her

[hur; unstressed her, er] /hɜr; unstressed hər, ər/
pronoun
1.
the objective case of she:
We saw her this morning. Give this book to her.
2.
the possessive case of she (used as an attributive adjective):
Her coat is the one on the chair. I'm sorry about her leaving.
Compare hers.
3.
the dative case of she:
I gave her the book.
4.
Informal. (used instead of the pronoun she in the predicate after the verb to be):
It's her. It isn't her.
noun
5.
Slang. a female:
Is the new baby a her or a him?
Origin
before 900; Middle English her(e), Old English hire, genitive and dative of hēo she (feminine of hē he1)
Usage note
See he1, me.

her.

1.
heraldic.
2.
heraldry.

she

[shee] /ʃi/
pronoun, singular nominative she, possessive her or hers, objective her; plural nominative they, possessive their or theirs, objective them.
1.
the female person or animal being discussed or last mentioned; that female.
2.
the woman:
She who listens learns.
3.
anything considered, as by personification, to be feminine:
spring, with all the memories she conjures up.
noun, plural shes.
4.
a female person or animal.
5.
an object or device considered as female or feminine.
Origin
1125-75; Middle English, alteration of Old English sēo, sīo, sīe, feminine of se the1; replacing Old English hēo, hīo, feminine personal pronoun; see he1, her
Usage note
See he1, me, they.
Examples from the web for her
  • The molecules of her arm blended with the molecules in the wall.
  • Two years later she had received her degree in physics and the following year received her mathematics degree.
  • She is unlikely to gather enough signatures, despite her persuasive ways.
  • her repeated efforts to obtain employment in one of the laboratories seemed to avail her nothing.
  • her inventory runs from flea-market finds and charming toys to elegant handbags.
  • But then he grabbed her and handcuffed her hands behind her back.
  • her children and many of her grandchildren were able to say goodbye.
  • She leans casually on her spinning frame, staring out at the camera, dressed in a filthy work smock.
  • She hopes it might help her get into art school and earn her some commissions.
  • She kept her faculties to the end and could say goodbye to us.
British Dictionary definitions for her

her

/hɜː; unstressed hə; ə/
pronoun (objective)
1.
refers to a female person or animal: he loves her, they sold her a bag, something odd about her, lucky her!
2.
refers to things personified as feminine or traditionally to ships and nations
3.
(mainly US) a dialect word for herself she needs to get her a better job
determiner
4.
of, belonging to, or associated with her: her silly ideas, her hair, her smoking annoys me
me1
Word Origin
Old English hire, genitive and dative of hēoshe, feminine of hēohe1; related to Old High German ira, Gothic izōs, Middle Dutch hare

her.

abbreviation
1.
heraldic
2.
heraldry

she

/ʃiː/
pronoun (subjective)
1.
refers to a female person or animal: she is a doctor, she's a fine mare
2.
refers to things personified as feminine, such as cars, ships, and nations
3.
(Austral & NZ) an informal word for it1 (sense 3) she's apples, she'll be right
noun
4.
  1. a female person or animal
  2. (in combination): she-cat
me1
Word Origin
Old English sīe, accusative of sēo, feminine demonstrative pronoun
Word Origin and History for her
objective case

Old English hire, third person singular feminine dative pronoun, which beginning in 10c. replaced accusative hie (see he). Cognate with Old Frisian hiri, Middle Dutch hore, Dutch haar, Old High German iru, German ihr.

possessive case

Old English hire, third person singular feminine genitive form of heo "she" (see she).

she

pron.

mid-12c., probably evolving from Old English seo, sio (accusative sie), fem. of demonstrative pronoun se "the," from PIE root *so- "this, that" (see the). The Old English word for "she" was heo, hio, however by 13c. the pronunciation of this had converged by phonetic evolution with he "he," which apparently led to the fem. demonstrative pronoun being used in place of the pronoun (cf. similar development in Dutch zij, German sie, Greek he, etc.). The original h- survives in her. A relic of the Old English pronoun is in Manchester-area dialectal oo "she." As a noun meaning "a female," she is attested from 1530s.

Related Abbreviations for her

HER

Hercules (constellation)

her.

heraldry