. a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 201 Alle holie beden ben godfruhte men biheue, ac þe ben swo fele þat hie ben arfeð tellen.c1300 (?c1225) King Horn (Laud) (1901) 141 Of schip þe gon fonde; An sette fot on grunde.c1300 Evangelie (Dulwich Coll.) 401 in Publ. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer. (1915) 30 572 Wyt blisful chere an gamin ant gle Alle ye [printed þe; c1425 Bodl. Add. þei] comin þ[e] child to se, Ant ye [printed þe; c1425 Bodl. Add. þan] seide þe frendis alle, ‘Zacarie þei wolde him cal[l]e.’a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) 13513 He bad geder þe relef of hepes, Þerwiþ þe fulde twelue lepes.1466 in J. C. Cox Notes on Churches Derbyshire (1879) IV. 86 Another chesable of Rede yt the syng The masse in.c1475 Gregory's Chron. in J. Gairdner Hist. Coll. Citizen London (1876) 213 To sette the pavys where the lykyd.c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 123 When the knewen all the cause þo kynges bydene All denyed it anon.1542 in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 335 Praying myne exceketryx & oversears to be lovers to my sole as the wollde that I shold be to thars beyng in lyke kasse.1568 in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1928) II. 148 The spend the pelf thame betwene.c1600 Hist. & Life James VI (1804) 121 The [ed. 1825: Thay] spairt not to cum againes uther in oppin hostilitie.1655 Mouswald Kirk Session 9 Dec. Whether or no the take cairfull inspectione into the cariage of famileis..to sie if they leiv soberlie and cristianlie.1683 in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 308 Wee suppose the might keep of by Reason of a Late distemper of the small pox.

δ. Middle English thi, Middle English thy, Middle English thye, Middle English þi, Middle English þy, Middle English þye, Middle English þyi, Middle English yi (northern and north midlands), Middle English yie (East Anglian), Middle English yy (northern); Scottish pre-1700 thy; Irish English (Wexford) 1800s thye. Slightly earlier evidence is provided by Ling. Atlas Late Mediaeval Eng., which records forms þye, þyi from a copy of Prick of Conscience in the mid 14th-cent. MS Canterbury Cathedral Lit. D.13 (whose scribal language is placed in Wiltshire).a1400 (c1300) Archbishop & Nun (Coll. Phys.) in J. Small Eng. Metrical Homilies (1862) 87 Þi [printed thai] wend alle that he sek ware. ▸ c1426 J. Audelay Poems (1931) 193 To castelles and setis þi floyn away.a1450 Mandeville's Trav. (Bodl. e Mus.) 83 Thi shere awey the right pappe, for it shal not lette hem for to shete.a1450 (c1400) in D. M. Grisdale 3 Middle Eng. Serm. (1939) 22 Þi mad fro day to day gret sorw.c1475 St. Margaret (Yale Beinecke 365) l. 63 in L. T. Smith Common-place Bk. 15th Cent. (1886) 109 Talys she gowd will tell..of other seyntes many moo, How they syffyryd wyll and woo, And how thye dede ther mertydam take.a1500 in C. Brown Relig. Lyrics 15th Cent. (1939) 128 Forth to bedlem þan þe rode..Vn-tyll yie [printed þie] were—Vntyll yie [printed þie] were þer ihu lay.1644 in W. Fraser Memorials Family Wemyss (1888) III. 92 Thy haue wirrtin to you.1657 A. Johnston Diary (1940) III. 84 If thy maid not good use of it the blayme should lye at their awen doore.1684 J. Stewart Let. in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 219 Thes thy sead in may own herien.a1827 J. Poole Gloss. in T. P. Dolan & D. Ó Muirithe Dial. Forth & Bargy (1996) Thye..They.

ε. Middle English ȝa (northern), Middle English þa, Middle English tha, Middle English yaa, Middle English–1500s ya; English regional 1700s– tha; Scottish pre-1700 tha, pre-1700 ya; Irish English 2000s– tha (northern). a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Coll. Phys.) l. 19359 Þa [a1400 Vesp. þai] wente ioifuler þan are, Na noȝte þai menid of þair sare.c1400 Brut (Rawl. B. 171) 85 When Kay and Bedwere hade herde al þat þis woman hade tolde, þa turnede aȝeyne, and comen to Kyng Arthure, & tolde him al þat þai hade seyne & harde. ▸ 1435 R. Misyn tr. R. Rolle Fire of Love 118 Þa suffer not þer þoght wauyr fro god, so þat qwen þa rise to pray, þa be qwhickar þen þai before were.1483 in Acts Lords of Council Civil Causes (1839) I. 81/2 The malis of the said landis to remain as tha now do vntakin vp be ony partii.a1500 Rule Third Order St. Francis in W. W. Seton Two 15th Cent. Franciscan Rules (1914) 48 Tha must restore all that thay haue of oder mennes goodes. ▸ ?a1505 R. Henryson Ressoning betuix Deth & Man 18 in Poems (1981) 174 My name, at me forsuth sen that thow speirs, Tha call me Deid.1522 J. Vaus Rudimenta i. sig. bb Amantut, tha ar lwfit.1524 in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 233 Ya cum nott throhe loncaschyre.1557 in W. Mackay & H. C. Boyd Rec. Inverness (1911) I. 8 Quhat ever tha be that makis fyr in the Ellon salbe punist with ane nale in his luge.a1600 ( W. Stewart tr. H. Boece Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) II. 720 Forlane, tha sa, suld ay cum lauchand hame.a1789 I. Ritson Borrowdale Let. 7 in Misc. Wks. Tim Bobbin (1793) Tha feed tem wi beck-sand, as tha dya at Whitehebben wi cwols.1844 W. Barnes Witch in Poems Rural Life in Dorset Dial. 280 An' every time the voke went up to bed Tha wer a-hagrod till tha wer hafe dead.a1920 T. Armstrong Marla Hill Ducks in B. Griffiths Stotty 'n' Spice Cake (2006) 141 If he'd geen them a chance, tha wid awl geten bail.2002 Belfast News Let. 2 Feb. 20 Bit whun tha staurtet tae claud thur gear aff tha lorrie tha wus makin a quare rackit.

ζ. Scottish (northern and north-eastern) 1800s– 'ey, 1900s– ey. 1890 J. Sinclair Scenes & Stories 194 The Sinclairs hae had a' 'e honours in Caitness 'is mony a day, an 'ey can tak' 'at wi' 'e lave.1909 D. Houston 'E Silkie Man 10 'Ey thocht id micht be wancanny.1955 W. P. Milne Eppie Elrick xxvi. 240 'Ey rinkit 'e place first ava tae see gin 'ere wis onybody harkenin in a hidie-holie.2003 A. Smith Sair Fecht (SCOTS) Trees are affa bonny jist noo, As ey tak on their Winter hue.

2. Combined (sometimes in contracted form) with a following word (usually a verb). early Middle English þeȝȝ- ( Ormulum), Middle English þai-, 1500s–1600s thei-, 1500s–1700s th-, 1500s–1700s th'-, 1500s– they-; English regional 1700s tea- (Lancashire), 1700s–1800s tey- (Lancashire), 1800s thai-, 1800s– th-, 1800s– th'-, 1800s– tha-, 1800s– thay-, 1800s– the-, 1800s– thea-, 1800s– thi- (Lancashire); Scottish 1800s de- (Shetland), 1800s th-, 1900s– 'ey- (north-eastern), 2000s– thay-. Frequently with contracted verbs, where an apostrophe is now standard.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 19716 Acc þeȝȝt rihht nohht ne wisstenn. Þatt wass all soþ.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Coll. Phys.) 23797 Quat þair to fand, to tel þe soþe, Baþe me wantis tung and toþe.1524 Vision xiv, in Evergreen I. 220 Theyil jade hir and blad hir Untill scho brak hir Tether.c1540 in Weever Anc. Fun. Mon. (1631) 282 God grant hem euirlastyng lyff, To whom we hop thar gon.?1577 Misogonus ii. iv, in R. W. Bond Early Plays from Ital. (1911) 231 Their all come.1594 J. Ogle Lament. Troy sig. E3 Swelling with fome through Aeolus puffing pride, So do they yell when they're by Hectors side.1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xx. 119 Down from the wast tha're centaures, though women all aboue.1611 Second Maiden's Trag. (1909) i. ii. 10 Th'eir fellow prisoners.1635 Praise of Nothing (single sheet) Theil hav't although they break their brains or bring themselves to nothing.1707 E. Ward Hudibras Redivivus II. vii. 18 Th'ad put the holy Puppet on A Surplice.?1746 ‘T. Bobbin’ View Lancs. Dial. 27 Then it wou'd be os plene os Blackstonedge ot tearn meying an arrant Gawby on meh.1817 in Gentleman's Mag. (1836) 2 589 Dwyne yun fasin, gin hit beena da vyldest itt ivver dere faen apun yit.?1851 A. Bywater Gossips 19 O think they'n good gin at Beggar'd Choild.1860 J. P. Kay-Shuttleworth Scarsdale II. 285 Teyn turned me eawt o' t'work-heause.1924 J. Wight in Swatches o' Hamespun 74 Aw gat 'em fae Dauvit's muckle dother, fin she wis oot at the trips; an' awyte, 'ey're rale gweed an' strong.1981 P. Niesewand Word of Gentleman xix. 126 You don't think they'd sing like canaries?.. They'll sing, Claud... If they thought it would help them, they'd tell on their mothers.2010 Countryfile Feb. 38/3 They've got it all wrong. They'll find Snowdonia..stunning, but they're all missing the chance to see it during the best month: February.

Origin: A borrowing from early Scandinavian.

Etymology: < early Scandinavian (compare Old Icelandic þeir (masculine, nominative), þá (masculine, accusative), þǽr (feminine), þau (neuter), Old Norwegian þeir , þæir (masculine, nominative), þá (masculine, accusative), þǽr (feminine), þau , þu (neuter) (Norwegian (Nynorsk) dei , (Bokmål) de ), Old Swedish þēr , þē , þǣr (masculine, nominative), þē , þā (masculine, accusative), þār , þā , þēr , þē , þǣ , þǣr (feminine), þēn , þē (neuter) (Swedish de ), Old Danish the , thæ (nominative, all genders) (Danish de ), Old Gutnish þair (masculine, nominative), þā (masculine, accusative), þār (feminine), þaun (neuter)), reflecting a set of forms which fulfil the function of the third person plural personal pronoun as well as of the demonstrative pronoun from the earliest recorded stages of the Scandinavian languages, although in origin they are forms of the demonstrative pronoun (see the adj., pron.², and n.¹).Circumstances of borrowing and pattern of spread in Middle English. This pronoun occurs earliest in texts which show considerable lexical influence from early Scandinavian. Its borrowing was probably largely a response to a functional pressure, to disambiguate the third person plural pronoun from the masculine and feminine singular forms; compare discussion of form history at hi pron.² (the native third person plural form) and at he pron., n.¹, and adj. and hoo pron. and n. The same pressure probably prompted the subsequent spread of this pronoun form within English; compare she pron.¹, n., and adj. for a similar process affecting the third person singular feminine subject form. The spread of they was very gradual: it is already the invariable form in the Ormulum (compare quot. c1175 at sense A. 1a), but forms of hi pron.² still remain the norm in some texts of southern provenance up to the end of the 14th cent. The subject form they appears, however, generally to have been adopted more rapidly than the object and possessive forms their adj. and them pron. This appears true both of the initial borrowing and of the subsequent spread within English. For example, in the Ormulum the forms found for the possessive and object functions vary, her pron.¹ still being found although their adj. predominates, while for the object form them pron. is less common in this text than 'em pron. (being found chiefly after a vowel). Similarly, if one considers a much later text from outside the area of heaviest Scandinavian influence, the early 15th-cent. Hengwrt manuscript of Chaucer has they as the usual subject form, but retains her pron.¹ and 'em pron. as the usual possessive and object forms. In view of these factors, it is possible that their adj. and them pron. may partly show analogical alteration of her pron.¹ and 'em pron. Form history. The ζ. forms reflect loss of initial th- in low-stress positions (e.g. in pronouns, the definite article, etc.), which is a characteristic feature of northern and north-eastern varieties of Scots (compare δ. forms at their adj. and pron., ζ. forms at them pron., adj., and n., etc.). For early Middle English instances of the spelling þaie as personal pronoun see (probably etymologically distinct) thaie pron. and adj. There is also some formal overlap with tho pron.¹ and adj. and thae adj. and pron. Instances of the form þa from northern Middle English sources occurring in demonstrative or antecedent function have been placed at tho pron.¹; for Scots forms occurring in such functions see thae adj. Specific uses. The uses in senses B. 2 and C. may have originated as variants of their adj. and there adv. respectively; for the perception of this compare the form thei' which occurs in sense B. 2.

A. pron. The subjective case of the third person plural pronoun; the plural of he, she, or it.

I. As personal pronoun.

1. The people, animals, or things previously mentioned or implied or easily identified.

a. As subject or (now formal) subject complement.

ΚΠ

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 125–7 & swa þeȝȝ leddenn heore lif Till þatt teȝȝ wærenn alde. Þatt naffdenn ðeȝȝ þurrh þeȝȝre streon. Ne sune child. ne dohhterr.

a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 39 (MED) Þe gode herdes wakieð on faire liflode ouer here orf, þe þei leswueð on halie larspelle.

c1300 (?c1225) King Horn (Laud) (1901) 141 Of schip þe gon fonde; An sette fot on grunde.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 800 (MED) For scham þay stode bath and quakid.

1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) xii. 301 Lete theym shyfte hardely, they two togyder.

1537 in State Papers Henry VIII (1834) II. 480 They goo aboute to fykkle with Iryshe men.

1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 41 Quhen now thay [sc. herrings] ar gutted..thay ar sa leine that thay ar nocht to be compared with the rest.

1601 B. Jonson Every Man in his Humor iii. i. sig. F4 They'le keep a man deuoutly hungry all day, & at night send him supperlesse to bed.

1672 T. Manley Νομοθετης: Cowell's Interpreter sig. Iii 1^v A jarring sound, such as Dogs use when they snarle.

1706 E. Ward Hudibras Redivivus II. v. 27 They're Rogues, as sure as Light's in Heaven.

1792 W. Withering Bot. Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 2) III. 278 When magnified they appear like ill-formed warts.

1838 J. Ruskin Ess. Music & Painting §24, in Wks. (1903) I. 285 If others do not follow their example,—the more fools they.

1846 G. Grote Hist. Greece II. i. xxi. 175 They two were the framers of all Grecian theogony.

1909 J. W. Jenkinson Exper. Embryol. 28 The plane in which they all lie.

1988 Yankee Dec. 126/2 Whatever's trapped in the net of the senses, moth, starlight, milkweed—that is they.

2000 K. Atkinson Emotionally Weird (2001) 214 They went out into the darkness on a quest for Mars Bars.

b. Used redundantly with a noun that is the subject or subject complement. Now nonstandard.Frequently in ballad style.

ΚΠ

a1300 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 124 At min endin-day þe warlais þai wil be her fort take þair pray.

c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. vi. l. 148 Ac ancres and heremytes þat eten [noȝt] but at nones, And namore er morwe myne almesse shul þei haue.

a1450 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Lamb.) (1887) i. l. 4990 Þritty oþer wyþ hym þey went.

a1550 (?a1475) Battle of Otterburn (1959) l. 34 The skottes they cryde on hyght.

1580 A. Saker Narbonus ii. 122 If your finger ake, the Appoticaryes they must picke your Pocket, and the Phisitions must minister all the money out of your Purse.

1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II ii. ii. 89 The commons they are colde, And will (I feare) reuolt on Herefords side.

a1627 T. Middleton No Wit (1657) v. 114 Now the Bells they go trim, they go trim.

1645 J. Marsh Marsh his Mickle Monument 55 The Fairies they were fled.

1796 M. G. Lewis Alonzo the Brave xii, in Monk III. 65 The worms they crept in, and the worms they crept out.

1807 J. Hogg Mountain Bard xxiv The ducks they whackit, the dogs they yowled.

1905 E. Hough Heart's Desire xv. 204 The boys they gambled about two thousand dollars on that horse over at Socorro.

1964 B. Dylan (title of song) The times they are a-changin'.

2. In anaphoric reference to a singular noun or pronoun.Use of they to refer to a singular antecedent has sometimes been considered erroneous.

a. With an antecedent that is grammatically singular, but refers collectively to the members of a group, or has universal reference (e.g. each person, everyone, nobody).Sometimes, but not always, used to avoid having to specify the gender(s) of the individual(s) being referred to; cf. sense A. 2b.

ΚΠ

a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 2179 Hastely hiȝed eche wiȝt..til þei neyȝþed so neiȝh..þere william & his worþi lef were liand i-fere.

c1450 (?c1400) Three Kings Cologne (Cambr. Ee.4.32) (1886) 6 Noman was hardy in all þat countrey to sette aȝens hem, for drede þat þey hadde of hem.

1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. lxxx^v Euery one visered himselfe, so that they were vnknowen.

1698 A. Boyer & J. Savage tr. P. Le Lorrain de Vallemont in T. Hearne Ductor Historicus I. ii. iv. 130 Leaving every Body to their liberty of believing what they pleas'd.

1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones III. viii. xi. 251 Every Body fell a laughing, as how could they help it.

1858 W. Bagehot in National Rev. Oct. 476 Nobody fancies for a moment that they are reading about any thing beyond the pale of ordinary propriety.

1874 G. W. Dasent Half a Life 3 Every one likes to keep it to themselves as long as they can.

1955 Househ. Guide & Almanac (News of World) 211/1 Everybody can make good pastry if they have the ‘know-how.’

2014 Dalby (Queensland) Herald (Nexis) 21 Oct. 16 Each member [of the women's touch football team] found something they could improve on in the future.

b. With an antecedent referring to an individual generically or indefinitely (e.g. someone, a person, the student), used esp. so as to make a general reference to such an individual without specifying gender. Cf. he pron. 2b.In the 21st century, other th– pronouns (and the possessive adjective their) are sometimes used to refer to a named individual, so as to avoid revealing or making an assumption about that person's gender; cf. sense A. 2c, and quots. 2008 at their adj. 2b, 2009 at them pron. 4b, 2009 at themself pron. 2b.

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a1450 in Neuphilol. Mitteilungen (1948) 49 154 (MED) If þou sall lofe, Þe person fyrste, I rede, þou proue Whether þat thay be fals or lele.

1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. IIIiiii^v If..a psalme scape any person, or a lesson, or els y^t they omyt one verse or twayne.

1653 Mercurius Pragmaticus No. 8. 61 If any one of them so elected members die, the part which they serve for, have liberty to chuse and present another.

1759 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 27 Apr. (1932) (modernized text) V. 2350 If a person is born of a..gloomy temper..they cannot help it.

1818 H. B. Fearon Sketches Amer. 80 Servants, let me here observe, are called ‘helps’. If you call a servant by that name they leave you without notice.

1877 J. Ruskin Fors Clavigera VII. lxxx. 234 I am never angry with anybody unless they deserve it.

1940 Educational Forum May 423/1 True education is based upon the needs of the pupil... The needs of the pupil are expressed in the activities in which they are engaged.

1968 Listener 3 Oct. 440/3 When somebody becomes prime minister they're immediately put on a pedestal.

2019 @_ShristiUprety 26 Aug. in twitter.com (accessed 28 Aug.) My personal rule is to never trust anyone who says that they had a good time in high school.

c. Used with reference to a person whose sense of personal identity does not correspond to conventional sex and gender distinctions, and who has typically asked to be referred to as they (rather than as he or she).

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2009 @thebutchcaucus 11 July in twitter.com (accessed 9 Oct. 2019) RT @pieskiis: @FireboltX What about they/them/theirs? #genderqueer #pronouns.

2013 Harvard-Westlake Chron. (Los Angeles) 25 Sept. b2/3 Asher thought they were the only nonbinary person at school until a couple weeks ago.

2019 www.thecut.com 3 June (accessed 21 Aug. 2019) In 2016, they got a role on Orange Is the New Black as a wisecracking white supremacist.

3. As indefinite pronoun. Cf. them pron. 5.

a. People in general; any persons not including the speaker; people. Cf. one pron. 17a.they with an active verb is frequently used colloquially instead of the passive voice.Frequently in they say: people say, it is said. as they say: see say v.¹ 1b.

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a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) Kings Prol. l. 54 Þe þredde [part] is of Salamon hafynge thre bookis, prouerbis þat þei clepyn parablys þat is Masloth, þe ferþe ecclesiasten..þe fifþe is song of songes.

a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 928 (MED) Ouþer men seyd þey shuld nat werche Lengyr þan þey rong none at þe chyrche.

1415 in 43rd Ann. Rep. Deputy Keeper Public Rec. (1882) App. i. 583 in Parl. Papers (C. 3425) XXXVI. 1 A man..yay calle Skranby toke me a lettre.

1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus at Basis Suche a foote as they set chafing disshes on.

1582 W. Allen Briefe Hist. Glorious Martyrdom sig. D5 Sent to prison vpon suspition of Papistry, as they terme the Catholike faith.

1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing iv. i. 255 To strange sores, strangely they straine the cure.

?a1635 Good Wives Ale in B. Jonson Wks. (1925–51) VIII. 448 My Pockhol'd fface (they say) appear'd to some Much like a drye and drayned Honnycombe.

1671 Lady M. Bertie in 12th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1890) App. v. 23 They say the King hath put out a Proclamation to forbid maskerades.

1756 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. I. 473 They still shew here the three cells in which Cosmo..used frequently to retire.

1802 D. Wordsworth Grasmere Jrnls. 19 June (1991) 111 In his old age he was boarded or as they say let by the parish.

1884 Manch. Examiner 17 May 5/1 In India and in Holland they ‘cure’ tobacco fairly well.

1896 ‘M. Field’ Attila ii. 49 He shall be scourged With the iron-knotted lash they use for slaves.

1923 P. G. Wodehouse Inimitable Jeeves v. 55 To make me want to slide into a cellar and lie low till they blew the All-Clear.

1961 N. Coward Why do Wrong People Travel? in B. Day N. Coward: Compl. Lyrics (1998) 327/3 Travel they say improves the mind.

2002 Press (Canterbury, N.Z.) (Electronic ed.) 4 Feb. He..is eager to tell me about his first paraflight: ‘That's the one where they pull you behind a boat and you have a parachute on and float up.’

b. colloquial. People in authority collectively, regarded as impersonal and oppressive.

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1852 G. A. Sala in Househ. Words 29 May 252/1 A very numerous parlour company, composed of guards and engine-drivers..who call the locomotives ‘she,’ the company ‘they,’ and each other ‘mate.’

1886 R. Kipling Delilah in Definitive Verse (1940) 7 One day, they [sc. people in power] brewed a secret... It related to Appointments.

1945 H. Nicolson Let. 27 May (1967) 465 People..believe that ‘they’ mean the upper classes, or the Conservatives.

1947 ‘G. Orwell’ Eng. People 24 English political thinking is much governed by the word ‘They’. ‘They’ are the higher-ups, the mysterious powers.

1967 G. F. Fiennes I tried to run Railway iii. 25 ‘They’ shifted me to York.

1999 M. Davis Autobiogr. Philos. x. 200 If ‘they’ are always watching, then every possibility to do something good..may be only a new trap by which ‘they’ conceal something bad.

4. Used for the objective case; = them pron., adj., and n.

†a. In literary use, chiefly owing to grammatical analogy or hypercorrection. Obsolete.With quot. ?c1450 cf. save prep. 2c.

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c1390 (c1350) in C. Horstmann Minor Poems Vernon MS (1892) i. 174 (MED) Now is wel sene to-day Þat he loueþ vs more þen þay ffor he ne sende hem but Angel brede.

?c1450 (?a1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 391 Curatis..claymen so ferforþli þes tiþis, þat no man lawfully may..minystre hem save þai.

a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. ccxxx. f. clii But y^e losse ran to they of y^e Castell.

1568 T. Howell Arbor of Amitie f. 31 Salomon..Was not so gay, as one of they.

1681 Heraclitus Ridens 11 Oct. 1/1 An Officer, who is sworn not to permit any person to speak with them, or they with any body.

1694 Ld. Delamere Wks. 27 That will only tend to render both you and they uneasie.

b. regional (chiefly British) and nonstandard. As the emphatic objective.

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1793 E. D. Clarke Tour S. Eng. iv. 175 Hur has got one o'they.

1878 Notes & Queries 21 Sept. 223/1 She's uncommon fond o' they.

1890 A. Gissing Village Hampden I. iv. 102 I don't understand anything about they.

1890 A. C. Bickley Midst Surrey Hills I. i. 12 It 'ud be a sight better if 'ee kept they to hissen.

1932 A. Bell Cherry Tree ix. 130 You can't do just as you like with bees. They be wonderful chancy things; you can't ever get to the bottom of they.

1974 W. Foley Child in Forest i. xii. 128 We..were certainly not prepared to be beckoned over, and asked to tell: ‘What d'ye think o' they, then?’

1998 A. Warner Sopranos 161 In a shot glass? Aye, one of they. Aye. Thanks.

II. As antecedent pronoun with postmodifying clause or phrase. Cf. he pron. II., she pron.¹ II., that pron.¹ II., those pron. 5.

5. Followed by a relative clause. Those people (that, †which, who); = those pron. 2, 5.

a. As subject. Somewhat archaic.

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a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 1629 Þei þat seie it forsoþe saiden þe truþe.

1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope ii. ix They whiche ben on lyue haue some whiche drede them but theyr drede wantith and faylleth whan they ben dede.

1539 Bible (Great) 2 Kings vi. 16 For they that be with vs, are moo then they that be with them.

1611 Bible (King James) 2 Tim. iii. 6 Of this sort are they which creep into houses.

1691 A. Gavin Observ. Journy to Naples 290 They are they that have all the Nobility at command.

1706 tr. J. B. Morvan de Bellegarde Refl. upon Ridicule 194 They that see you in the Campaign in the Summer.

1803 W. Wordsworth Rob Roy's Grave 39 The good old rule Sufficeth them, the simple plan, That they should take, who have the power, And they should keep who can.

1850 Ld. Tennyson Princess (ed. 3) i. 20 And they that know such things..would call them masterpieces.

1903 W. E. B. Du Bois Souls of Black Folk xiv. 250 They that walked in darkness sang songs in the olden days—Sorrow Songs—for they were weary at heart.

1997 C. B. Divakaruni Mistress of Spices 189 Why do they say this, they who know right and wrong better far than I.

b. As object: = them pron. 8. Cf. sense A. 4. Now regional and nonstandard.

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c1450 (c1400) Julian of Norwich Revelations Divine Love: Shorter Version (1978) 39 (MED) In the whilke visyon er fulle many comfortabylle wordes and gretly styrrande to alle thaye that desyres to be crystes looverse.

1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) iii. 90 Reynawde..made all they that were wyth hym..to be hanged.

a1556 N. Udall Ralph Roister Doister (?1566) iii. v. sig. F.j^v And as for all they that woulde do you wrong.

1696 T. Dogget Country Wake iii. ii. 43 Clown, But of whom must we enquire? Hob. Why, of they that can tell.

1794 W. Peckitt Wonderful Love God to Men 137 Guiding the actions of they that are faithful.

1865 All Year Round 11 Mar. 154/2 Ay, and diverse more I've heerd of that never brought no good to they that saved them.

1900 A. H. Norway Parson Peter iv. 108 The devil damn they that keeps me here.

1997 C. Stasheff My Son, Wizard xxii. 276 Leave torture to they who seek to advance the cause of evil!

6. Followed by a prepositional phrase. The people of, in, etc. Also followed by an adverb of place, as within.Occasionally as object: cf. sense A. 5b.

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a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 2655 (MED) Þei of þat cite of þo segges al sad were.

c1400 Brut (Rawl. B. 171) 69 Þai wiþin kepte þe toune.

c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) i. xiii. 66 Thei of the lay parti which han vsid the hool Bible or oonli the Newe Testament in her modris langage.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Macc. xiii. 49 They in the castell at Ierusalem were kepte so strately, that they coude not come forth.

1630 tr. G. Botero Relations Famous Kingdomes World (rev. ed.) 130 The shops..nothing so full of wares, nor so rich, as they of London.

1673 R. Honywood tr. B. Nani Hist. Republick of Venice viii. 343 They on the other side of the Gattola.., marched a round pace to assault the Trenches.

1720 J. Strype Stow's Surv. of London (rev. ed.) II. v. xxvii. 359/2 They understood, that they of the City of London were not talliable.

1861 A. C. Wheeler Chron. Milwaukee xvii. 146 They of the East side claimed the right to do as they pleased in regard to their locality.

1890 A. Gissing Village Hampden I. iv He've told me times that in his young days..the instruments of the Shipcombe choir were all played by they of his own family.

1908 Outing Mar. 652/1 The Nicolotti, they of the black sash and cap, hold still one-half of Venice, including the railway station.

2003 Wilson Q. Spring 115/2 They of the deep tans, flowing pool gowns, and $100 trays of salami and pastrami.

B. adj. (determiner).

1. As demonstrative determiner, with plural noun: = those adj. 2, 5; (also frequently with weaker sense) = the adj., pron.², and n.¹ Now English regional (chiefly southern) and nonstandard. Cf. thaie adj..

a. Modifying a noun that is the subject.Quot. a1400 may show a transmission error rather than a genuine example of this use.

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a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 1423 Stil ai stod þai [Gött. þa, Trin. Cambr. þo] wandes thre.

a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 31 They two knyghtes mette with kynge Idres that was nere discomfited.

1795 W. B. Cadogan Funeral Serm. 11 Happy are they people that know and feel that this God is their's.

1877 L. J. Jennings Field Paths iii. 45 They rooks as you see on bärson's pläce.

1940 I. Fletcher Raleigh's Eden 639 Oh, Miss Mary, hit's you! I thought it was they raiders coming to get us.

1974 W. Foley Child in Forest i. iii. 34 Dance round thic tree so I can see how thee'st look when they ribbons do flare out.

b. Modifying a noun that is the object of a verb or preposition.

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a1500 ( J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (Rawl.) (1898) 160 (MED) Fore thay thre causis, I leue of that matiere.

c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 18 Þen he lacches his leue and þai lordes þonkit.

1776 T. Cogan John Buncle I. vi. 237 What, do you know they folks, Sir?

1789 C. Smith Ethelinde IV. viii. 176 Miss only makes herself a deal worse by talking about dying and they things.

1867 W. F. Rock Jim an' Nell 34 I can't abide, Jim, they two men.

1885 G. M. Fenn Patience Wins (1886) 130 A set o' fullish boys as plays they tricks.

1905 F. Young Sands of Pleasure i. iii Some o' they Cockney labourers began grumbling.

1948 M. Carbery & E. Grey Herts. Heritage 143 Keep out o' they nittles.

1998 A. Warner Sopranos 98 Ma big sister was on one of the holidays—in Spain or in Greece or Kos or one of they places.

2. U.S. regional (chiefly southern and south Midland), Caribbean, and in African-American use. As possessive pronoun: = their adj. 1.

ΘΚΠ

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

hereOE

theirc1175

theirs1498

theirna1800

they1843

1843 ‘R. Carlton’ New Purchase II. xlviii. 141 I rather allow Johnny Calvin's boys..ain't likely to have they idees physicked out of them.

1853 Pennsylvania Farm Jrnl. May 36/2 Dey legs is so long, dey see daylight a long time 'fore common chicken.

1896 B. Carradine Pastoral Sketches vii Didn't I tole you de Lawd was gwine to cuss dis whole nayborhood, and kill out dis poor white trash for dey own owdaciousness!

1918 E. C. Parsons Folk-Tales Andros Island, Bahamas 45 He pull it so hard till he break dey laig.

1928 J. M. Peterkin Scarlet Sister Mary 162 When dey is worried in dey mind.

1929 W. Faulkner Sartoris i. 23 They was a-settin' behind a table with they pistols layin' on the table.

1935 Z. N. Hurston Mules & Men i. ii. 45 They all brought they rocks and Christ turned 'em into bread.

1970 S. Wallace Bahamian Scene 9 Wastin' dey time an' dey car gas each week.

1974 Black World Nov. 58 Just because all the pussy they can snatch is what they can lick off they goddam fingers.

2000 I. Khan in N. Hopkinson Whispers from Cotton Tree Root 114 People uses to have a kind of belief in dem days, a respec' for all what they see happen with they own two eye.

C. adv.

U.S. regional (chiefly southern and south Midland) and Caribbean. As the subject of an existential clause: = there adv. 4d.

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1801 in N. E. Eliason Tarheel Talk (1956) 319 There,..they.

1843 ‘R. Carlton’ New Purchase I. xxviii. 269 If they warn't a mighty powerful heap of laffin.

1863 J. B. Jones Wild Western Scenes New Ser. viii. 88 ‘No,’ said Pompey. ‘Der's nuffin I see to shoot at.’ ‘Dey is. I see 'em,’ said Cæsar.

1874 ‘M. Twain’ in Atlantic Monthly Nov. 592/2 Dey was de biggest dey is.

1889 J. W. Riley Pipes o' Pan 41 They's music in the twitter of the bluebird and the jay.

1920 R. Lardner in Sat. Evening Post 27 Nov. 42/4 I and the Mrs. and Kate was the only ones there in evening clothes. The others had attended these functions before and knew that they wouldn't be enough suckers on hand to make any difference whether you wore a monkey suit or rompers.

1949 H. Hornsby Lonesome Valley 185 They's more ways than one to skin a cat.

1971 Advocate-News (Barbados) 16 Nov. 7 So look out now they are gay times ahead.

1973 Black World Aug. 61/2 They was ten packets looked like Horse.

2000 J. Corbett in J. Bowe et al. Gig 208 nascar, that's about the growinest sport they is in the world.

D. n.

People in authority, regarded as impersonal and oppressive.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > [noun] > those in authority

the powers that be1526

superiority1542

authority?1553

they1939

vlast1980

1939 W. H. Auden in Times Lit. Suppl. 25 Mar. (Spring Books Suppl.) p. i The legions of cruel inquisitive ‘They’ Were so solid and strong, like dogs.

1950 T. Wiesengrund-Adorno et al. Authoritarian Personality i. iii. 98 The inner conflict is replaced by a new conflict between groups: the stereotypically moral ‘we’ and the stereotypically immoral ‘they’.

1999 D. Pollock Telling Bodies performing Birth iii. 128 Karen arrived at the hospital and felt herself suddenly subject to a vast, impersonal ‘they’.

Phrases

they are (also were): (introducing a plural noun modified by a following relative clause) it is (or was) (cf. earlier it are, it were, and see it pron. 2). Now rare.

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1682 N. Grew Anat. Plants 20 They are the Lignous Parts of a Plant, generally, which yield the Alkalick Salt.

1694 R. South 12 Serm. II. 171 The Scripture vouches Solomon for the wisest of Men: and they are his Proverbs that prove him so.

a1716 R. South 12 Serm. (1717) VI. 325 They were the Sins and Apostasies of their Souls, for the Reformation of which he plagued them.

1748 S. Richardson Clarissa IV. xlvii. 272 They are the abandoned people in the house who keep thee up to a resolution against her.

1838 E. B. Pusey Parochial Serm. (1883) III. 223 They are our own self-chosen employments,..which hinder prayer.

1889 A. Lang in Scribner's Mag. Sept. 265/2 They are small-minded and small-hearted people who are most shocked by what they call ‘vanity’ in the great.

1899 L. C. Cornford R. L. Stevenson vi. 140 Alan Breck Stewart is the central figure, and they are his sayings and deeds of arms that go to make the chief interest.

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

单词	they
释义	theypron.adj.adv.n. Brit. /ðeɪ/, U.S. /ðeɪ/ Forms: 1. α. early Middle English hay (northern; perhaps transmission error), early Middle English þeȝȝ ( Ormulum), early Middle English ðeȝȝ ( Ormulum), early Middle English ðei, Middle English ai (transmission error), Middle English ȝei (East Anglian), Middle English ȝey (Norfolk and Surrey), Middle English þai, Middle English þaie, Middle English þaij, Middle English þaþ (northern), Middle English þauȝ (perhaps transmission error), Middle English þay, Middle English þaye, Middle English þeȝ, Middle English þei, Middle English þeie, Middle English þeih, Middle English þey, Middle English þeye, Middle English thae (south-west midlands), Middle English þhei, Middle English theigh, Middle English theyȝ, Middle English yae, Middle English yai, Middle English yaie, Middle English yaye, Middle English yeie, Middle English yia (transmission error), Middle English–1500s thai, Middle English–1500s thaie, Middle English–1500s thaye, Middle English–1500s yay, Middle English–1500s yei, Middle English–1500s yey, Middle English–1600s thei, Middle English–1600s theie, Middle English–1600s theye, Middle English–1700s thay, Middle English– they, 1500s thej, 1600s theij, 1600s–1700s th'; English regional 1800s– thaay, 1800s– thae (north-eastern), 1800s– thay (chiefly south-western and south-west midlands); U.S. regional 1900s– thei' (in sense B. 2, in African-American usage); Scottish pre-1700 thaie, pre-1700 thaiy, pre-1700 theie, pre-1700 yai, pre-1700 yaj, pre-1700 yay, pre-1700 yey, pre-1700 yhai, pre-1700 1700s– thay, pre-1700 1700s– they, pre-1700 1800s thae, pre-1700 1800s thaye, pre-1700 1800s thei, pre-1700 1800s theye, pre-1700 1800s– thai. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 125–7 & swa þeȝȝ leddenn heore lif Till þatt teȝȝ wærenn alde. Þatt naffdenn ðeȝȝ þurrh þeȝȝre streon. Ne sune child. ne dohhterr.a1200 (?OE) MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 189 Fleshliche lustes..beoð þe smeðere him to biswikende for þan þe þei nehȝie wunien.a1250 Wohunge ure Lauerd in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 277 Þai grennede for gladschipe euchan toward oðer, as wode wulues þat fainen of hare praie.a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 573 Mete quorbi ðei migten liuen.a1325 (?a1300) in G. H. McKnight Middle Eng. Humorous Tales (1913) 24 Gef yat hay may heng hey, And gef yat hy may se, Yat yay be heng' on a tre. ▸ c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Matt. vi. 5 Thei han resseyued her meede.c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xix. 416 Þere they ligge..moste, lecherye þere regneth.c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 40 To telle yow al the condicion Of eech of hem..whiche they weere and of what degree.a1450 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Lamb.) (1887) i. l. 2747 Þay wyste alle at ones.c1450 (?a1402) J. Trevisa De Regimine Principum (Digby 233) f. 3 Theyȝ that bien corrupt appetite defre in other sciens.a1500 (a1450) Generides (Trin. Cambr.) l. 2633 So fought y^ei still.a1557 J. Cheke tr. Gospel St. Matthew (1843) xxvi. 15 Yei appointed him 30 silverlinges.c1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) ii. 101 Than to Dalkeith thai maid thame boun.1586 in W. Fraser Chiefs of Grant (1883) III. 163 Wyth sic diligens as thae gwdlie may.c1603–8 J. Kamington in R. Maitland Geneal. House & Surname Setoun (1830) 39 Thy constant clan thaiy ar discend of kings.1622 in H. Paton Suppl. Rep. MSS Earl of Mar & Kellie (1930) 104 Be all lykelyeheade thaye are at Prage before this tyme, or then thaye have fothin a battell.1674 S. Butler Hudibras (new ed.) i. i. 20 They stoutly in defence on't stood..And till th' were storm'd, and beaten out Ne'r left the Fortify'd Redoubt.1709 J. Watson Choice Coll. Scots Poems ii. 20 Amaisdlie, and baisdlie, Richt bissilie thay ran.1775 J. Greenman Jrnl. Dec. in Diary of Common Soldier (1978) 23 Thay formed them Selvs along the rampers.1857 H. S. Riddell Bk. Psalms Lowland Sc. xxi. 11 Ane mischeevous contræivence whilk thaye werna yeable til carryie throwe.1889 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. (ed. 2) (at cited word) Thaay could n't tell what it was maade on fer dirt.1894 J. W. M'Laren Tibbie & Tam 12 Thae were confronted at ilka turn by birkies wi' broads afore and ahint them.1968 H. Oster in A. Dundes Mother Wit (1973) 554/1 They steal the chickens, then they would tie thei' legs together.1995 D. Purves Hert’s Bluid 20 At the tyme thai open Paurliement, thai hae ane unco chiel, Blek Rod, that thryce maun chap the chaumer dure.2012 Independent on Sunday 15 Jan. (New Review) 23/3 What will they do? β. early Middle English teȝȝ ( Ormulum), Middle English day, Middle English dei, Middle English ta, Middle English tai, Middle English tay, Middle English tei, Middle English tey, Middle English (1800s– regional) dey; U.S. regional 1900s– day (in African-American usage); Scottish pre-1700 dai (south-western), pre-1700 day (south-western), 1800s– dey (Shetland and Orkney); Caribbean 1900s– da, 1900s– deh, 1900s– dey. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 18218 Forr þatt teȝȝ wolldenn bliþeliȝ. Harrdnenn..Þatt teȝȝre bapptisstess fulluhht. Wass bettre.a1250 Wohunge ure Lauerd in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 273 Þu band ta helle dogges, and reftes ham hare praie þat tai hefden grediliche gripen.a1300 (?a1250) Serm. (Trin. Cambr.) in Bull. Mod. Humanities Res. Assoc. (1928) 2 106 Among manie oþere songis, þat litil ben wort þat tei singin, so sein þei þus.?a1350 Guy of Warwick (BL Add.) (1974) l. 1089 It was na man that tay come ate That al tu dust thay hym smate.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Coll. Phys.) 23254 Þat dreri din, þat balful berre, Þat ta [a1400 Vesp. þai] witoutin stint sal here.a1425 Rule St. Benet (Lansd.) (1902) 10 Yeme þaim, þat tay foliz þe wordis of god.1449 R. Wenyngton in Paston Lett. & Papers (2005) III. 69 And dey bade do my wurst, by cause I had so fewe schyppys and so smale, that they scornyd wyth me.c1450 (a1400) Libeaus Desconus (Calig. A.ii) (1969) 538 Þus departede day, Lybeaus and þat may, As þey hadden tyȝt.1832 W. Irving Jrnl. (1919) III. 180 ‘Look at these Delawares,’ say the Osages, ‘dey got short legs—no can run—must stand and fight a great heap.’1898 ‘Junda’ Echoes from Klingrahool 6 Dey liftet der faces ta ljook at da sky.1931 J. T. S. Leask Peculiar People 125 Dey haved doon deir etches, luppid api deir horse, an' reed for da Skerries at a spunder.1994 L. Johnson in J. Robertson Tongue in yer Heid 164 Dey solisted a meenit, dan a blue-cled wife got oot, an da car set aff fer da nordert. γ. Middle English þe, Middle English ye, Middle English–1600s the; Scottish pre-1700 the. a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 201 Alle holie beden ben godfruhte men biheue, ac þe ben swo fele þat hie ben arfeð tellen.c1300 (?c1225) King Horn (Laud) (1901) 141 Of schip þe gon fonde; An sette fot on grunde.c1300 Evangelie (Dulwich Coll.) 401 in Publ. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer. (1915) 30 572 Wyt blisful chere an gamin ant gle Alle ye [printed þe; c1425 Bodl. Add. þei] comin þ[e] child to se, Ant ye [printed þe; c1425 Bodl. Add. þan] seide þe frendis alle, ‘Zacarie þei wolde him cal[l]e.’a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) 13513 He bad geder þe relef of hepes, Þerwiþ þe fulde twelue lepes.1466 in J. C. Cox Notes on Churches Derbyshire (1879) IV. 86 Another chesable of Rede yt the syng The masse in.c1475 Gregory's Chron. in J. Gairdner Hist. Coll. Citizen London (1876) 213 To sette the pavys where the lykyd.c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 123 When the knewen all the cause þo kynges bydene All denyed it anon.1542 in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 335 Praying myne exceketryx & oversears to be lovers to my sole as the wollde that I shold be to thars beyng in lyke kasse.1568 in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1928) II. 148 The spend the pelf thame betwene.c1600 Hist. & Life James VI (1804) 121 The [ed. 1825: Thay] spairt not to cum againes uther in oppin hostilitie.1655 Mouswald Kirk Session 9 Dec. Whether or no the take cairfull inspectione into the cariage of famileis..to sie if they leiv soberlie and cristianlie.1683 in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 308 Wee suppose the might keep of by Reason of a Late distemper of the small pox. δ. Middle English thi, Middle English thy, Middle English thye, Middle English þi, Middle English þy, Middle English þye, Middle English þyi, Middle English yi (northern and north midlands), Middle English yie (East Anglian), Middle English yy (northern); Scottish pre-1700 thy; Irish English (Wexford) 1800s thye. Slightly earlier evidence is provided by Ling. Atlas Late Mediaeval Eng., which records forms þye, þyi from a copy of Prick of Conscience in the mid 14th-cent. MS Canterbury Cathedral Lit. D.13 (whose scribal language is placed in Wiltshire).a1400 (c1300) Archbishop & Nun (Coll. Phys.) in J. Small Eng. Metrical Homilies (1862) 87 Þi [printed thai] wend alle that he sek ware. ▸ c1426 J. Audelay Poems (1931) 193 To castelles and setis þi floyn away.a1450 Mandeville's Trav. (Bodl. e Mus.) 83 Thi shere awey the right pappe, for it shal not lette hem for to shete.a1450 (c1400) in D. M. Grisdale 3 Middle Eng. Serm. (1939) 22 Þi mad fro day to day gret sorw.c1475 St. Margaret (Yale Beinecke 365) l. 63 in L. T. Smith Common-place Bk. 15th Cent. (1886) 109 Talys she gowd will tell..of other seyntes many moo, How they syffyryd wyll and woo, And how thye dede ther mertydam take.a1500 in C. Brown Relig. Lyrics 15th Cent. (1939) 128 Forth to bedlem þan þe rode..Vn-tyll yie [printed þie] were—Vntyll yie [printed þie] were þer ihu lay.1644 in W. Fraser Memorials Family Wemyss (1888) III. 92 Thy haue wirrtin to you.1657 A. Johnston Diary (1940) III. 84 If thy maid not good use of it the blayme should lye at their awen doore.1684 J. Stewart Let. in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 219 Thes thy sead in may own herien.a1827 J. Poole Gloss. in T. P. Dolan & D. Ó Muirithe Dial. Forth & Bargy (1996) Thye..They. ε. Middle English ȝa (northern), Middle English þa, Middle English tha, Middle English yaa, Middle English–1500s ya; English regional 1700s– tha; Scottish pre-1700 tha, pre-1700 ya; Irish English 2000s– tha (northern). a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Coll. Phys.) l. 19359 Þa [a1400 Vesp. þai] wente ioifuler þan are, Na noȝte þai menid of þair sare.c1400 Brut (Rawl. B. 171) 85 When Kay and Bedwere hade herde al þat þis woman hade tolde, þa turnede aȝeyne, and comen to Kyng Arthure, & tolde him al þat þai hade seyne & harde. ▸ 1435 R. Misyn tr. R. Rolle Fire of Love 118 Þa suffer not þer þoght wauyr fro god, so þat qwen þa rise to pray, þa be qwhickar þen þai before were.1483 in Acts Lords of Council Civil Causes (1839) I. 81/2 The malis of the said landis to remain as tha now do vntakin vp be ony partii.a1500 Rule Third Order St. Francis in W. W. Seton Two 15th Cent. Franciscan Rules (1914) 48 Tha must restore all that thay haue of oder mennes goodes. ▸ ?a1505 R. Henryson Ressoning betuix Deth & Man 18 in Poems (1981) 174 My name, at me forsuth sen that thow speirs, Tha call me Deid.1522 J. Vaus Rudimenta i. sig. bb Amantut, tha ar lwfit.1524 in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 233 Ya cum nott throhe loncaschyre.1557 in W. Mackay & H. C. Boyd Rec. Inverness (1911) I. 8 Quhat ever tha be that makis fyr in the Ellon salbe punist with ane nale in his luge.a1600 ( W. Stewart tr. H. Boece Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) II. 720 Forlane, tha sa, suld ay cum lauchand hame.a1789 I. Ritson Borrowdale Let. 7 in Misc. Wks. Tim Bobbin (1793) Tha feed tem wi beck-sand, as tha dya at Whitehebben wi cwols.1844 W. Barnes Witch in Poems Rural Life in Dorset Dial. 280 An' every time the voke went up to bed Tha wer a-hagrod till tha wer hafe dead.a1920 T. Armstrong Marla Hill Ducks in B. Griffiths Stotty 'n' Spice Cake (2006) 141 If he'd geen them a chance, tha wid awl geten bail.2002 Belfast News Let. 2 Feb. 20 Bit whun tha staurtet tae claud thur gear aff tha lorrie tha wus makin a quare rackit. ζ. Scottish (northern and north-eastern) 1800s– 'ey, 1900s– ey. 1890 J. Sinclair Scenes & Stories 194 The Sinclairs hae had a' 'e honours in Caitness 'is mony a day, an 'ey can tak' 'at wi' 'e lave.1909 D. Houston 'E Silkie Man 10 'Ey thocht id micht be wancanny.1955 W. P. Milne Eppie Elrick xxvi. 240 'Ey rinkit 'e place first ava tae see gin 'ere wis onybody harkenin in a hidie-holie.2003 A. Smith Sair Fecht (SCOTS) Trees are affa bonny jist noo, As ey tak on their Winter hue. 2. Combined (sometimes in contracted form) with a following word (usually a verb). early Middle English þeȝȝ- ( Ormulum), Middle English þai-, 1500s–1600s thei-, 1500s–1700s th-, 1500s–1700s th'-, 1500s– they-; English regional 1700s tea- (Lancashire), 1700s–1800s tey- (Lancashire), 1800s thai-, 1800s– th-, 1800s– th'-, 1800s– tha-, 1800s– thay-, 1800s– the-, 1800s– thea-, 1800s– thi- (Lancashire); Scottish 1800s de- (Shetland), 1800s th-, 1900s– 'ey- (north-eastern), 2000s– thay-. Frequently with contracted verbs, where an apostrophe is now standard.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 19716 Acc þeȝȝt rihht nohht ne wisstenn. Þatt wass all soþ.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Coll. Phys.) 23797 Quat þair to fand, to tel þe soþe, Baþe me wantis tung and toþe.1524 Vision xiv, in Evergreen I. 220 Theyil jade hir and blad hir Untill scho brak hir Tether.c1540 in Weever Anc. Fun. Mon. (1631) 282 God grant hem euirlastyng lyff, To whom we hop thar gon.?1577 Misogonus ii. iv, in R. W. Bond Early Plays from Ital. (1911) 231 Their all come.1594 J. Ogle Lament. Troy sig. E3 Swelling with fome through Aeolus puffing pride, So do they yell when they're by Hectors side.1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xx. 119 Down from the wast tha're centaures, though women all aboue.1611 Second Maiden's Trag. (1909) i. ii. 10 Th'eir fellow prisoners.1635 Praise of Nothing (single sheet) Theil hav't although they break their brains or bring themselves to nothing.1707 E. Ward Hudibras Redivivus II. vii. 18 Th'ad put the holy Puppet on A Surplice.?1746 ‘T. Bobbin’ View Lancs. Dial. 27 Then it wou'd be os plene os Blackstonedge ot tearn meying an arrant Gawby on meh.1817 in Gentleman's Mag. (1836) 2 589 Dwyne yun fasin, gin hit beena da vyldest itt ivver dere faen apun yit.?1851 A. Bywater Gossips 19 O think they'n good gin at Beggar'd Choild.1860 J. P. Kay-Shuttleworth Scarsdale II. 285 Teyn turned me eawt o' t'work-heause.1924 J. Wight in Swatches o' Hamespun 74 Aw gat 'em fae Dauvit's muckle dother, fin she wis oot at the trips; an' awyte, 'ey're rale gweed an' strong.1981 P. Niesewand Word of Gentleman xix. 126 You don't think they'd sing like canaries?.. They'll sing, Claud... If they thought it would help them, they'd tell on their mothers.2010 Countryfile Feb. 38/3 They've got it all wrong. They'll find Snowdonia..stunning, but they're all missing the chance to see it during the best month: February. Origin: A borrowing from early Scandinavian. Etymology: < early Scandinavian (compare Old Icelandic þeir (masculine, nominative), þá (masculine, accusative), þǽr (feminine), þau (neuter), Old Norwegian þeir , þæir (masculine, nominative), þá (masculine, accusative), þǽr (feminine), þau , þu (neuter) (Norwegian (Nynorsk) dei , (Bokmål) de ), Old Swedish þēr , þē , þǣr (masculine, nominative), þē , þā (masculine, accusative), þār , þā , þēr , þē , þǣ , þǣr (feminine), þēn , þē (neuter) (Swedish de ), Old Danish the , thæ (nominative, all genders) (Danish de ), Old Gutnish þair (masculine, nominative), þā (masculine, accusative), þār (feminine), þaun (neuter)), reflecting a set of forms which fulfil the function of the third person plural personal pronoun as well as of the demonstrative pronoun from the earliest recorded stages of the Scandinavian languages, although in origin they are forms of the demonstrative pronoun (see the adj., pron.², and n.¹).Circumstances of borrowing and pattern of spread in Middle English. This pronoun occurs earliest in texts which show considerable lexical influence from early Scandinavian. Its borrowing was probably largely a response to a functional pressure, to disambiguate the third person plural pronoun from the masculine and feminine singular forms; compare discussion of form history at hi pron.² (the native third person plural form) and at he pron., n.¹, and adj. and hoo pron. and n. The same pressure probably prompted the subsequent spread of this pronoun form within English; compare she pron.¹, n., and adj. for a similar process affecting the third person singular feminine subject form. The spread of they was very gradual: it is already the invariable form in the Ormulum (compare quot. c1175 at sense A. 1a), but forms of hi pron.² still remain the norm in some texts of southern provenance up to the end of the 14th cent. The subject form they appears, however, generally to have been adopted more rapidly than the object and possessive forms their adj. and them pron. This appears true both of the initial borrowing and of the subsequent spread within English. For example, in the Ormulum the forms found for the possessive and object functions vary, her pron.¹ still being found although their adj. predominates, while for the object form them pron. is less common in this text than 'em pron. (being found chiefly after a vowel). Similarly, if one considers a much later text from outside the area of heaviest Scandinavian influence, the early 15th-cent. Hengwrt manuscript of Chaucer has they as the usual subject form, but retains her pron.¹ and 'em pron. as the usual possessive and object forms. In view of these factors, it is possible that their adj. and them pron. may partly show analogical alteration of her pron.¹ and 'em pron. Form history. The ζ. forms reflect loss of initial th- in low-stress positions (e.g. in pronouns, the definite article, etc.), which is a characteristic feature of northern and north-eastern varieties of Scots (compare δ. forms at their adj. and pron., ζ. forms at them pron., adj., and n., etc.). For early Middle English instances of the spelling þaie as personal pronoun see (probably etymologically distinct) thaie pron. and adj. There is also some formal overlap with tho pron.¹ and adj. and thae adj. and pron. Instances of the form þa from northern Middle English sources occurring in demonstrative or antecedent function have been placed at tho pron.¹; for Scots forms occurring in such functions see thae adj. Specific uses. The uses in senses B. 2 and C. may have originated as variants of their adj. and there adv. respectively; for the perception of this compare the form thei' which occurs in sense B. 2. A. pron. The subjective case of the third person plural pronoun; the plural of he, she, or it. I. As personal pronoun. 1. The people, animals, or things previously mentioned or implied or easily identified. a. As subject or (now formal) subject complement. ΚΠ c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 125–7 & swa þeȝȝ leddenn heore lif Till þatt teȝȝ wærenn alde. Þatt naffdenn ðeȝȝ þurrh þeȝȝre streon. Ne sune child. ne dohhterr. a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 39 (MED) Þe gode herdes wakieð on faire liflode ouer here orf, þe þei leswueð on halie larspelle. c1300 (?c1225) King Horn (Laud) (1901) 141 Of schip þe gon fonde; An sette fot on grunde. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 800 (MED) For scham þay stode bath and quakid. 1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) xii. 301 Lete theym shyfte hardely, they two togyder. 1537 in State Papers Henry VIII (1834) II. 480 They goo aboute to fykkle with Iryshe men. 1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 41 Quhen now thay [sc. herrings] ar gutted..thay ar sa leine that thay ar nocht to be compared with the rest. 1601 B. Jonson Every Man in his Humor iii. i. sig. F4 They'le keep a man deuoutly hungry all day, & at night send him supperlesse to bed. View more context for this quotation 1672 T. Manley Νομοθετης: Cowell's Interpreter sig. Iii 1^v A jarring sound, such as Dogs use when they snarle. 1706 E. Ward Hudibras Redivivus II. v. 27 They're Rogues, as sure as Light's in Heaven. 1792 W. Withering Bot. Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 2) III. 278 When magnified they appear like ill-formed warts. 1838 J. Ruskin Ess. Music & Painting §24, in Wks. (1903) I. 285 If others do not follow their example,—the more fools they. 1846 G. Grote Hist. Greece II. i. xxi. 175 They two were the framers of all Grecian theogony. 1909 J. W. Jenkinson Exper. Embryol. 28 The plane in which they all lie. 1988 Yankee Dec. 126/2 Whatever's trapped in the net of the senses, moth, starlight, milkweed—that is they. 2000 K. Atkinson Emotionally Weird (2001) 214 They went out into the darkness on a quest for Mars Bars. b. Used redundantly with a noun that is the subject or subject complement. Now nonstandard.Frequently in ballad style. ΚΠ a1300 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 124 At min endin-day þe warlais þai wil be her fort take þair pray. c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. vi. l. 148 Ac ancres and heremytes þat eten [noȝt] but at nones, And namore er morwe myne almesse shul þei haue. a1450 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Lamb.) (1887) i. l. 4990 Þritty oþer wyþ hym þey went. a1550 (?a1475) Battle of Otterburn (1959) l. 34 The skottes they cryde on hyght. 1580 A. Saker Narbonus ii. 122 If your finger ake, the Appoticaryes they must picke your Pocket, and the Phisitions must minister all the money out of your Purse. 1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II ii. ii. 89 The commons they are colde, And will (I feare) reuolt on Herefords side. View more context for this quotation a1627 T. Middleton No Wit (1657) v. 114 Now the Bells they go trim, they go trim. 1645 J. Marsh Marsh his Mickle Monument 55 The Fairies they were fled. 1796 M. G. Lewis Alonzo the Brave xii, in Monk III. 65 The worms they crept in, and the worms they crept out. 1807 J. Hogg Mountain Bard xxiv The ducks they whackit, the dogs they yowled. 1905 E. Hough Heart's Desire xv. 204 The boys they gambled about two thousand dollars on that horse over at Socorro. 1964 B. Dylan (title of song) The times they are a-changin'. 2. In anaphoric reference to a singular noun or pronoun.Use of they to refer to a singular antecedent has sometimes been considered erroneous. a. With an antecedent that is grammatically singular, but refers collectively to the members of a group, or has universal reference (e.g. each person, everyone, nobody).Sometimes, but not always, used to avoid having to specify the gender(s) of the individual(s) being referred to; cf. sense A. 2b. ΚΠ a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 2179 Hastely hiȝed eche wiȝt..til þei neyȝþed so neiȝh..þere william & his worþi lef were liand i-fere. c1450 (?c1400) Three Kings Cologne (Cambr. Ee.4.32) (1886) 6 Noman was hardy in all þat countrey to sette aȝens hem, for drede þat þey hadde of hem. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. lxxx^v Euery one visered himselfe, so that they were vnknowen. 1698 A. Boyer & J. Savage tr. P. Le Lorrain de Vallemont in T. Hearne Ductor Historicus I. ii. iv. 130 Leaving every Body to their liberty of believing what they pleas'd. 1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones III. viii. xi. 251 Every Body fell a laughing, as how could they help it. View more context for this quotation 1858 W. Bagehot in National Rev. Oct. 476 Nobody fancies for a moment that they are reading about any thing beyond the pale of ordinary propriety. 1874 G. W. Dasent Half a Life 3 Every one likes to keep it to themselves as long as they can. 1955 Househ. Guide & Almanac (News of World) 211/1 Everybody can make good pastry if they have the ‘know-how.’ 2014 Dalby (Queensland) Herald (Nexis) 21 Oct. 16 Each member [of the women's touch football team] found something they could improve on in the future. b. With an antecedent referring to an individual generically or indefinitely (e.g. someone, a person, the student), used esp. so as to make a general reference to such an individual without specifying gender. Cf. he pron. 2b.In the 21st century, other th– pronouns (and the possessive adjective their) are sometimes used to refer to a named individual, so as to avoid revealing or making an assumption about that person's gender; cf. sense A. 2c, and quots. 2008 at their adj. 2b, 2009 at them pron. 4b, 2009 at themself pron. 2b. ΚΠ a1450 in Neuphilol. Mitteilungen (1948) 49 154 (MED) If þou sall lofe, Þe person fyrste, I rede, þou proue Whether þat thay be fals or lele. 1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. IIIiiii^v If..a psalme scape any person, or a lesson, or els y^t they omyt one verse or twayne. 1653 Mercurius Pragmaticus No. 8. 61 If any one of them so elected members die, the part which they serve for, have liberty to chuse and present another. 1759 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 27 Apr. (1932) (modernized text) V. 2350 If a person is born of a..gloomy temper..they cannot help it. 1818 H. B. Fearon Sketches Amer. 80 Servants, let me here observe, are called ‘helps’. If you call a servant by that name they leave you without notice. 1877 J. Ruskin Fors Clavigera VII. lxxx. 234 I am never angry with anybody unless they deserve it. 1940 Educational Forum May 423/1 True education is based upon the needs of the pupil... The needs of the pupil are expressed in the activities in which they are engaged. 1968 Listener 3 Oct. 440/3 When somebody becomes prime minister they're immediately put on a pedestal. 2019 @_ShristiUprety 26 Aug. in twitter.com (accessed 28 Aug.) My personal rule is to never trust anyone who says that they had a good time in high school. c. Used with reference to a person whose sense of personal identity does not correspond to conventional sex and gender distinctions, and who has typically asked to be referred to as they (rather than as he or she). ΚΠ 2009 @thebutchcaucus 11 July in twitter.com (accessed 9 Oct. 2019) RT @pieskiis: @FireboltX What about they/them/theirs? #genderqueer #pronouns. 2013 Harvard-Westlake Chron. (Los Angeles) 25 Sept. b2/3 Asher thought they were the only nonbinary person at school until a couple weeks ago. 2019 www.thecut.com 3 June (accessed 21 Aug. 2019) In 2016, they got a role on Orange Is the New Black as a wisecracking white supremacist. 3. As indefinite pronoun. Cf. them pron. 5. a. People in general; any persons not including the speaker; people. Cf. one pron. 17a.they with an active verb is frequently used colloquially instead of the passive voice.Frequently in they say: people say, it is said. as they say: see say v.¹ 1b. ΚΠ a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) Kings Prol. l. 54 Þe þredde [part] is of Salamon hafynge thre bookis, prouerbis þat þei clepyn parablys þat is Masloth, þe ferþe ecclesiasten..þe fifþe is song of songes. a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 928 (MED) Ouþer men seyd þey shuld nat werche Lengyr þan þey rong none at þe chyrche. 1415 in 43rd Ann. Rep. Deputy Keeper Public Rec. (1882) App. i. 583 in Parl. Papers (C. 3425) XXXVI. 1 A man..yay calle Skranby toke me a lettre. 1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus at Basis Suche a foote as they set chafing disshes on. 1582 W. Allen Briefe Hist. Glorious Martyrdom sig. D5 Sent to prison vpon suspition of Papistry, as they terme the Catholike faith. 1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing iv. i. 255 To strange sores, strangely they straine the cure. View more context for this quotation ?a1635 Good Wives Ale in B. Jonson Wks. (1925–51) VIII. 448 My Pockhol'd fface (they say) appear'd to some Much like a drye and drayned Honnycombe. 1671 Lady M. Bertie in 12th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1890) App. v. 23 They say the King hath put out a Proclamation to forbid maskerades. 1756 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. I. 473 They still shew here the three cells in which Cosmo..used frequently to retire. 1802 D. Wordsworth Grasmere Jrnls. 19 June (1991) 111 In his old age he was boarded or as they say let by the parish. 1884 Manch. Examiner 17 May 5/1 In India and in Holland they ‘cure’ tobacco fairly well. 1896 ‘M. Field’ Attila ii. 49 He shall be scourged With the iron-knotted lash they use for slaves. 1923 P. G. Wodehouse Inimitable Jeeves v. 55 To make me want to slide into a cellar and lie low till they blew the All-Clear. 1961 N. Coward Why do Wrong People Travel? in B. Day N. Coward: Compl. Lyrics (1998) 327/3 Travel they say improves the mind. 2002 Press (Canterbury, N.Z.) (Electronic ed.) 4 Feb. He..is eager to tell me about his first paraflight: ‘That's the one where they pull you behind a boat and you have a parachute on and float up.’ b. colloquial. People in authority collectively, regarded as impersonal and oppressive. ΚΠ 1852 G. A. Sala in Househ. Words 29 May 252/1 A very numerous parlour company, composed of guards and engine-drivers..who call the locomotives ‘she,’ the company ‘they,’ and each other ‘mate.’ 1886 R. Kipling Delilah in Definitive Verse (1940) 7 One day, they [sc. people in power] brewed a secret... It related to Appointments. 1945 H. Nicolson Let. 27 May (1967) 465 People..believe that ‘they’ mean the upper classes, or the Conservatives. 1947 ‘G. Orwell’ Eng. People 24 English political thinking is much governed by the word ‘They’. ‘They’ are the higher-ups, the mysterious powers. 1967 G. F. Fiennes I tried to run Railway iii. 25 ‘They’ shifted me to York. 1999 M. Davis Autobiogr. Philos. x. 200 If ‘they’ are always watching, then every possibility to do something good..may be only a new trap by which ‘they’ conceal something bad. 4. Used for the objective case; = them pron., adj., and n. †a. In literary use, chiefly owing to grammatical analogy or hypercorrection. Obsolete.With quot. ?c1450 cf. save prep. 2c. ΚΠ c1390 (c1350) in C. Horstmann Minor Poems Vernon MS (1892) i. 174 (MED) Now is wel sene to-day Þat he loueþ vs more þen þay ffor he ne sende hem but Angel brede. ?c1450 (?a1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 391 Curatis..claymen so ferforþli þes tiþis, þat no man lawfully may..minystre hem save þai. a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. ccxxx. f. clii But y^e losse ran to they of y^e Castell. 1568 T. Howell Arbor of Amitie f. 31 Salomon..Was not so gay, as one of they. 1681 Heraclitus Ridens 11 Oct. 1/1 An Officer, who is sworn not to permit any person to speak with them, or they with any body. 1694 Ld. Delamere Wks. 27 That will only tend to render both you and they uneasie. b. regional (chiefly British) and nonstandard. As the emphatic objective. ΚΠ 1793 E. D. Clarke Tour S. Eng. iv. 175 Hur has got one o'they. 1878 Notes & Queries 21 Sept. 223/1 She's uncommon fond o' they. 1890 A. Gissing Village Hampden I. iv. 102 I don't understand anything about they. 1890 A. C. Bickley Midst Surrey Hills I. i. 12 It 'ud be a sight better if 'ee kept they to hissen. 1932 A. Bell Cherry Tree ix. 130 You can't do just as you like with bees. They be wonderful chancy things; you can't ever get to the bottom of they. 1974 W. Foley Child in Forest i. xii. 128 We..were certainly not prepared to be beckoned over, and asked to tell: ‘What d'ye think o' they, then?’ 1998 A. Warner Sopranos 161 In a shot glass? Aye, one of they. Aye. Thanks. II. As antecedent pronoun with postmodifying clause or phrase. Cf. he pron. II., she pron.¹ II., that pron.¹ II., those pron. 5. 5. Followed by a relative clause. Those people (that, †which, who); = those pron. 2, 5. a. As subject. Somewhat archaic. ΚΠ a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 1629 Þei þat seie it forsoþe saiden þe truþe. 1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope ii. ix They whiche ben on lyue haue some whiche drede them but theyr drede wantith and faylleth whan they ben dede. 1539 Bible (Great) 2 Kings vi. 16 For they that be with vs, are moo then they that be with them. 1611 Bible (King James) 2 Tim. iii. 6 Of this sort are they which creep into houses. View more context for this quotation 1691 A. Gavin Observ. Journy to Naples 290 They are they that have all the Nobility at command. 1706 tr. J. B. Morvan de Bellegarde Refl. upon Ridicule 194 They that see you in the Campaign in the Summer. 1803 W. Wordsworth Rob Roy's Grave 39 The good old rule Sufficeth them, the simple plan, That they should take, who have the power, And they should keep who can. 1850 Ld. Tennyson Princess (ed. 3) i. 20 And they that know such things..would call them masterpieces. 1903 W. E. B. Du Bois Souls of Black Folk xiv. 250 They that walked in darkness sang songs in the olden days—Sorrow Songs—for they were weary at heart. 1997 C. B. Divakaruni Mistress of Spices 189 Why do they say this, they who know right and wrong better far than I. b. As object: = them pron. 8. Cf. sense A. 4. Now regional and nonstandard. ΚΠ c1450 (c1400) Julian of Norwich Revelations Divine Love: Shorter Version (1978) 39 (MED) In the whilke visyon er fulle many comfortabylle wordes and gretly styrrande to alle thaye that desyres to be crystes looverse. 1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) iii. 90 Reynawde..made all they that were wyth hym..to be hanged. a1556 N. Udall Ralph Roister Doister (?1566) iii. v. sig. F.j^v And as for all they that woulde do you wrong. 1696 T. Dogget Country Wake iii. ii. 43 Clown, But of whom must we enquire? Hob. Why, of they that can tell. 1794 W. Peckitt Wonderful Love God to Men 137 Guiding the actions of they that are faithful. 1865 All Year Round 11 Mar. 154/2 Ay, and diverse more I've heerd of that never brought no good to they that saved them. 1900 A. H. Norway Parson Peter iv. 108 The devil damn they that keeps me here. 1997 C. Stasheff My Son, Wizard xxii. 276 Leave torture to they who seek to advance the cause of evil! 6. Followed by a prepositional phrase. The people of, in, etc. Also followed by an adverb of place, as within.Occasionally as object: cf. sense A. 5b. ΚΠ a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 2655 (MED) Þei of þat cite of þo segges al sad were. c1400 Brut (Rawl. B. 171) 69 Þai wiþin kepte þe toune. c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) i. xiii. 66 Thei of the lay parti which han vsid the hool Bible or oonli the Newe Testament in her modris langage. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Macc. xiii. 49 They in the castell at Ierusalem were kepte so strately, that they coude not come forth. 1630 tr. G. Botero Relations Famous Kingdomes World (rev. ed.) 130 The shops..nothing so full of wares, nor so rich, as they of London. 1673 R. Honywood tr. B. Nani Hist. Republick of Venice viii. 343 They on the other side of the Gattola.., marched a round pace to assault the Trenches. 1720 J. Strype Stow's Surv. of London (rev. ed.) II. v. xxvii. 359/2 They understood, that they of the City of London were not talliable. 1861 A. C. Wheeler Chron. Milwaukee xvii. 146 They of the East side claimed the right to do as they pleased in regard to their locality. 1890 A. Gissing Village Hampden I. iv He've told me times that in his young days..the instruments of the Shipcombe choir were all played by they of his own family. 1908 Outing Mar. 652/1 The Nicolotti, they of the black sash and cap, hold still one-half of Venice, including the railway station. 2003 Wilson Q. Spring 115/2 They of the deep tans, flowing pool gowns, and $100 trays of salami and pastrami. B. adj. (determiner). 1. As demonstrative determiner, with plural noun: = those adj. 2, 5; (also frequently with weaker sense) = the adj., pron.², and n.¹ Now English regional (chiefly southern) and nonstandard. Cf. thaie adj.. a. Modifying a noun that is the subject.Quot. a1400 may show a transmission error rather than a genuine example of this use. ΚΠ a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 1423 Stil ai stod þai [Gött. þa, Trin. Cambr. þo] wandes thre. a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 31 They two knyghtes mette with kynge Idres that was nere discomfited. 1795 W. B. Cadogan Funeral Serm. 11 Happy are they people that know and feel that this God is their's. 1877 L. J. Jennings Field Paths iii. 45 They rooks as you see on bärson's pläce. 1940 I. Fletcher Raleigh's Eden 639 Oh, Miss Mary, hit's you! I thought it was they raiders coming to get us. 1974 W. Foley Child in Forest i. iii. 34 Dance round thic tree so I can see how thee'st look when they ribbons do flare out. b. Modifying a noun that is the object of a verb or preposition. ΚΠ a1500 ( J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (Rawl.) (1898) 160 (MED) Fore thay thre causis, I leue of that matiere. c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 18 Þen he lacches his leue and þai lordes þonkit. 1776 T. Cogan John Buncle I. vi. 237 What, do you know they folks, Sir? 1789 C. Smith Ethelinde IV. viii. 176 Miss only makes herself a deal worse by talking about dying and they things. 1867 W. F. Rock Jim an' Nell 34 I can't abide, Jim, they two men. 1885 G. M. Fenn Patience Wins (1886) 130 A set o' fullish boys as plays they tricks. 1905 F. Young Sands of Pleasure i. iii Some o' they Cockney labourers began grumbling. 1948 M. Carbery & E. Grey Herts. Heritage 143 Keep out o' they nittles. 1998 A. Warner Sopranos 98 Ma big sister was on one of the holidays—in Spain or in Greece or Kos or one of they places. 2. U.S. regional (chiefly southern and south Midland), Caribbean, and in African-American use. As possessive pronoun: = their adj. 1. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > owning > [adjective] > own > his, her, its, or their > their hereOE theirc1175 theirs1498 theirna1800 they1843 1843 ‘R. Carlton’ New Purchase II. xlviii. 141 I rather allow Johnny Calvin's boys..ain't likely to have they idees physicked out of them. 1853 Pennsylvania Farm Jrnl. May 36/2 Dey legs is so long, dey see daylight a long time 'fore common chicken. 1896 B. Carradine Pastoral Sketches vii Didn't I tole you de Lawd was gwine to cuss dis whole nayborhood, and kill out dis poor white trash for dey own owdaciousness! 1918 E. C. Parsons Folk-Tales Andros Island, Bahamas 45 He pull it so hard till he break dey laig. 1928 J. M. Peterkin Scarlet Sister Mary 162 When dey is worried in dey mind. 1929 W. Faulkner Sartoris i. 23 They was a-settin' behind a table with they pistols layin' on the table. 1935 Z. N. Hurston Mules & Men i. ii. 45 They all brought they rocks and Christ turned 'em into bread. 1970 S. Wallace Bahamian Scene 9 Wastin' dey time an' dey car gas each week. 1974 Black World Nov. 58 Just because all the pussy they can snatch is what they can lick off they goddam fingers. 2000 I. Khan in N. Hopkinson Whispers from Cotton Tree Root 114 People uses to have a kind of belief in dem days, a respec' for all what they see happen with they own two eye. C. adv. U.S. regional (chiefly southern and south Midland) and Caribbean. As the subject of an existential clause: = there adv. 4d. ΚΠ 1801 in N. E. Eliason Tarheel Talk (1956) 319 There,..they. 1843 ‘R. Carlton’ New Purchase I. xxviii. 269 If they warn't a mighty powerful heap of laffin. 1863 J. B. Jones Wild Western Scenes New Ser. viii. 88 ‘No,’ said Pompey. ‘Der's nuffin I see to shoot at.’ ‘Dey is. I see 'em,’ said Cæsar. 1874 ‘M. Twain’ in Atlantic Monthly Nov. 592/2 Dey was de biggest dey is. 1889 J. W. Riley Pipes o' Pan 41 They's music in the twitter of the bluebird and the jay. 1920 R. Lardner in Sat. Evening Post 27 Nov. 42/4 I and the Mrs. and Kate was the only ones there in evening clothes. The others had attended these functions before and knew that they wouldn't be enough suckers on hand to make any difference whether you wore a monkey suit or rompers. 1949 H. Hornsby Lonesome Valley 185 They's more ways than one to skin a cat. 1971 Advocate-News (Barbados) 16 Nov. 7 So look out now they are gay times ahead. 1973 Black World Aug. 61/2 They was ten packets looked like Horse. 2000 J. Corbett in J. Bowe et al. Gig 208 nascar, that's about the growinest sport they is in the world. D. n. People in authority, regarded as impersonal and oppressive. ΘΚΠ society > authority > [noun] > those in authority the powers that be1526 superiority1542 authority?1553 they1939 vlast1980 1939 W. H. Auden in Times Lit. Suppl. 25 Mar. (Spring Books Suppl.) p. i The legions of cruel inquisitive ‘They’ Were so solid and strong, like dogs. 1950 T. Wiesengrund-Adorno et al. Authoritarian Personality i. iii. 98 The inner conflict is replaced by a new conflict between groups: the stereotypically moral ‘we’ and the stereotypically immoral ‘they’. 1999 D. Pollock Telling Bodies performing Birth iii. 128 Karen arrived at the hospital and felt herself suddenly subject to a vast, impersonal ‘they’. Phrases they are (also were): (introducing a plural noun modified by a following relative clause) it is (or was) (cf. earlier it are, it were, and see it pron. 2). Now rare. ΚΠ 1682 N. Grew Anat. Plants 20 They are the Lignous Parts of a Plant, generally, which yield the Alkalick Salt. 1694 R. South 12 Serm. II. 171 The Scripture vouches Solomon for the wisest of Men: and they are his Proverbs that prove him so. a1716 R. South 12 Serm. (1717) VI. 325 They were the Sins and Apostasies of their Souls, for the Reformation of which he plagued them. 1748 S. Richardson Clarissa IV. xlvii. 272 They are the abandoned people in the house who keep thee up to a resolution against her. 1838 E. B. Pusey Parochial Serm. (1883) III. 223 They are our own self-chosen employments,..which hinder prayer. 1889 A. Lang in Scribner's Mag. Sept. 265/2 They are small-minded and small-hearted people who are most shocked by what they call ‘vanity’ in the great. 1899 L. C. Cornford R. L. Stevenson vi. 140 Alan Breck Stewart is the central figure, and they are his sayings and deeds of arms that go to make the chief interest. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < pron.adj.adv.n.c1175
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