Middle English Dictionary Entry

hẹ̄ pron.(2)
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Entry Info

Forms hẹ̄ pron.(2) Also heo, hi(e & ho(e, hu(e, hw & ȝo(e, ȝho, yo, ȝe, ȝeo, ȝhe, yhe, yio, ge, ghe & ha, a; contraction: get (= ge hit).
Etymology OE nom. & acc. sg.fem. hēo, hīe, hī, hīo, hīu, hȳ, hīa, hēa. Some of the forms are from the orig. falling diphthongs of OE; others are from LOE rising diphthongs. Forms in ȝ(h-, g(h-, y(h- prob. had a palatal fricative; this could have arisen from the comb. of h with the first element of a rising diphthong (e.g. ȝọ̄) and then spread to forms in which the falling diphthong was preserved (e.g. ȝẹ̄). Some of the hā̆ & a forms are prob. due to development in unstressed position; others may have acquired the vowel of the OE acc. sg. fem. þā. In ME, the fem. hẹ̄ is chiefly M & S, rarely (if ever) N. The use as obj. is chiefly early.

Definitions (Senses and Subsenses)

Note: Cp. she pron., hire pron.(1) & (2).
1a.
As anaphoric or pers. pron., subject: (a) the female person referred to, she; (b) used pleonastically, or for emphasis; (c) with appositional adjunct; (d) ~ that, ~ the, ~..that, she who.
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1b.
(a) Referring to nouns orig. grammatically feminine: it; (b) referring to animals of the female sex: she, it.
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1c.
As object: (a) referring to women or female animals: her; (b) referring to nouns grammatically feminine: it; (c) reflexive: herself.
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2.
As noun: a woman; also a female animal or bird; ~ beste, ~ got, ~ lomb, ~ sparwe, ~ wolf.
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