him

[him] /hɪm/
pronoun
1.
the objective case of he, used as a direct or indirect object:
I'll see him tomorrow. Give him the message.
2.
Informal. (used instead of the pronoun he in the predicate after the verb to be):
It's him. It isn't him.
3.
Informal. (used instead of the pronoun his before a gerund):
We were surprised by him wanting to leave.
noun
4.
Informal. a male:
Is the new baby a her or a him?
Origin
before 900; Middle English, Old English, dative of hē he1
Can be confused
him, hymn.
Usage note
See he1, me.

H.I.M.

1.
His Imperial Majesty; Her Imperial Majesty.

he1

[hee; unstressed ee] /hi; unstressed i/
pronoun, nominative he, possessive his, objective him; plural nominative they, possessive their or theirs, objective them.
1.
the male person or animal being discussed or last mentioned; that male.
2.
anyone (without reference to sex); that person:
He who hesitates is lost.
noun, plural hes.
3.
any male person or animal; a man:
hes and shes.
adjective
4.
male (usually used in combination):
a he-goat.
Origin
before 900; Middle English, Old English hē (masculine nominative singular); cognate with Dutch hij, Old Saxon hē, Old High German her he; see his, him, she, her, it1
Usage note
Traditionally, the masculine singular pronouns he1, his, and him have been used generically to refer to indefinite pronouns like anyone, everyone, and someone (Everyone who agrees should raise his right hand) and to singular nouns that can be applied to either sex (painter, parent, person, teacher, writer, etc.): Every writer knows that his first book is not likely to be a bestseller. This generic use is often criticized as sexist, although many speakers and writers continue the practice.
Those who object to the generic use of he have developed various ways of avoiding it. One is to use he/she or she/he (or he or she or she or he) or the appropriate case forms of these pairs: Everyone who agrees should raise his or her (or her or his or his/her or her/his) right hand. Forms blending the feminine and masculine pronouns, as s/he, have not been widely adopted, probably because of confusion over how to say them.
Another solution is to change the antecedent pronoun or noun from singular to plural so that the plural pronouns they, their, and them can be used: All who agree should raise their right hands. All writers know that their first books are not likely to be bestsellers. See also they.
Examples from the web for him
  • On rare occasions, a chief will unite a large number of kindreds underneath him.
  • They manage to subdue the tick and start to perform the experiments on him.
  • There are several restaurants and other businesses named after him.
  • They rode over to the fixed land, and there were piebalds flowers named after him.
  • So many of them, through some sort of jealousy, would practically hate him.
  • When he sees it, he will obey the next suggestion or order given to him.
  • I remember the critic very well, and have never forgiven him.
  • He tells her that he is helping her so that she will come back to work and wait on him.
  • Her father used violence to punish his children, beating them when they disobeyed him.
  • While looking for them, a great white shark attacks him and nearly kills him.
British Dictionary definitions for him

him

/hɪm; unstressed ɪm/
pronoun (objective)
1.
refers to a male person or animal: they needed him, she baked him a cake, not him again!
2.
(mainly US) a dialect word for himself he ought to find him a wife
me1
Word Origin
Old English him, dative of hēhe1

HIM

abbreviation
1.
His (or Her) Imperial Majesty

he1

/hiː; unstressed iː/
pronoun (subjective)
1.
refers to a male person or animal: he looks interesting, he's a fine stallion
2.
refers to an indefinite antecedent such as one, whoever, or anybody: everybody can do as he likes in this country
3.
refers to a person or animal of unknown or unspecified sex: a member of the party may vote as he sees fit
noun
4.
  1. a male person or animal
  2. (in combination): he-goat
5.
  1. a children's game in which one player chases the others in an attempt to touch one of them, who then becomes the chaser Compare tag2
  2. the person chasing Compare it1 (sense 7)
Word Origin
Old English hē; related to Old Saxon hie, Old High German her he, Old Slavonic sĭ this, Latin cis on this side

he2

/heɪ; Hebrew he/
noun
1.
the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet (ה), transliterated as h

he3

/hiː; heɪ/
interjection
1.
an expression of amusement or derision Also he-he!, hee-hee!

He

Chemical symbol
1.
helium

HE

abbreviation
1.
high explosive
2.
His Eminence
3.
His (or Her) Excellency
Word Origin and History for him
pron.

Old English him, originally dative masculine and neuter of he; beginning 10c. it replaced hine as masculine accusative, a regional process completed by 15c. The dative roots of the -m ending are retained in German (ihm) and Dutch (hem). Hine persists, barely, as the southern England dialectal 'un, 'n for "him."

he

pron.

Old English he (see paradigm of Old English third person pronoun below), from Proto-Germanic *hi- (cf. Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Middle Dutch he, hi, Dutch hy, Old High German he), from PIE *ki-, variant of *ko-, the "this, here" (as opposed to "that, there") root (cf. Hittite ki "this," Greek ekeinos "that person," Old Church Slavonic si, Lithuanian šis "this"), and thus the source of the third person pronouns in Old English. The feminine, hio, was replaced in early Middle English by forms from other stems (see she), while the h- wore off Old English neuter hit to make modern it. The Proto-Germanic root also is the source of the first element in German heute "today," literally "the day" (cf. Old English heodæg).

case SINGULAR - - PLURAL
- masc. neut. fem. (all genders)
nom. he hit heo, hio hie, hi
acc. hine hit hie, hi hie, hi
gen. his his hire hira, heora
dat. him him hire him, heom

Pleonastic use with the noun ("Mistah Kurtz, he dead") is attested from late Old English. With animal words, meaning "male" (he-goat, etc.) from c.1300.

him in Medicine

He
The symbol for the element helium.

him in Science
He  
The symbol for helium.
Related Abbreviations for him

HIM

Her (or His) Imperial Majesty

he

Hebrew

He

helium

HE

  1. Her (or His) Excellency
  2. high explosive
  3. His (or Her) Eminence
Encyclopedia Article for him

he

type of ancient Chinese bronze vessel that was used to heat liquids and to serve wine.

Learn more about he with a free trial on Britannica.com