wepron.n.adj.

Brit.

/wiː/,

/wi/,

/wi/, U.S.

/wi/

Forms: Old English ue (Northumbrian), Old English wę (rare), Old English (rare)–early Middle English wæ, Old English (chiefly Northumbrian)–early Middle English (south-west midlands) woe, Old English– we, early Middle English huue, early Middle English hwe, early Middle English vue (south-west midlands), early Middle English weo (south-west midlands), early Middle English wue (south-west midlands), Middle English ve (northern), Middle English w (transmission error), Middle English whe, Middle English whee, Middle English–1600s wee, 1600s w' (before a vowel or h); English regional 1800s weh (Yorkshire), 1800s– wa (chiefly northern), 1800s– way (northern and midlands), 1800s– wey (northern and north-west midlands), 1800s– wi (northern and western), 1900s– wuh (north-eastern); Scottish pre-1700 ve, pre-1700 vee, pre-1700 wie, pre-1700 1700s– we, pre-1700 1700s– wee, 1800s wey (southern), 1800s– oo (eastern and southern), 1800s– ou (eastern and southern), 1900s– wa (eastern); also Irish English 1800s wough (Wexford).

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.

Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian wī (West Frisian wy , wij , also we ), Old Dutch wī , wir (Middle Dutch wī , Dutch wij ), Old Saxon wi (Middle Low German wē , wī , wie ), Old High German wir (Middle High German wir , German wir ), Old Icelandic vér , vær (Icelandic (honorific) vér ), Faroese (archaic) vær , Norn (Orkney) vee , (Shetland) vi , Norwegian vi , Old Swedish vi , vir (Swedish vi ), Old Danish wii , wi (Danish vi ), Gothic weis < the same Indo-European base as Hittite wēš , and (probably with some influence from the oblique forms) Tocharian A was , Tocharian B wes , and also (with different extension of the same base) Sanskrit vayam , Avestan vaēm . Many of the other Indo-European languages instead have forms apparently based on the Indo-European oblique case forms. (The usual forms of the subjective case of the 1st person plural pronoun in modern Icelandic and Faroese are supplied by originally dual forms (see yit pron.).) On the full paradigm of 1st person pronouns see general discussion at I pron.In West Germanic by-forms of the pronoun existed with *i and *e. The Old English form shows the reflex of a form with *e, and with loss of final *z. The modern form of the word with long vowel shows the reflex of a stressed variant (developed in English) with lengthened vowel, although the quantity of the vowel cannot be determined in most examples in Old English (compare R. M. Hogg Gram. Old Eng. (1992) I. §5.198). The quantity of the vowel is also uncertain (and probably varied) in a number of the early forms from other Germanic languages. For a slightly different explanation of the forms in the West Germanic and western North Germanic languages, and for a survey of different views, see E. Seebold Das System der Personalpronomina in den frühgermanischen Sprachen (1984). On the development of the Scots forms oo and ou see discussion in Sc. National Dict. at oo person pron. In combination with a following word frequently with contracted verbs, where an apostrophe is now standard (e.g. we're, we'll).

A. pron. The subjective case of the first person plural pronoun.

I. As subject or subject complement.

1. Used by the speaker or writer referring to himself or herself and one or more other people considered together as the subject of predication or in attributive or predicative agreement with that subject.

a. Generally.For the obsolete dual see wit pron. For emphasized compounds see ourself pron. 2a, ourselves pron. 1a.

(a) As the subject of predication or in attributive agreement with the subject.

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OE Beowulf (2008) 260 We synt gumcynnes Geata leode.

OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xxii. 71 And hig cwædon, hwi gyrne we gyt gewitnesse, sylfe we gehyrdon of hys muðe.

c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) l. 1690 Ah hit was unker uoreward Þo we come hiderward Þat we þarto holde scholde Þar riht dom us ȝiue wolde.

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 2 Thess. i. 4 We silf glorien in ȝou.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 4820 ‘Childer,’ he said, ‘weþen are yee?’ ‘Sir, wee are o farr cuntre.’

c1420 Wyntoun Cron. viii. xxxiii. 5785 Ȝhe se þat þai ar ma þan we.

c1460 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Oseney Abbey (1907) 174 (MED) Vppon the texte whee sware, both I and my wiffe.

1533 T. More 2nd Pt. Confut. Tyndals Answere vi. p. cclxxi That..byleueth not as we do by cause we byleue nought, nor lyueth not as we do bycause we lyue nought.

1640 J. Gower tr. Ovid Festivalls i. 8 Gold-temples please us, though the old w' approve.

1673 E. Hickeringill Gregory 142 Hold, w' have sprung a mast.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis xi, in tr. Virgil Wks. 550 We; (for my self I speak, and all the Name Of Grecians, who to Troy's Destruction came).

1744 S. Fielding Adventures David Simple II. viii. 115 We were both so fond of Reading and Study, that we became the Contempt of all the School; the Boys used to laugh at us, calling us Book-worms, and shun us, as unfit for their Society.

1798 S. T. Coleridge Anc. Marinere ii, in W. Wordsworth & S. T. Coleridge Lyrical Ballads 12 We were the first that ever burst Into that silent Sea.

1879 M. E. Braddon Cloven Foot xx ‘We must have everything ready for him.’ ‘So we will, ma'am, spick and span,’ answered Mrs. Trimmer.

1913 Daily News 15 Aug. 5 We are mostly shepherds and wood-reeves and thackers and foresters here.

1966 I. Murdoch Time of Angels xiii. 145 Look, let's really talk to each other, shall we?

2002 D. DeGrazia Animal Rights ii. 24 The possible future scenario in which we encounter extraterrestrial beings who are more intelligent, sensitive, and cultured than we.

(b) In predicative agreement with the subject. Cf. us pron. 9d.

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a1555 J. Bradford in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1721) III. App. xxx. 84 It is we..that have sinned, and procured thy grievous Wrath upon us.

1677 A. Yarranton England's Improvem. 171 It is we poor Men that have most Fingers.

1711 A. Pope Ess. Crit. 12 Nor is it Homer Nods, but We that Dream.

1847 A. Helps Friends in Council I. i. vii. 103 A thorough perception of the simple fact, that they are not we.

1939 R. Campbell Flowering Rifle ii. 60 It was not we who lead-swung to the Pities, When half the loveliest of our ancient cities Were in the clouds rebuilt.

2000 H. J. McCann in A. Hastings et al. Oxf. Compan. Christian Thought 144/2 Creaturely decisions, together with their defects, would still be predicated of created wills: it is we who decide as we do.

b. Following a verb in the present tense (originally subjunctive) with jussive force; ‘let us (do something)’. Now rare (rhetorical or poetic).

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OE Blickling Homilies 11 Arweorþian we Crist on binne asetene.

c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) l. 177 Ac lete we awei þos cheste.

c1300 (?c1225) King Horn (Cambr.) (1901) l. 1527 (MED) Make we vs glade Eure among.

c1330 (?c1300) Guy of Warwick (Auch.) l. 5060 (MED) Lordinges..ginneþ ȝou armi, & gin whe hem to asaily.

a1400 (c1300) Serm. on Gospels (Coll. Phys.) in J. Small Eng. Metrical Homilies (1862) 53 Forthi I red we it forsak, And hald we us in rihtwisnes.

a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 319 Now leve we the knyght and the dwarff and speke we of Bewmaynes.

1540 J. Palsgrave tr. G. Gnapheus Comedye of Acolastus i. iv. sig. Giv Go we in adores.

1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II i. ii. 6 Put we our quarrell to the will of heauen.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) ii. i. 13 Embrace we then this opportunitie.

1683 R. Dixon Canidia i. ix. 38 Down, down with Pen and Inkhorn Men, And, Hey Boys up go we then.

a1706 J. Evelyn Hist. Relig. (1850) I. i. 33 Consider we, first, the structure of his body.

1721 N. Amhurst Terræ-filius No. 44. (1754) 233 From this tom-fool proceed we to the second, entitled Joseph.

1814 W. Wordsworth Excursion viii. 377 Turn we then To Britons born and bred within the pale Of civil polity.

1892 A. Blunt & W. S. Blunt tr. Abu Zaid Stealing of Mare in W. S. Blunt Poet. Wks. (1914) II. 215 Nay, rather together Go we and bury this dog, for he died an unbeliever.

1904 J. Rhoades Little Flowers St. Francis of Assisi xv. 86 Saint Francis..with exceeding fervour said: ‘In God's name go we!’.

c. Defined or made precise by a qualifying word or phrase. Cf. us pron. 2, 9a.

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OE Cynewulf Crist II 746 Swa we men sculon heortan gehygdum hlypum styllan of mægne in mægen.

c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Otho) (1978) l. 13108 Wende we two [c1275 Calig. wit] to fihte.

a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 4165 (MED) We Englys men þeron shulde þynke.

c1475 Wisdom (Folger) (1969) l. 686 (MED) Now wyll we thre do make a dance Off thow þat longe to owr retenance.

1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis i. 15 Wee caytiefe Troians.

a1596 Sir Thomas More (1911) i. i. 121 And if you men durst not vndertake it, before God, we women would.

1612 R. Ch. Olde Thrift newly Revived 39 I must confesse that we poore Farmers..doe exclaime against Inclosures.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) i. i. 1 When shall we three meet againe?

1631 G. Chapman Warres Pompey & Caesar i. B 3 b Met...We will haue the army Of Pompey entred. Cato. We? which we intend you? Haue you already bought the peoples voices?

1702 D. Defoe Shortest-way with Dissenters 23 We of the Church of England.

1751 F. Coventry Hist. Pompey the Little i. iii. 27 We Girls are under so many Restraints.

1847 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) xlii. 423 ‘We, in the City, know you better,’ replied Carker.

1865 A. D. Whitney Gayworthys xl Mother, we two must make our wills.

1883 J. W. Sherer At Home & in India 99 She must have been what we westerns should call a child.

1918 Act 8 George V c. 1 We, Your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of the United Kingdom..in Parliament assembled.

1984 A. Carter Nights at Circus iii. i. 205 It seems all we in the restaurant car were fortunate.

2003 Chatelaine (Canada) Jan. 20/2 It's what we psychologists call cheap peace.

d. Used indefinitely in general statements in which the speaker or writer includes those addressed, i.e. his or her contemporaries, compatriots, fellow human beings, etc.

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OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xxix. 258 On ðisum wræcfullum life we sceolon earmra manna helpan.

a1275 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 55 Þe louerd of monkinne of hire was yboren to bringen us hut of Sunne, elles wue weren for-lore.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 247 (MED) Giue we ilkan þare langage, Me think we do þam non outrage.

c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 408 We seken faste after felicitee But we goon wrong ful ofte trewely Thus may we seyn alle and nameliche .I.

a1500 (?a1400) Morte Arthur (1903) l. 2363 (MED) Launcelot hyr brydelle ledde, In the Romans as we Rede.

?1537 Hugh of Caumpedene tr. Hist. Kyng Boccus sig. Pij And yf they [sc. fishes] felt the ayre also As we or foules or beastes do.

1612 in Eng. Hist. Rev. (1914) 29 251 Yf we should have any difference with Spaine (as happely wee may have before wee looke for yt).

1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 512. ¶1 There is nothing which we receive with so much Reluctance as Advice.

1752 J. Hill Gen. Nat. Hist. III. 263 The Swedes and Danes call it Fjarsing;..the French, Viver; and we, the Weever.

1845 T. Carlyle in O. Cromwell Lett. & Speeches I. 323 Of Sheriff Morgan,..we have no farther notice whatever.

1865 J. Ruskin Sesame & Lilies i. 74 I say first we have despised literature. What do we, as a nation, care about books?

1875 W. S. Jevons Money (1878) 25 In ordinary life we use a great many words with a total disregard of logical precision.

1876 E. C. Stedman Victorian Poets vi. 183 He is well broken, as we say of a thoroughbred.

1950 A. Buckeridge Jennings goes to School ii. 29 ‘Do you mean he gets angry?’ he asked with growing concern. ‘We call it breezy,’ replied Atkinson.

1975 I. Murdoch Word Child 7 I thoroughly liked them both, as we often do those whom we mock.

2005 Independent 19 May 31/5 I stood in the witness box and took the oath (or ‘made a promise’ as we say now).

e. Premodified by an adjective. Cf. I pron. 1b. poetic. Now rare.

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1576 G. Whetstone Arbour of Vertue 122 in Rocke of Regard There we, poore we, must rue our harmes alone.

1646 R. Crashaw Steps to Temple 27 While unhappy captiv'd wee Lovely Sion thought on thee.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis v, in tr. Virgil Wks. 351 O wretched we, whom not the Grecian Pow'r, Nor Flames destroy'd, in Troy's unhappy hour!

1745 J. Swift Ode to Sir W. Temple in Misc. X. 202 Poor we Cadets of Heav'n,..Take up at best with Lumber.

1902 W. Canton Comrades 221 We, poor we, with tears and cries Shrink from the peace Thy presence brings.

f. Used confidentially or humorously to mean the person or persons addressed, with whose interests the speaker thus identifies himself or herself (esp. by a doctor in friendly or cheering address to a patient); also used mockingly or reproachfully by a parent, intimate friend, etc.

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1702 J. Vanbrugh False Friend i. i. C 3 Well, old Acquaintance, we are going to be Married then?

1756 T. Gray Let. 21 Sept. in Corr. (1935) II. 481 We [sc. Chute, who had been ill] have been up a second time for two days in our Chair.

1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 1st Ser. I. 204 ‘Well, my dear ma'am, and how are we?’ inquired [Doctor] Wosky in a soothing tone.

1884 Harper's Mag. Dec. 172/2 Well, Jane, and how are we this morning?

1910 A. Bennett Clayhanger ii. x. 228 ‘We are grand!’ exclaimed Clara..[who] had not till that moment beheld the smart and novel curves of Edwin's Shillitoe suit.

1972 J. Porter Meddler & her Murder iii. 47 ‘My, my,’ said Eve Spennymoor, with an apologetic glance..‘we are an old cross-patch today, aren't we?’

1973 G. Chapman et al. Monty Python's Flying Circus (1989) II. xxxvii. 199 Doctor Morning, Mr Henson... How are we today?

1992 B. Keenan Evil Cradling xiii. 178 The words that his mother had spoken to his father when his father got angry about something. ‘Now, now, we are getting very paddy today, aren't we John?’

2. Used by a single person to denote himself or herself.

a. Used by a sovereign or ruler. Frequently defined by the name or title added.The apparent Old English instances of this use are uncertain, and may rather show an inclusive plural use of the pronoun; see further B. Mitchell Old Eng. Syntax (1985) §252.

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OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xxix. 420 Witodlice we beorgað þinre ylde, gehyrsuma urum bebodum & geoffra þam undeadlicum godum.

OE Beowulf (2008) 958 Beowulf maþelode..: ‘We þæt ellenweorc estum miclum, feohtan fremedon.’

1258 Proclam. Henry III (Bodl.) in Trans. Philol. Soc. 1880–1 (1883) *173 (MED) We hoaten all vre treowe in þe treowþe þet heo vs oȝen þet heo stedefesteliche healden and swerien.

1436 in Hist. MSS Comm.: Rep. MSS Var. Coll. (1907) IV. 199 in Parl. Papers 1906 (Cd. 3218) LXIV. 1 We forse alle the gret discoragyng and discomfort that mygte growe to oure trwe sugectis.

1482 Ordinance Syon Libr. in Eng. Hist. Rev. (1910) 25 122 We Elizabeth abbas of þ^e Monastere of Syon..wylle and ordeyne that [etc.].

a1500 Eng. Conquest Ireland (Rawl.) (1896) 7 We, Dermot Prince of Leynystre.

1603 King James VI & I in T. Rymer & R. Sanderson Fœdera (1715) XVI. 538 Wee, Myndinge of our Royall and absolute Power to Us commytted, to visitt [etc.].

1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII ii. iv. 69 Sir, I am about to weepe; but thinking that We are a Queene [etc.] .

1642 King Charles I in Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion (1702) I. v. 369 In plain English, it is to take away the freedom of our Vote; which, were We but a Subject, were high Injustice, but being your king, we leave all the world to judge What it is.

1850 N. Wiseman Pastoral 7 Oct. In that same Consistory we were enabled ourselves to ask for the Archiepiscopal Pallium, for our new See of Westminster.

1854 W. M. Thackeray Rose & Ring xv [The herald]..began to read:—‘O Yes!..know all men by these presents, that we, Giglio, King of Paflagonia’ [etc.].

1872 Ld. Tennyson Gareth & Lynette 25 But Arthur, ‘We sit, King, to help the wrong'd Thro' all our realm’.

1945 P. G. Wodehouse Let. 5 Apr. (1990) VI. 146 Trying to make the reader laugh when he is drawing himself up coldly and saying ‘We are not amused’.

1987 M. Thatcher in H. Young One of Us (1990) xx. 491 We are in the fortunate position..of being..the senior person in power.

b. Used by a speaker or writer, in order to secure an impersonal style and tone, or to avoid the obtrusive repetition of ‘I’. N.E.D. (1926) states: ‘Regularly so used in editorial and unsigned articles in newspapers and other periodicals, where the writer is understood to be supported in his opinions and statements by the editorial staff collectively.’ This practice has become less usual during the 20th cent. and is limited to self-conscious and humorous contexts.

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eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) i. i. 12 Nu hæbbe we scortlice gesæd ymbe Asia londgemæro.

OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xxxvi. 495 We mihton þas halgan rædinge menigfealdlicor trahtnian.

?a1160 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1137 Nu we willen sægen sum del wat belamp on Stephnes kinges time.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 265 (MED) Now o þis proloug wil we b[lin].

a1513 H. Bradshaw Lyfe St. Werburge (1521) i. iii. sig. a.vii The second sone of Penda, we meane kynge Wulfere.

1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie i. xix. 33 We our selues who compiled this treatise.

1610 J. Healey tr. St. Augustine Citie of God iii. xviii. 133 Should we particularize, wee should become a direct Historiographer.

a1701 H. Maundrell Let. in Journey to Jerusalem (1703) sig. b3^v We are apt to overflow in speaking of it.

1758 A. Reid tr. P. J. Macquer Elements Theory & Pract. Chym. I. 133 We are surprised to observe the solution of copper..retain its limpidity.

1807 E. Copleston Adv. Young Reviewer 1 There is a mysterious authority in the plural we, which no single name, whatever may be its reputation, can acquire.

1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 2nd Ser. 51 We shall never forget the mingled feelings of awe and respect, with which we used to gaze on the exterior of Newgate in our schoolboy days.

1860 Leader 11 Feb. The volume that we have now before us.

1965 S. Lipschutz Outl. Theory & Probl. Gen. Topol. iv. 47 We assume the reader is familiar with the geometric representation of R by means of the points on a straight line.

2003 N.Y. Times 2 Mar. 11/4 The commander of American forces..has backup plans for moving American forces into Northern Iraq. ‘General Franks, as we speak, is looking at lots of options.’

II. As object of a verb or preposition.

3. Used for the objective case: = us pron. 1.

a. With a premodifying adjective or a following qualifying phrase.In modern use, probably due to hypercorrection (cf. us pron. 9a) and often censured.

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1414 Petition in Rotuli Parl. (1767–77) IV. 60/2 (MED) That the Kyng, nor none of his heires, shulde never have lust ne wille to clayme that Maner aȝeyn into her owne handes..is gret deel to we hise trewe lieges to know.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) v. iii. 104 And to poore we Thine enmities most capitall.

1761 J. Woodforde Diary 22 Nov. in W. N. Hargreaves-Mawdsley Woodforde at Oxf. (1969) 60 Who should pay of we three.

1874 T. Hardy Far from Madding Crowd I. viii. 104 Between we two, man and man, I believe that man would as soon tell a lie Sundays as working-days.

1921 Foreign Service July 11/1 Few of we common people care how much tax Congress soaks on racing motor boats.

1991 P. J. O'Rourke Parl. of Whores (1992) 205 FSLIC, or Fizz-Lick..is a government corporation owned by we the taxpayers.

2000 Daily Tel. 28 Nov. 27/4 The voice of reason is hushed into silence by the raucous tones of we politicians.

b. Not modified. Now chiefly English regional, Scottish (southern, eastern, and Orkney), U.S. regional (southern, in African-American usage), and Caribbean.

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?1553 Respublica (1952) iii. iii. 24 People... He fliereth on youe, and beareth vs faire in hande And therewhile robbeth bothe youe and we of oure lande.

1782 W. Cowper John Gilpin 16 So you must ride On horseback after we.

1833 M. Scott Tom Cringle's Log II. viii. 355 Cousin Taam, what you bring we?

1883 D. C. Murray Hearts xxxii Not as ever you was proud to folks like we.

1890 A. C. Bickley Midst Surrey Hills III. xxvii. 207 He a' never disappinted we afore, why should 'un now?

1918 E. C. Parsons Folk-Tales Andros Island, Bahamas 117 Let we go now.

1920 J. Firth Reminisc. Orkney Parish 158 Here's health tae ye and yers For being so kind to we and wiz.

1923 J. S. Heyward Brown Jackets 21 Wah dat yo' binna tell we de tudder day 'bout Cuh Jo?

1951 Forfar Dispatch 22 Feb. ‘Ee comin' wi' we?’—‘Are you coming with us?’

1975 S. Selvon Moses Ascending 62 The sheep was laying down, but the eyes was open watching we.

1996 V. Walters Rude Girls ix. 164 You see my situation. Your father run, gone lef' we.

2007 A. Chiles We don't know what we're Doing viii. 189 He can't see a fookin' thing..and he's got to drive we home.

2020 J. P. Spence in Lallans 97 14 The raiglars hud it in fur oo anaw.

B. n.

a. The word ‘we’; (an instance of) the use of the word, esp. by a single individual in referring to himself or herself.

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the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > [noun] > individuality or selfhood > self > we or us

useOE

wec1400

nous autres1799

c1400 in D. Thomson Middle Eng. Grammatical Texts (1984) 191 (MED) How mony persons has þou? Sex..‘I’ and ‘þow’ and ‘he’ in þe singulere, and ‘we’ and ‘ȝe’ and ‘þay’ in þe plurele.

1711 Ld. Shaftesbury Characteristicks III. Misc. iv. i. 194 The Question is, ‘What constitutes the We or I?’ And, ‘Whether the I of this instant, be the same with that of any instant proceding, or to come.’.. So that the same successional We or I must remain still, on this account, undecided.

1751 S. Richardson Clarissa (ed. 3) VII. ii. 18 If by thy We's and Us's thou meanest thyself or me.

1835 E. Bulwer-Lytton Rienzi II. iv. vii. 189 Noticed you the we—the style royal?

1879 T. P. O'Connor Ld. Beaconsfield xiv. 577 In this official report [of a speech] the vain-glorious and significant ‘I’ is toned down to the softer and less candid ‘we’.

1924 Amer. Mercury Dec. 390/2 He..began the custom of referring to himself in its columns as ‘Mr. Bryan’,—which was considered, perhaps, more delicate than the use of the capital I, while being as collective and impressive as the editorial we.

1999 J. Weiner Time, Love, Memory 207 The Unabomber..mailed a letter to the New York Times, a letter written in the royal or revolutionary ‘we’.

b. humorous. The editor of a periodical, or a contributor who uses this style of self-reference; the periodical itself. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > journalism > journalist > editor of journal or newspaper > [noun]

author1697

editor1777

editor-in-chief1810

we1826

magazine editor1857

1826 Lancet 15 July 503/2 The Editor of The Lancet is a..dog..; all the ‘blanks’ and ‘wes’ and ‘single letter’ gentry..slanderers.

1852 R. S. Surtees Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour ii. ix. 50 It reached the ears of the great Mr. Seedeyman, the mighty we of the country, as he sat in his den penning his ‘stunners’ for his market-day Mercury.

1866 Chambers's Jrnl. 15 Dec. 788/2 Not only was I myself overwhelmed by these accounts of foreign travel, when I was a We, but I noticed [etc.].

1874 A. Trollope Phineas Redux I. xxxii. 266 The ‘we’ of The People's Banner had learned that the very painful matter..would be brought before one of the tribunals of the country.

1902 Monthly Rev. Aug. 124 Yet the two great ‘Wes’ of the eighteenth century, the ‘Monthly’ and the ‘Critical’ played no unimportant part in the literary education of our great~grandparents.

a. Used, chiefly in collocation with they, to allude to the tension between two mutually exclusive groups or categories of people, or their opposing interests. Cf. them and us at them pron., adj., and n. Phrases 1.

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society > society and the community > social relations > association for a common purpose > [noun] > group associated for common purpose

covinc1330

lyancec1380

university?1473

army1540

band1557

union1603

coalescence1609

confederation1621

associationa1658

confederacy1681

federation1791

brigade1806

united front1807

class movement1839

company1839

paction1877

combine1889

protest movement1898

protest group1920

minority movement1923

we1926

power1966

1884 F. Maurice F. D. Maurice II. xvii. 531 That division of all men into the two classes of ‘we’ and ‘the rest’,..which we most of us adopt.

1926 R. Kipling Debits & Credits 327 Would you believe it?—They look upon We As only a sort of They!

1942 H. Haycraft Murder for Pleasure xv. 316 The..fundamental contradiction between the We and They in government.

1948 R. H. Tawney in F. A. Iremonger William Temple v. 88 The ‘We and They’ complex..could not survive continuous co-operation with colleagues..whose experience of life was quite different from his own.

1973 Guardian 30 Mar. 14/2 Anything which emphasises the ‘we’ and ‘they’ of the situation will drive men..towards the extremes of politics.

b. A couple or group identified to its members by the word ‘we’; two or more people forming a unit.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > social relations > association, fellowship, or companionship > a company or body of persons > [noun]

ferec975

flockOE

gingc1175

rout?c1225

companyc1300

fellowshipc1300

covinc1330

eschelec1330

tripc1330

fellowred1340

choira1382

head1381

glub1382

partya1387

peoplec1390

conventc1426

an abominable of monksa1450

body1453

carol1483

band1490

compernagea1500

consorce1512

congregationa1530

corporationa1535

corpse1534

chore1572

society1572

crew1578

string1579

consort1584

troop1584

tribe1609

squadron1617

bunch1622

core1622

lag1624

studa1625

brigadea1649

platoon1711

cohort1719

lot1725

corps1754

loo1764

squad1786

brotherhood1820

companionhood1825

troupe1825

crowd1840

companionship1842

group1845

that ilk1845

set-out1854

layout1869

confraternity1872

show1901

crush1904

we1927

familia1933

shower1936

1927 F. M. Thrasher Gang iii. xv. 288 Perhaps the simplest way of describing this wholeness is by saying that it is a ‘we’; it involves the sort of sympathy and mutual identification for which ‘we’ is the natural expression.

1979 E. Hardwick Sleepless Nights v. 61 I am alone here in New York, no longer a we.

1999 M. Syal Life isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee (2000) vii. 295 The I becomes a We, for ever, and of course that has profound implications for your primary relationship.

2002 E. White Fast Girls vii. 146 Her book was aimed at women as a ‘we’.

C. adj.

regional (now chiefly Caribbean). As a possessive adjective: = our adj. Cf. us adj. 1.

ΚΠ

1848 A. B. Evans Leicestershire Words 104 ‘We’ and Wer pr., ‘our’. ‘We'll go and get wer dinners.’ ‘We heave'nt had we teas.’

1912 C. McKay Songs of Jamaica 14 We caan' 'peak sake o' we naybor tongue.

1928 J. M. Peterkin Scarlet Sister Mary 29 Satan is de one sent dat rat here to kill we joy an' make we have sin to-day.

1977 M. Woodhouse in Winter's Crimes 9 150 We all going to lose we jobs.

1984 D. Dabydeen Slave Song 17 Babee strap like burden to we back.

2001 V. Munasinghe Callaloo or Tossed Salad? vi. 148 Dey rent we land and take it away. Dey loan black people money and take all dey own.

Compounds

C1. General attributive, designating something characterized by or associated with the use of the pronoun ‘we’.

ΚΠ

1906 W. G. Sumner Folkways i. 12 The insiders in a we-group are in a relation of peace, order, law, government, and industry, to each other.

1930 Times 19 Mar. 12/1 Now I'm going to do a little bit of the ‘we’ stuff.

1955 A. H. N. Green-Armytage Portrait St. Luke iii. 41 We must trust to the we-sections of the Acts.

1986 New Yorker 28 July 61/2 It's the ‘we’ generation, not the ‘me’ generation any more.

2006 New Yorker 19 June 93/1 It wasn't a we thing. ‘We’ was when we were a couple.

C2.

we-they adj. relating to or exhibiting a tension between two mutually exclusive groups.

ΚΠ

1935 A. Meiklejohn What does America Mean? iii. 46 Much of our current social theory and practice is obsessed by a persistent fallacy. It is the ‘We–They’ fallacy... ‘We’ who plan for society have spiritual commitments. But ‘they’, for whom we plan, have physical needs... ‘We’ and ‘they’ belong to separate worlds.

1965 Observer 25 Apr. (Colour Suppl.) 13/1 The children have a chance of learning to deal with adults, without the we-they feeling.

2003 New Internationalist Jan. (Chronicle 2002 Suppl.) 2/2 A preoccupation with an external enemy, a clinging together in an almost tribal unity and a frightening kind of ‘we-they’ politics.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	we
释义	wepron.n.adj. Brit. /wiː/, /wi/, /wi/, U.S. /wi/ Forms: Old English ue (Northumbrian), Old English wę (rare), Old English (rare)–early Middle English wæ, Old English (chiefly Northumbrian)–early Middle English (south-west midlands) woe, Old English– we, early Middle English huue, early Middle English hwe, early Middle English vue (south-west midlands), early Middle English weo (south-west midlands), early Middle English wue (south-west midlands), Middle English ve (northern), Middle English w (transmission error), Middle English whe, Middle English whee, Middle English–1600s wee, 1600s w' (before a vowel or h); English regional 1800s weh (Yorkshire), 1800s– wa (chiefly northern), 1800s– way (northern and midlands), 1800s– wey (northern and north-west midlands), 1800s– wi (northern and western), 1900s– wuh (north-eastern); Scottish pre-1700 ve, pre-1700 vee, pre-1700 wie, pre-1700 1700s– we, pre-1700 1700s– wee, 1800s wey (southern), 1800s– oo (eastern and southern), 1800s– ou (eastern and southern), 1900s– wa (eastern); also Irish English 1800s wough (Wexford). Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian wī (West Frisian wy , wij , also we ), Old Dutch wī , wir (Middle Dutch wī , Dutch wij ), Old Saxon wi (Middle Low German wē , wī , wie ), Old High German wir (Middle High German wir , German wir ), Old Icelandic vér , vær (Icelandic (honorific) vér ), Faroese (archaic) vær , Norn (Orkney) vee , (Shetland) vi , Norwegian vi , Old Swedish vi , vir (Swedish vi ), Old Danish wii , wi (Danish vi ), Gothic weis < the same Indo-European base as Hittite wēš , and (probably with some influence from the oblique forms) Tocharian A was , Tocharian B wes , and also (with different extension of the same base) Sanskrit vayam , Avestan vaēm . Many of the other Indo-European languages instead have forms apparently based on the Indo-European oblique case forms. (The usual forms of the subjective case of the 1st person plural pronoun in modern Icelandic and Faroese are supplied by originally dual forms (see yit pron.).) On the full paradigm of 1st person pronouns see general discussion at I pron.In West Germanic by-forms of the pronoun existed with i and e. The Old English form shows the reflex of a form with e, and with loss of final z. The modern form of the word with long vowel shows the reflex of a stressed variant (developed in English) with lengthened vowel, although the quantity of the vowel cannot be determined in most examples in Old English (compare R. M. Hogg Gram. Old Eng. (1992) I. §5.198). The quantity of the vowel is also uncertain (and probably varied) in a number of the early forms from other Germanic languages. For a slightly different explanation of the forms in the West Germanic and western North Germanic languages, and for a survey of different views, see E. Seebold Das System der Personalpronomina in den frühgermanischen Sprachen (1984). On the development of the Scots forms oo and ou see discussion in Sc. National Dict. at oo person pron. In combination with a following word frequently with contracted verbs, where an apostrophe is now standard (e.g. we're, we'll). A. pron. The subjective case of the first person plural pronoun. I. As subject or subject complement. 1. Used by the speaker or writer referring to himself or herself and one or more other people considered together as the subject of predication or in attributive or predicative agreement with that subject. a. Generally.For the obsolete dual see wit pron. For emphasized compounds see ourself pron. 2a, ourselves pron. 1a. (a) As the subject of predication or in attributive agreement with the subject. ΚΠ OE Beowulf (2008) 260 We synt gumcynnes Geata leode. OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xxii. 71 And hig cwædon, hwi gyrne we gyt gewitnesse, sylfe we gehyrdon of hys muðe. c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) l. 1690 Ah hit was unker uoreward Þo we come hiderward Þat we þarto holde scholde Þar riht dom us ȝiue wolde. c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 2 Thess. i. 4 We silf glorien in ȝou. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 4820 ‘Childer,’ he said, ‘weþen are yee?’ ‘Sir, wee are o farr cuntre.’ c1420 Wyntoun Cron. viii. xxxiii. 5785 Ȝhe se þat þai ar ma þan we. c1460 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Oseney Abbey (1907) 174 (MED) Vppon the texte whee sware, both I and my wiffe. 1533 T. More 2nd Pt. Confut. Tyndals Answere vi. p. cclxxi That..byleueth not as we do by cause we byleue nought, nor lyueth not as we do bycause we lyue nought. 1640 J. Gower tr. Ovid Festivalls i. 8 Gold-temples please us, though the old w' approve. 1673 E. Hickeringill Gregory 142 Hold, w' have sprung a mast. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis xi, in tr. Virgil Wks. 550 We; (for my self I speak, and all the Name Of Grecians, who to Troy's Destruction came). 1744 S. Fielding Adventures David Simple II. viii. 115 We were both so fond of Reading and Study, that we became the Contempt of all the School; the Boys used to laugh at us, calling us Book-worms, and shun us, as unfit for their Society. 1798 S. T. Coleridge Anc. Marinere ii, in W. Wordsworth & S. T. Coleridge Lyrical Ballads 12 We were the first that ever burst Into that silent Sea. 1879 M. E. Braddon Cloven Foot xx ‘We must have everything ready for him.’ ‘So we will, ma'am, spick and span,’ answered Mrs. Trimmer. 1913 Daily News 15 Aug. 5 We are mostly shepherds and wood-reeves and thackers and foresters here. 1966 I. Murdoch Time of Angels xiii. 145 Look, let's really talk to each other, shall we? 2002 D. DeGrazia Animal Rights ii. 24 The possible future scenario in which we encounter extraterrestrial beings who are more intelligent, sensitive, and cultured than we. (b) In predicative agreement with the subject. Cf. us pron. 9d. ΚΠ a1555 J. Bradford in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1721) III. App. xxx. 84 It is we..that have sinned, and procured thy grievous Wrath upon us. 1677 A. Yarranton England's Improvem. 171 It is we poor Men that have most Fingers. 1711 A. Pope Ess. Crit. 12 Nor is it Homer Nods, but We that Dream. 1847 A. Helps Friends in Council I. i. vii. 103 A thorough perception of the simple fact, that they are not we. 1939 R. Campbell Flowering Rifle ii. 60 It was not we who lead-swung to the Pities, When half the loveliest of our ancient cities Were in the clouds rebuilt. 2000 H. J. McCann in A. Hastings et al. Oxf. Compan. Christian Thought 144/2 Creaturely decisions, together with their defects, would still be predicated of created wills: it is we who decide as we do. b. Following a verb in the present tense (originally subjunctive) with jussive force; ‘let us (do something)’. Now rare (rhetorical or poetic). ΚΠ OE Blickling Homilies 11 Arweorþian we Crist on binne asetene. c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) l. 177 Ac lete we awei þos cheste. c1300 (?c1225) King Horn (Cambr.) (1901) l. 1527 (MED) Make we vs glade Eure among. c1330 (?c1300) Guy of Warwick (Auch.) l. 5060 (MED) Lordinges..ginneþ ȝou armi, & gin whe hem to asaily. a1400 (c1300) Serm. on Gospels (Coll. Phys.) in J. Small Eng. Metrical Homilies (1862) 53 Forthi I red we it forsak, And hald we us in rihtwisnes. a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 319 Now leve we the knyght and the dwarff and speke we of Bewmaynes. 1540 J. Palsgrave tr. G. Gnapheus Comedye of Acolastus i. iv. sig. Giv Go we in adores. 1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II i. ii. 6 Put we our quarrell to the will of heauen. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) ii. i. 13 Embrace we then this opportunitie. View more context for this quotation 1683 R. Dixon Canidia i. ix. 38 Down, down with Pen and Inkhorn Men, And, Hey Boys up go we then. a1706 J. Evelyn Hist. Relig. (1850) I. i. 33 Consider we, first, the structure of his body. 1721 N. Amhurst Terræ-filius No. 44. (1754) 233 From this tom-fool proceed we to the second, entitled Joseph. 1814 W. Wordsworth Excursion viii. 377 Turn we then To Britons born and bred within the pale Of civil polity. View more context for this quotation 1892 A. Blunt & W. S. Blunt tr. Abu Zaid Stealing of Mare in W. S. Blunt Poet. Wks. (1914) II. 215 Nay, rather together Go we and bury this dog, for he died an unbeliever. 1904 J. Rhoades Little Flowers St. Francis of Assisi xv. 86 Saint Francis..with exceeding fervour said: ‘In God's name go we!’. c. Defined or made precise by a qualifying word or phrase. Cf. us pron. 2, 9a. ΚΠ OE Cynewulf Crist II 746 Swa we men sculon heortan gehygdum hlypum styllan of mægne in mægen. c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Otho) (1978) l. 13108 Wende we two [c1275 Calig. wit] to fihte. a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 4165 (MED) We Englys men þeron shulde þynke. c1475 Wisdom (Folger) (1969) l. 686 (MED) Now wyll we thre do make a dance Off thow þat longe to owr retenance. 1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis i. 15 Wee caytiefe Troians. a1596 Sir Thomas More (1911) i. i. 121 And if you men durst not vndertake it, before God, we women would. 1612 R. Ch. Olde Thrift newly Revived 39 I must confesse that we poore Farmers..doe exclaime against Inclosures. a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) i. i. 1 When shall we three meet againe? View more context for this quotation 1631 G. Chapman Warres Pompey & Caesar i. B 3 b Met...We will haue the army Of Pompey entred. Cato. We? which we intend you? Haue you already bought the peoples voices? 1702 D. Defoe Shortest-way with Dissenters 23 We of the Church of England. 1751 F. Coventry Hist. Pompey the Little i. iii. 27 We Girls are under so many Restraints. 1847 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) xlii. 423 ‘We, in the City, know you better,’ replied Carker. 1865 A. D. Whitney Gayworthys xl Mother, we two must make our wills. 1883 J. W. Sherer At Home & in India 99 She must have been what we westerns should call a child. 1918 Act 8 George V c. 1 We, Your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of the United Kingdom..in Parliament assembled. 1984 A. Carter Nights at Circus iii. i. 205 It seems all we in the restaurant car were fortunate. 2003 Chatelaine (Canada) Jan. 20/2 It's what we psychologists call cheap peace. d. Used indefinitely in general statements in which the speaker or writer includes those addressed, i.e. his or her contemporaries, compatriots, fellow human beings, etc. ΚΠ OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xxix. 258 On ðisum wræcfullum life we sceolon earmra manna helpan. a1275 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 55 Þe louerd of monkinne of hire was yboren to bringen us hut of Sunne, elles wue weren for-lore. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 247 (MED) Giue we ilkan þare langage, Me think we do þam non outrage. c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 408 We seken faste after felicitee But we goon wrong ful ofte trewely Thus may we seyn alle and nameliche .I. a1500 (?a1400) Morte Arthur (1903) l. 2363 (MED) Launcelot hyr brydelle ledde, In the Romans as we Rede. ?1537 Hugh of Caumpedene tr. Hist. Kyng Boccus sig. Pij And yf they [sc. fishes] felt the ayre also As we or foules or beastes do. 1612 in Eng. Hist. Rev. (1914) 29 251 Yf we should have any difference with Spaine (as happely wee may have before wee looke for yt). 1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 512. ¶1 There is nothing which we receive with so much Reluctance as Advice. 1752 J. Hill Gen. Nat. Hist. III. 263 The Swedes and Danes call it Fjarsing;..the French, Viver; and we, the Weever. 1845 T. Carlyle in O. Cromwell Lett. & Speeches I. 323 Of Sheriff Morgan,..we have no farther notice whatever. 1865 J. Ruskin Sesame & Lilies i. 74 I say first we have despised literature. What do we, as a nation, care about books? 1875 W. S. Jevons Money (1878) 25 In ordinary life we use a great many words with a total disregard of logical precision. 1876 E. C. Stedman Victorian Poets vi. 183 He is well broken, as we say of a thoroughbred. 1950 A. Buckeridge Jennings goes to School ii. 29 ‘Do you mean he gets angry?’ he asked with growing concern. ‘We call it breezy,’ replied Atkinson. 1975 I. Murdoch Word Child 7 I thoroughly liked them both, as we often do those whom we mock. 2005 Independent 19 May 31/5 I stood in the witness box and took the oath (or ‘made a promise’ as we say now). e. Premodified by an adjective. Cf. I pron. 1b. poetic. Now rare. ΚΠ 1576 G. Whetstone Arbour of Vertue 122 in Rocke of Regard There we, poore we, must rue our harmes alone. 1646 R. Crashaw Steps to Temple 27 While unhappy captiv'd wee Lovely Sion thought on thee. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis v, in tr. Virgil Wks. 351 O wretched we, whom not the Grecian Pow'r, Nor Flames destroy'd, in Troy's unhappy hour! 1745 J. Swift Ode to Sir W. Temple in Misc. X. 202 Poor we Cadets of Heav'n,..Take up at best with Lumber. 1902 W. Canton Comrades 221 We, poor we, with tears and cries Shrink from the peace Thy presence brings. f. Used confidentially or humorously to mean the person or persons addressed, with whose interests the speaker thus identifies himself or herself (esp. by a doctor in friendly or cheering address to a patient); also used mockingly or reproachfully by a parent, intimate friend, etc. ΚΠ 1702 J. Vanbrugh False Friend i. i. C 3 Well, old Acquaintance, we are going to be Married then? 1756 T. Gray Let. 21 Sept. in Corr. (1935) II. 481 We [sc. Chute, who had been ill] have been up a second time for two days in our Chair. 1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 1st Ser. I. 204 ‘Well, my dear ma'am, and how are we?’ inquired [Doctor] Wosky in a soothing tone. 1884 Harper's Mag. Dec. 172/2 Well, Jane, and how are we this morning? 1910 A. Bennett Clayhanger ii. x. 228 ‘We are grand!’ exclaimed Clara..[who] had not till that moment beheld the smart and novel curves of Edwin's Shillitoe suit. 1972 J. Porter Meddler & her Murder iii. 47 ‘My, my,’ said Eve Spennymoor, with an apologetic glance..‘we are an old cross-patch today, aren't we?’ 1973 G. Chapman et al. Monty Python's Flying Circus (1989) II. xxxvii. 199 Doctor Morning, Mr Henson... How are we today? 1992 B. Keenan Evil Cradling xiii. 178 The words that his mother had spoken to his father when his father got angry about something. ‘Now, now, we are getting very paddy today, aren't we John?’ 2. Used by a single person to denote himself or herself. a. Used by a sovereign or ruler. Frequently defined by the name or title added.The apparent Old English instances of this use are uncertain, and may rather show an inclusive plural use of the pronoun; see further B. Mitchell Old Eng. Syntax (1985) §252. ΚΠ OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xxix. 420 Witodlice we beorgað þinre ylde, gehyrsuma urum bebodum & geoffra þam undeadlicum godum. OE Beowulf (2008) 958 Beowulf maþelode..: ‘We þæt ellenweorc estum miclum, feohtan fremedon.’ 1258 Proclam. Henry III (Bodl.) in Trans. Philol. Soc. 1880–1 (1883) 173 (MED) We hoaten all vre treowe in þe treowþe þet heo vs oȝen þet heo stedefesteliche healden and swerien. 1436 in Hist. MSS Comm.: Rep. MSS Var. Coll.* (1907) IV. 199 in Parl. Papers 1906 (Cd. 3218) LXIV. 1 We forse alle the gret discoragyng and discomfort that mygte growe to oure trwe sugectis. 1482 Ordinance Syon Libr. in Eng. Hist. Rev. (1910) 25 122 We Elizabeth abbas of þ^e Monastere of Syon..wylle and ordeyne that [etc.]. a1500 Eng. Conquest Ireland (Rawl.) (1896) 7 We, Dermot Prince of Leynystre. 1603 King James VI & I in T. Rymer & R. Sanderson Fœdera (1715) XVI. 538 Wee, Myndinge of our Royall and absolute Power to Us commytted, to visitt [etc.]. 1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII ii. iv. 69 Sir, I am about to weepe; but thinking that We are a Queene [etc.] . View more context for this quotation 1642 King Charles I in Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion (1702) I. v. 369 In plain English, it is to take away the freedom of our Vote; which, were We but a Subject, were high Injustice, but being your king, we leave all the world to judge What it is. 1850 N. Wiseman Pastoral 7 Oct. In that same Consistory we were enabled ourselves to ask for the Archiepiscopal Pallium, for our new See of Westminster. 1854 W. M. Thackeray Rose & Ring xv [The herald]..began to read:—‘O Yes!..know all men by these presents, that we, Giglio, King of Paflagonia’ [etc.]. 1872 Ld. Tennyson Gareth & Lynette 25 But Arthur, ‘We sit, King, to help the wrong'd Thro' all our realm’. 1945 P. G. Wodehouse Let. 5 Apr. (1990) VI. 146 Trying to make the reader laugh when he is drawing himself up coldly and saying ‘We are not amused’. 1987 M. Thatcher in H. Young One of Us (1990) xx. 491 We are in the fortunate position..of being..the senior person in power. b. Used by a speaker or writer, in order to secure an impersonal style and tone, or to avoid the obtrusive repetition of ‘I’. N.E.D. (1926) states: ‘Regularly so used in editorial and unsigned articles in newspapers and other periodicals, where the writer is understood to be supported in his opinions and statements by the editorial staff collectively.’ This practice has become less usual during the 20th cent. and is limited to self-conscious and humorous contexts. ΚΠ eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) i. i. 12 Nu hæbbe we scortlice gesæd ymbe Asia londgemæro. OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xxxvi. 495 We mihton þas halgan rædinge menigfealdlicor trahtnian. ?a1160 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1137 Nu we willen sægen sum del wat belamp on Stephnes kinges time. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 265 (MED) Now o þis proloug wil we b[lin]. a1513 H. Bradshaw Lyfe St. Werburge (1521) i. iii. sig. a.vii The second sone of Penda, we meane kynge Wulfere. 1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie i. xix. 33 We our selues who compiled this treatise. 1610 J. Healey tr. St. Augustine Citie of God iii. xviii. 133 Should we particularize, wee should become a direct Historiographer. a1701 H. Maundrell Let. in Journey to Jerusalem (1703) sig. b3^v We are apt to overflow in speaking of it. 1758 A. Reid tr. P. J. Macquer Elements Theory & Pract. Chym. I. 133 We are surprised to observe the solution of copper..retain its limpidity. 1807 E. Copleston Adv. Young Reviewer 1 There is a mysterious authority in the plural we, which no single name, whatever may be its reputation, can acquire. 1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 2nd Ser. 51 We shall never forget the mingled feelings of awe and respect, with which we used to gaze on the exterior of Newgate in our schoolboy days. 1860 Leader 11 Feb. The volume that we have now before us. 1965 S. Lipschutz Outl. Theory & Probl. Gen. Topol. iv. 47 We assume the reader is familiar with the geometric representation of R by means of the points on a straight line. 2003 N.Y. Times 2 Mar. 11/4 The commander of American forces..has backup plans for moving American forces into Northern Iraq. ‘General Franks, as we speak, is looking at lots of options.’ II. As object of a verb or preposition. 3. Used for the objective case: = us pron. 1. a. With a premodifying adjective or a following qualifying phrase.In modern use, probably due to hypercorrection (cf. us pron. 9a) and often censured. ΚΠ 1414 Petition in Rotuli Parl. (1767–77) IV. 60/2 (MED) That the Kyng, nor none of his heires, shulde never have lust ne wille to clayme that Maner aȝeyn into her owne handes..is gret deel to we hise trewe lieges to know. a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) v. iii. 104 And to poore we Thine enmities most capitall. View more context for this quotation 1761 J. Woodforde Diary 22 Nov. in W. N. Hargreaves-Mawdsley Woodforde at Oxf. (1969) 60 Who should pay of we three. 1874 T. Hardy Far from Madding Crowd I. viii. 104 Between we two, man and man, I believe that man would as soon tell a lie Sundays as working-days. 1921 Foreign Service July 11/1 Few of we common people care how much tax Congress soaks on racing motor boats. 1991 P. J. O'Rourke Parl. of Whores (1992) 205 FSLIC, or Fizz-Lick..is a government corporation owned by we the taxpayers. 2000 Daily Tel. 28 Nov. 27/4 The voice of reason is hushed into silence by the raucous tones of we politicians. b. Not modified. Now chiefly English regional, Scottish (southern, eastern, and Orkney), U.S. regional (southern, in African-American usage), and Caribbean. ΚΠ ?1553 Respublica (1952) iii. iii. 24 People... He fliereth on youe, and beareth vs faire in hande And therewhile robbeth bothe youe and we of oure lande. 1782 W. Cowper John Gilpin 16 So you must ride On horseback after we. 1833 M. Scott Tom Cringle's Log II. viii. 355 Cousin Taam, what you bring we? 1883 D. C. Murray Hearts xxxii Not as ever you was proud to folks like we. 1890 A. C. Bickley Midst Surrey Hills III. xxvii. 207 He a' never disappinted we afore, why should 'un now? 1918 E. C. Parsons Folk-Tales Andros Island, Bahamas 117 Let we go now. 1920 J. Firth Reminisc. Orkney Parish 158 Here's health tae ye and yers For being so kind to we and wiz. 1923 J. S. Heyward Brown Jackets 21 Wah dat yo' binna tell we de tudder day 'bout Cuh Jo? 1951 Forfar Dispatch 22 Feb. ‘Ee comin' wi' we?’—‘Are you coming with us?’ 1975 S. Selvon Moses Ascending 62 The sheep was laying down, but the eyes was open watching we. 1996 V. Walters Rude Girls ix. 164 You see my situation. Your father run, gone lef' we. 2007 A. Chiles We don't know what we're Doing viii. 189 He can't see a fookin' thing..and he's got to drive we home. 2020 J. P. Spence in Lallans 97 14 The raiglars hud it in fur oo anaw. B. n. 1. a. The word ‘we’; (an instance of) the use of the word, esp. by a single individual in referring to himself or herself. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > [noun] > individuality or selfhood > self > we or us useOE wec1400 nous autres1799 c1400 in D. Thomson Middle Eng. Grammatical Texts (1984) 191 (MED) How mony persons has þou? Sex..‘I’ and ‘þow’ and ‘he’ in þe singulere, and ‘we’ and ‘ȝe’ and ‘þay’ in þe plurele. 1711 Ld. Shaftesbury Characteristicks III. Misc. iv. i. 194 The Question is, ‘What constitutes the We or I?’ And, ‘Whether the I of this instant, be the same with that of any instant proceding, or to come.’.. So that the same successional We or I must remain still, on this account, undecided. 1751 S. Richardson Clarissa (ed. 3) VII. ii. 18 If by thy We's and Us's thou meanest thyself or me. 1835 E. Bulwer-Lytton Rienzi II. iv. vii. 189 Noticed you the we—the style royal? 1879 T. P. O'Connor Ld. Beaconsfield xiv. 577 In this official report [of a speech] the vain-glorious and significant ‘I’ is toned down to the softer and less candid ‘we’. 1924 Amer. Mercury Dec. 390/2 He..began the custom of referring to himself in its columns as ‘Mr. Bryan’,—which was considered, perhaps, more delicate than the use of the capital I, while being as collective and impressive as the editorial we. 1999 J. Weiner Time, Love, Memory 207 The Unabomber..mailed a letter to the New York Times, a letter written in the royal or revolutionary ‘we’. b. humorous. The editor of a periodical, or a contributor who uses this style of self-reference; the periodical itself. Now rare. ΘΚΠ society > communication > journalism > journalist > editor of journal or newspaper > [noun] author1697 editor1777 editor-in-chief1810 we1826 magazine editor1857 1826 Lancet 15 July 503/2 The Editor of The Lancet is a..dog..; all the ‘blanks’ and ‘wes’ and ‘single letter’ gentry..slanderers. 1852 R. S. Surtees Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour ii. ix. 50 It reached the ears of the great Mr. Seedeyman, the mighty we of the country, as he sat in his den penning his ‘stunners’ for his market-day Mercury. 1866 Chambers's Jrnl. 15 Dec. 788/2 Not only was I myself overwhelmed by these accounts of foreign travel, when I was a We, but I noticed [etc.]. 1874 A. Trollope Phineas Redux I. xxxii. 266 The ‘we’ of The People's Banner had learned that the very painful matter..would be brought before one of the tribunals of the country. 1902 Monthly Rev. Aug. 124 Yet the two great ‘Wes’ of the eighteenth century, the ‘Monthly’ and the ‘Critical’ played no unimportant part in the literary education of our great~grandparents. 2. a. Used, chiefly in collocation with they, to allude to the tension between two mutually exclusive groups or categories of people, or their opposing interests. Cf. them and us at them pron., adj., and n. Phrases 1. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social relations > association for a common purpose > [noun] > group associated for common purpose covinc1330 lyancec1380 university?1473 army1540 band1557 union1603 coalescence1609 confederation1621 associationa1658 confederacy1681 federation1791 brigade1806 united front1807 class movement1839 company1839 paction1877 combine1889 protest movement1898 protest group1920 minority movement1923 we1926 power1966 1884 F. Maurice F. D. Maurice II. xvii. 531 That division of all men into the two classes of ‘we’ and ‘the rest’,..which we most of us adopt. 1926 R. Kipling Debits & Credits 327 Would you believe it?—They look upon We As only a sort of They! 1942 H. Haycraft Murder for Pleasure xv. 316 The..fundamental contradiction between the We and They in government. 1948 R. H. Tawney in F. A. Iremonger William Temple v. 88 The ‘We and They’ complex..could not survive continuous co-operation with colleagues..whose experience of life was quite different from his own. 1973 Guardian 30 Mar. 14/2 Anything which emphasises the ‘we’ and ‘they’ of the situation will drive men..towards the extremes of politics. b. A couple or group identified to its members by the word ‘we’; two or more people forming a unit. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social relations > association, fellowship, or companionship > a company or body of persons > [noun] ferec975 flockOE gingc1175 rout?c1225 companyc1300 fellowshipc1300 covinc1330 eschelec1330 tripc1330 fellowred1340 choira1382 head1381 glub1382 partya1387 peoplec1390 conventc1426 an abominable of monksa1450 body1453 carol1483 band1490 compernagea1500 consorce1512 congregationa1530 corporationa1535 corpse1534 chore1572 society1572 crew1578 string1579 consort1584 troop1584 tribe1609 squadron1617 bunch1622 core1622 lag1624 studa1625 brigadea1649 platoon1711 cohort1719 lot1725 corps1754 loo1764 squad1786 brotherhood1820 companionhood1825 troupe1825 crowd1840 companionship1842 group1845 that ilk1845 set-out1854 layout1869 confraternity1872 show1901 crush1904 we1927 familia1933 shower1936 1927 F. M. Thrasher Gang iii. xv. 288 Perhaps the simplest way of describing this wholeness is by saying that it is a ‘we’; it involves the sort of sympathy and mutual identification for which ‘we’ is the natural expression. 1979 E. Hardwick Sleepless Nights v. 61 I am alone here in New York, no longer a we. 1999 M. Syal Life isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee (2000) vii. 295 The I becomes a We, for ever, and of course that has profound implications for your primary relationship. 2002 E. White Fast Girls vii. 146 Her book was aimed at women as a ‘we’. C. adj. regional (now chiefly Caribbean). As a possessive adjective: = our adj. Cf. us adj. 1. ΚΠ 1848 A. B. Evans Leicestershire Words 104 ‘We’ and Wer pr., ‘our’. ‘We'll go and get wer dinners.’ ‘We heave'nt had we teas.’ 1912 C. McKay Songs of Jamaica 14 We caan' 'peak sake o' we naybor tongue. 1928 J. M. Peterkin Scarlet Sister Mary 29 Satan is de one sent dat rat here to kill we joy an' make we have sin to-day. 1977 M. Woodhouse in Winter's Crimes 9 150 We all going to lose we jobs. 1984 D. Dabydeen Slave Song 17 Babee strap like burden to we back. 2001 V. Munasinghe Callaloo or Tossed Salad? vi. 148 Dey rent we land and take it away. Dey loan black people money and take all dey own. Compounds C1. General attributive, designating something characterized by or associated with the use of the pronoun ‘we’. ΚΠ 1906 W. G. Sumner Folkways i. 12 The insiders in a we-group are in a relation of peace, order, law, government, and industry, to each other. 1930 Times 19 Mar. 12/1 Now I'm going to do a little bit of the ‘we’ stuff. 1955 A. H. N. Green-Armytage Portrait St. Luke iii. 41 We must trust to the we-sections of the Acts. 1986 New Yorker 28 July 61/2 It's the ‘we’ generation, not the ‘me’ generation any more. 2006 New Yorker 19 June 93/1 It wasn't a we thing. ‘We’ was when we were a couple. C2. we-they adj. relating to or exhibiting a tension between two mutually exclusive groups. ΚΠ 1935 A. Meiklejohn What does America Mean? iii. 46 Much of our current social theory and practice is obsessed by a persistent fallacy. It is the ‘We–They’ fallacy... ‘We’ who plan for society have spiritual commitments. But ‘they’, for whom we plan, have physical needs... ‘We’ and ‘they’ belong to separate worlds. 1965 Observer 25 Apr. (Colour Suppl.) 13/1 The children have a chance of learning to deal with adults, without the we-they feeling. 2003 New Internationalist Jan. (Chronicle 2002 Suppl.) 2/2 A preoccupation with an external enemy, a clinging together in an almost tribal unity and a frightening kind of ‘we-they’ politics. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2022). † weint. Forms: Also Middle English whe. Obsolete. An exclamation apparently used for emphasis, or to demand attention. Cf. wi int. ΘΠ the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > cry or exclamation > [interjection] > other specific cries or exclamations oeOE heya1225 ouc1300 we13.. hac1320 how1377 how now?c1380 vaha1382 ha a!c1386 ha ha!c1386 hoa1400 ohoa1400 yowc1440 yoa1475 heh1475 hey ho?c1475 huffc1485 wemaya1500 whewa1500 wow1513 huffa?1520 gup?1528 ist1540 whow1542 hougha1556 whoo1570 good-now1578 ooh1602 phew1604 highday1606 huh1608 whoo-whoop1611 sessaa1616 tara1672 hegh1723 hip1735 waugha1766 whoofa1766 jee1786 goody1796 yaw1797 hech1808 whoo-ee1811 whizz1812 yah1812 soh1815 sirs1816 how1817 quep1822 soho1825 ow1834 ouch1838 pfui1838 suz1844 shoo1845 yoop1847 upsadaisy1862 houp-la1870 hooch1871 nu1892 ouff1898 upsy1903 oo-er1909 ooh-wee1910 eina1913 oops1921 whoopsie1923 whoops-a-daisy1925 hot-cha-cha1929 upsadaisy1929 walla1929 hotcha1931 hi-de-ho1936 po po po1936 ho-de-ho1941 oh, oh1944 oopsy1956 chingas1984 bambi2007 13.. Sir Orfeo (Sisam) 176 O we, quaþ he, allas allas. 13.. Gosp. Nicod. 28 (Harl.) We, whatkyn godes er þire? c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 2185 ‘We, lorde,’ quoþ þe gentyle knyȝt, ‘Wheþer þis be þe grene chapelle?’ c1440 York Myst. xi. 139 We! lord, þai wil noght to me trayste. c1440 York Myst. xv. 46 Whe! hudde! be-halde into the heste! a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. ii. 16 We! ryn on, in the dwills nayme, before! This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online December 2021). < pron.n.adj.eOEint.13..
随便看	itinerating itineration itinerations ition itious itis itish itisket itasket itll cost you itol itoldyouso itous itreowe its its a thing its midst its no go its own bottom its, his, etc weight in or of gold, silver, etc itself itselfs itselves itsy-bitsiness itsy-bitsy itsybitsiness

wepron.n.adj.

Compounds

† weint.