his

[hiz; unstressed iz] /hɪz; unstressed ɪz/
pronoun
1.
the possessive form of he (used as an attributive or predicative adjective):
His coat is the brown one. This brown coat is his. Do you mind his speaking first?
2.
that or those belonging to him:
His was the cleverest remark of all. I borrowed a tie of his.
Origin
before 900; Middle English, Old English, genitive of hē he1
Usage note
See he1, me.

His

Biochemistry
1.
histidine.

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 his
  • It does not mention the scandal that damaged his once-stellar reputation and stunned his colleagues in the field.
  • He is acclaimed for his advocacy of web standards, books and a sometimes prickly manner.
  • Computer executive posts statement to quell questions on his condition.
  • his only consolation was that he had helped postpone it till now.
  • He shops at the market even on his days off, drawn by the consistent quality and the vendors' specialty knowledge.
  • He is the author of three books and at work on his fourth.
  • Picture a college student appealing for a higher grade in his professor's office.
  • The surgeon fixes his broken hands by delegating the task to another surgeon.
  • He runs his fingers through his hair, rolls his shoulders, and blinks rapidly.
  • The painter's appearance and attire was as distinctive as his artwork.
British Dictionary definitions for his

his

/hɪz; unstressed ɪz/
determiner
1.
  1. of, belonging to, or associated with him: his own fault, his knee, I don't like his being out so late
  2. as pronoun: his is on the left, that book is his
2.
his and hers, (of paired objects) for a man and woman respectively
pronoun
3.
of his, belonging to or associated with him
Word Origin
Old English his, genitive of hēhe1 and of hitit

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 his
pron.

Old English his (genitive of he), from Proto-Germanic *khisa (cf. Gothic is, German es). Originally also the neuter possessive pronoun, but replaced in that sense c.1600 by its. In Middle English, hisis was tried for the absolute pronoun (cf. her/hers), but it failed to stick. For dialectal his'n, see her.

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.

his in Medicine

He
The symbol for the element helium.

His abbr.
histidine

His (hĭs), Wilhelm. 1863-1934.

German anatomist known for his investigations of the heart. He described (1893) the atrioventricular trunk, also called the His bundle.

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

HIS

high resolution interferometer spectrometer

he

Hebrew

He

helium

HE

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

he

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

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