her

See also: hér, hèr, hær, her-, Her, hər, HER, and H.E.R.

Translingual

Symbol

her

  1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Herero.

See also

  • Wiktionary’s coverage of Herero terms

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle English here, hir, hire, from Old English hire (her), from Proto-Germanic *hezōi (dative and genitive singular of *hijō).

Cognate with North Frisian hör, Saterland Frisian hier, hiere (her), West Frisian har (her), Dutch haar (her), German Low German hör (her), German ihr (her).

Pronunciation

Determiner

her

  1. Belonging to her (belonging to that female person or animal, or in poetic or old-fashioned language that ship, city, season, etc).
    This is her book
    • 1928, The Journal of the American Dental Association, page 765:
      Prodigal in everything, summer spreads her blessings with lavish unconcern, and waving her magic wand across the landscape of the world, she bids the sons of men to enter in [...]
    • 1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 1:
      Her crew knew that deep in her heart beat engines fit and able to push her blunt old nose ahead at a sweet fourteen knots, come Hell or high water.
    • 2001, Betsy Gould Hearne, Wishes, Kisses, and Pigs, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 78:
      On top of the circle she wrote her name, Louise, just above where the 12 on a clock would be.
    • 2010, Andrew Lambert, Nelson: Britannia's God of War, Faber & Faber, →ISBN:
      On 24 April Nelson rejoined his ship, her battle damage repaired []
  2. Belonging to a person of unspecified gender (to counterbalance the traditional "his" in this sense).
    • 2017, David Yellin, Essentials of Integrating the Language Arts, page 115:
      Begin by having students choose a short poem to memorize; they will enjoy searching the library for a poem that appeals to them. If a student wishes to memorize her poem and share it aloud with the rest of the class, suggest a buddy system.

Translations

See also

English personal pronouns

Dialectal and obsolete or archaic forms are in italics.

personal pronoun possessive
pronoun
possessive
determiner
subjective objective reflexive
first
person
singular I
me (colloquial)
me myself
me
mysen
mine my
mine (before vowels, archaic)
me
plural we us ourselves
ourself
oursen
ours
ourn (obsolete outside dialects)
our
second
person
singular standard
(historically
formal)
you you yourself
yoursen
yours
yourn (obsolete outside dialects)
your
archaic
(historically
informal)
thou thee thyself
theeself
thysen
thine thy
thine (before vowels)
plural standard you
ye (archaic)
you yourselves yours
yourn (obsolete outside dialects)
your
colloquial you all
y'all
you guys
yous
you all
y'all
you guys
yous
y'allselves all yours
y'all's
you guys'
your guys'
all your
y'all's
your all's (nonstandard)
you guys'
your guys'
informal /
dialectal
(see list of dialectal forms at you and inflected forms in those entries)
third
person
singular masculine he him himself
hisself (archaic)
hissen
his
hisn (obsolete outside dialects)
his
feminine she her herself
hersen
hers
hern (obsolete outside dialects)
her
neuter it
hit
it
hit
itself
hitself
its
his (archaic)
its
his (archaic)
hits
genderless1 they them themself, themselves theirs their
nonspecific
(formal)
one one oneself one's
plural they them
hem, 'em
themselves
theirsen
theirs
theirn (obsolete outside dialects)
their

1 See Appendix:English third-person singular pronouns for attested neopronouns.

Pronoun

her

  1. The form of she used after a preposition, as the object of a verb, or (colloquial) as a subject with a conjunction; that woman, that ship, etc, or (dialect) as a subject without a conjunction.
    Give it to her (after preposition)
    He wrote her a letter (indirect object)
    He treated her for a cold (direct object)
    Him and her went for a walk (with a conjunction; proscribed)
    Her's a bosting wench! (as a subject wihout a conjunction; dialectal)
    • February 1896, Ground-swells, by Jeannette H. Walworth, published in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine; page 183:
      "Then what became of her?"
      "Her? Which ‘her’? The park is full of ‘hers’."
      "The lady with the green feathers in her hat. A big Gainsborough hat. I am quite sure it was Miss Hartuff."
    • 1897, Hamilton Kingsford, Vigornian Monologues: A Series of Papers in Illustration of the Dialect of Worcestershire[2], page 18:
      I means to goo to th' mop, 'er sez, fur I waants a chahinge. [] 'T wuz to w:Muckley mop 'er went.
    • 1913, D. H. Lawrence, Sons and Lovers, Penguin Lawrence Edition, Penguin, published 1994, →ISBN, page 213:
      “I’ll bet ’er wor a toe-rag,” said Morel, following up his joke. ¶ “Don’t you be so cheeky about a queen,” said Annie.
    • 1950, C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe:
      "It's all right," he was shouting. "Come out, Mrs. Beaver. Come out, Sons and Daughters of Adam and Eve. It's all right! It isn't her!" This was bad grammar of course, but that is how beavers talk when they are excited; I mean, in Narnia—in our world they usually don't talk at all.
    • 2013, James Tully, The Crimes of Charlotte Brontë:
      Every day I had to watch as him and her went off for long walks together, and each night I had to go to my lonely, cold bed with the thought that they were sharing the same one []
    • 2019, “Am Yow A Yam Yam”‎[3]performed by Johnny Cole:
      "What's 'er say?" 'Er said: "Am yow a Yam Yam?", Ah said "Ar bab, I am!".

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

her (plural hers)

  1. (informal) A female person or animal.
    I think this bird is a him, but it may be a her.
    • 1986, Hélène Cixous, Sorties (translated)
      [] daring dizzying passages in other, fleeting and passionate dwellings within the hims and hers whom she inhabits []
    • 2004, Charles J. Sullivan, Love and Survival, page 68:
      By this time, she had so many questions, but she only hit him up for one answer about those “hims” and “hers.” She asked, “Do both hims and hers reproduce hummers?”

Synonyms

Anagrams

Aromanian

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Latin ferrum. Compare Daco-Romanian fier, Spanish hierro.

Noun

her n (plural heari or heare)

  1. iron

Cornish

Noun

her

  1. mixed mutation of ger

Czech

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈɦɛr]

Noun

her f

  1. genitive plural of hra

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse hér.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /hɛr/, [hɛɐ̯], [heɐ̯]

Adverb

her

  1. here

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch her. Cognate with Old High German hera (hither) and likely Gothic 𐌷𐌹𐍂𐌹 (hiri).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɦɛr/
  • Audio:(file)

Adverb

her

  1. (obsolete outside fixed expressions) here
  2. (obsolete outside fixed expressions) hither

Usage notes

  • Not in common usage, "hier" is rather used. "her" is only used in expressions like the ones below.

Derived terms

Faroese

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /heːɹ/

Etymology 1

From Old Norse hér.

Adverb

her

  1. here

Etymology 2

From herur.

Noun

her

  1. indefinite accusative singular of herur

German

Etymology

From Middle High German her, from Old High German hera. Cognate to German Low German her.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /heːr/, [heːɐ̯], [hɛɐ̯]
  • Audio (Germany (Berlin)):(file)
  • Homophones: Heer, hehr, Herr (common merger)
  • Rhymes: -eːɐ̯

Adverb

her

  1. hither, to this place, to here, to me/us
    Komm her!
    Come here!
  2. ago
    Es ist zehn Jahre her, dass ich das letzte Mal Auto gefahren bin.
    Ten years ago was the last time I drove a car.

Antonyms

Derived terms

See also

Further reading

  • her” in Duden online
  • her” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Gothic

Romanization

hēr

  1. romanization of 𐌷𐌴𐍂

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse herr.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /hɛːr/
  • Rhymes: -ɛːr

Noun

her m (genitive singular hers, nominative plural herir or (archaic/obsolete) herjar)

  1. army, military

Declension

Declension of her (masculine)
singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative her herinn herir, herjar1 herirnir, herjarnir1
accusative her herinn heri, herja1 herina, herjana1
dative her hernum herjum herjunum
genitive hers hersins herja herjanna

1Archaic/obsolete.

Derived terms

References

  • Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), “her”, in Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, →ISBN (Available at Málið.is under the “Eldri orðabækur” tab.)
  • Kristín Bjarnadóttir, editor (2002–2026), “her”, in Beygingarlýsing íslensks nútímamáls [The Database of Modern Icelandic Inflection] (in Icelandic), Reykjavík: The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies
  • Mörður Árnason (2019), Íslensk orðabók, 5th edition, Reykjavík: Forlagið
  • “her” in the Dictionary of Modern Icelandic (in Icelandic) and ISLEX (in the Nordic languages)

Indonesian

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Kur [Term?]

Pronunciation

Noun

her (plural her-her)

  1. a container made from woven hibiscus tree bark, in the shape of an inverted cone with a rope to hang over the head, then the woven material is carried behind the back, usually used to carry garden produce

Etymology 2

From hereksamen, ultimately derived from Dutch herexamen (retake exam, resit).

Pronunciation

Noun

her (plural her-her)

  1. (colloquial, somewhat uncommon) apocopic form of hereksamen
    Synonyms: (more common) remedial, ujian ulang

Further reading

Limburgish

Etymology

From hieër.

Noun

her m

  1. vocative singular of hieër

Middle English

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old English hǣr, from Proto-West Germanic *hār, from Proto-Germanic *hērą.

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /hɛ̝ːr/, /heːr/

Noun

her (plural heres)

  1. (countable) a hair (follicular growth on the skin)
  2. (uncountable) hair (follicular growths on the skin)
    • a. 1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Knight's Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, lines 3690–3691:
      But first he cheweth greyn and lycorys / To smellen sweete, er he hadde kembd his heer.
      Though first he chews spices and licorice, / To smell sweet before he'd combed his hair.
  3. pelt, hide, animal skin
  4. Something similar in appearance to hair (e.g. a botanical hair)
  5. (figurative) small part, any part (of a person)
Descendants
  • English: hair
    • Russian: хаер (xajer), хайр (xajr)
    • Russian: хайратник (xajratnik)
  • Scots: hair, hayr, hare
  • Yola: haar

References

Etymology 2

Inherited from Old English hēr, *hǣr, from Proto-West Germanic *hēr, from Proto-Germanic *hē₂r.

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /heːr/, /hɛːr/

Adverb

her

  1. here
Descendants

References

Etymology 3

Determiner

her

  1. alternative form of hire (her, genitive)

Pronoun

her

  1. alternative form of hire (hers)

Etymology 4

Pronoun

her

  1. alternative form of hire (her, object)

Etymology 5

Determiner

her

  1. alternative form of here (their)

Etymology 6

Adjective

her

  1. alternative form of here (pleasant)

Etymology 7

Noun

her (heres)

  1. alternative form of here (haircloth)

Etymology 8

Noun

her

  1. alternative form of herre (hinge)

Etymology 9

Noun

her

  1. alternative form of here (army)

Etymology 10

Noun

her (heres)

  1. alternative form of heir (heir)

Etymology 11

Verb

her

  1. alternative form of heren (to hear)

Etymology 12

    Adjective

    her

    1. alternative form of herre: comparative degree of heigh (high)

    North Frisian

    Etymology 1

    Pronoun

    her

    1. her: third-person singular, feminine, objective
    2. her: third-person singular, feminine, possessive

    Etymology 2

    Verb

    her

    1. inflection of haa:
      1. first/third-person singular preterite
      2. plural preterite
      3. past participle

    Northern Kurdish

    Etymology

    From Proto-Indo-Iranian *sárwas.

    Adverb

    Central Kurdish هەر (her)
    Southern Kurdish هەر (her)

    her

    1. every, each
      herkes
      everyone
    2. ever, always
      Her bi jî!
      Long live! (lit. "Ever live!")

    Norwegian Bokmål

    Etymology

    From Old Norse hér.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /hæːr/

    Adverb

    her

    1. here

    Derived terms

    References

    Norwegian Nynorsk

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /hæːr/, /heːr/
    • Homophone: hær

    Etymology 1

    From Old Norse hér.

    Adverb

    her

    1. here
      Det er fint å vera her.
      It's nice to be here.
    2. just now, recently
      Eg såg ho her ein dag.
      I saw her just the other day.

    Etymology 2

    Noun

    her m (definite singular heren, indefinite plural herar, definite plural herane)

    1. (pre-2012) alternative form of hær

    References

    Old English

    Alternative forms

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /xeːr/, [heːr]
    • Rhymes: -ēr

    Etymology 1

    From Proto-West Germanic *hēr, from Proto-Germanic *hē₂r, apparently from the stem *hi- (this); the exact formation is unclear. Cognate with Old Saxon hēr, Old High German hiar, Old Norse hér, Gothic 𐌷𐌴𐍂 (hēr).

    Adverb

    hēr

    1. here
      • late 10th century, Ælfric, the Old English Hexateuch, Genesis 46:2
        God hine ġehīerde and cleopode hine and cwæþ tō him, "Iācōb, Iācōb"! And hē him andswarode and cwæþ, "Hēr iċ eom!"
        God heard him and called out, "Jacob, Jacob!" And he answered him and said, "Here I am!"
    Descendants

    Etymology 2

    Noun

    hēr n (Anglian, late Kentish)

    1. alternative form of hǣr
    Declension

    Strong a-stem:

    singular plural
    nominative hēr hēr
    accusative hēr hēr
    genitive hēres hēra
    dative hēre hērum

    Old Frisian

    Etymology

    From Proto-West Germanic *hār. Cognates include Old English hǣr, Old Saxon hār and Old Dutch hār.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ˈheːr/, [ˈhɛːr]

    Noun

    hēr n

    1. hair

    Descendants

    • North Frisian:
      Föhr-Amrum: hiar
      Goesharde: heer, häär
      Halligen: heer
      Heligoland: Hear
      Mooring: häär
      Sylt: Hiir
      Wiedingharde: heer
    • Saterland Frisian: Híer
    • West Frisian: hier

    References

    • Bremmer, Rolf H. (2009), An Introduction to Old Frisian: History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISBN

    Old High German

    Etymology 1

    From Proto-Germanic *hairaz.

    Adjective

    hēr (comparative hērro or hērōro)

    1. gray-haired, old
    2. noble, venerable
    Declension
    Strong declension of her
    singular masculine feminine neuter
    nominative hērēr, hēr hēriu, hēr hēraȥ, hēr
    accusative hēran hēra hēraȥ, hēr
    genitive hēres hērera hēres
    dative hēremu hēreru hēremu
    instrumental hēru hēru
    plural masculine feminine neuter
    nominative hēre, hēr hēro, hēr hēriu, hēr
    accusative hēre hēro hēriu, hēr
    genitive hērero hērero hērero
    dative hērēm hērēm hērēm
    Weak declension of her
    singular masculine feminine neuter
    nominative hēro hēra hēra
    accusative hēron hērūn hēra
    genitive hēren hērūn hēren
    dative hēren hērūn hēren
    plural masculine feminine neuter
    nominative hēron hērūn hēron
    accusative hēron hērūn hēron
    genitive hērōno hērōno hērōno
    dative hērōm hērōm hērōm
    Declension of comparative of her
    singular masculine feminine neuter
    nominative hērōro hērōra hērōra
    accusative hērōron hērōrūn hērōra
    genitive hērōren hērōrūn hērōren
    dative hērōren hērōrūn hērōren
    plural masculine feminine neuter
    nominative hērōron hērōrūn hērōron
    accusative hērōron hērōrūn hērōron
    genitive hērōrōno hērōrōno hērōrōno
    dative hērōrōm hērōrōm hērōrōm
    Strong declension of superlative her
    singular masculine feminine neuter
    nominative hērōstēr, hērōst hērōstiu, hērōst hērōstaȥ, hērōst
    accusative hērōstan hērōsta hērōstaȥ, hērōst
    genitive hērōstes hērōstera hērōstes
    dative hērōstemu hērōsteru hērōstemu
    instrumental hērōstu hērōstu
    plural masculine feminine neuter
    nominative hērōste, hērōst hērōsto, hērōst hērōstiu, hērōst
    accusative hērōste hērōsto hērōstiu, hērōst
    genitive hērōstero hērōstero hērōstero
    dative hērōstēm hērōstēm hērōstēm
    Weak declension of superlative her
    singular masculine feminine neuter
    nominative hērōsto hērōsta hērōsta
    accusative hērōston hērōstūn hērōsta
    genitive hērōsten hērōstūn hērōsten
    dative hērōsten hērōstūn hērōsten
    plural masculine feminine neuter
    nominative hērōston hērōstūn hērōston
    accusative hērōston hērōstūn hērōston
    genitive hērōstōno hērōstōno hērōstōno
    dative hērōstōm hērōstōm hērōstōm
    Descendants

    Etymology 2

    From Proto-West Germanic *hiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *hiz.

    Pronoun

    hër

    1. (northern dialects) alternative form of ër
    Descendants
    • Middle High German: hër,
      • Central Franconian:
        • Moselle Franconian: ä, en (from the accusative)
          Eifelisch: hän, hen, en
        • Ripuarian:
          Aachensch: he
          Kölsch: , ä
      • East Central German:
        Lusatian-New Marchian:
        Thuringian:
        North Thuringian: he,
      • Rhine Franconian:
        Hessian:
        Low Hessian: he,
        South Hessian: he
      • Vilamovian: hār

    Old Norse

    Noun

    her

    1. accusative/dative singular of herr

    Pumpokol

    Etymology

    Derived from Proto-Yeniseian *atɬ (side, half; one of a pair).

    Noun

    her (M., W.)

    1. (clothing, fashion) trousers, hose

    Further reading

    • Werner, Heinrich (2005), Die Jenissej-Sprachen des 18. Jahrhunderts, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, →ISBN, page 181

    Salar

    Etymology

    From Persian هر (har). Cognate with Bengali হর (hor, every), Latin salvus (safe, whole), Ancient Greek ὅλος (hólos, complete, whole).

    Pronunciation

    • (Jiezi, Gaizi, Mengda, Chahandusi, Hanbahe, Baizhuang, Xunhua, Qinghai) IPA(key): [her]
    • (Mengda, Xunhua, Qinghai) IPA(key): [heɹ]
    • (Baizhuang, Xunhua, Qinghai) IPA(key): [hær]
    • (Qingshui, Xunhua, Qinghai) IPA(key): [hɑ]

    Adjective

    her

    1. every

    Derived terms

    References

    • Tenishev, Edhem (1976), “her”, in Stroj salárskovo jazyká [Grammar of Salar], Moscow, pages 333-334

    Spanish

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ˈeɾ/ [ˈeɾ]
    • Rhymes: -eɾ
    • Syllabification: her

    Verb

    her (first-person singular present ho, first-person singular preterite hi, past participle hido)

    1. (obsolete or regional)[1] alternative form of hacer

    Conjugation

    References

    1. ^ her”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

    Turkish

    Etymology

    From Ottoman Turkish هر, from Persian هر (har). Cognate with Bengali হর (hor, every), Latin salvus (safe, whole), Ancient Greek ὅλος (hólos, complete, whole). Doublet of salvo.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /hæɾ/, /heɾ/
    • Audio:(file)
    • Rhymes: -æɾ

    Determiner

    her

    1. every
    2. each

    Adverb

    her

    1. every time
      Her tavuk yediğimde nedense bana dokunuyor.
      For some reason, every time I eat chicken, it upsets my stomach.

    Volapük

    Noun

    her (genitive hera, plural hers)

    1. hair

    Declension

    Declension of her
    singular plural
    nominative her hers
    genitive hera heras
    dative here heres
    accusative heri heris
    vocative 1 o her! o hers!
    predicative 2 heru herus

    1 status as a case is disputed
    2 in later, non-classical Volapük only

    Welsh

    Etymology

    Compare English here, used in an interjectory sense as in "here! shoo! go on!"

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /hɛr/
    • Rhymes: -ɛr

    Noun

    her f (plural heriau, not mutable)

    1. challenge

    References

    • R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke, et al., editors (1950–present), “her”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

    Yola

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /hɛr/

    Etymology 1

    From Middle English here, from Old English hire, from Proto-West Germanic *heʀē.

    Pronoun

    her

    1. her
      • 1867, “THE BRIDE'S PORTION”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, pages 102[1]:
        A portion ich gae her, was (it's now ich have ee-tolth)
        The portion I gave her was (it's now I have told)

    Etymology 2

    From Middle English hire, from Old English hire, from Proto-West Germanic *heʀā.

    Determiner

    her

    1. her
      • 1927, “ZONG OF TWI MAARKEET MOANS”, in THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD, page 129, lines 6[2]:
        An awi gome her egges wi a wheel an car taape,
        And away went her eggs, with the car overset.
      • 1927, “ZONG OF TWI MAARKEET MOANS”, in THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD, page 129, lines 8[2]:
        Shu ztaared, clappu her baashes an up wi punaan,
        She stared, clapped her palms, and up with lament,

    References

    1. ^ Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867
    2. 2.0 2.1 Kathleen A. Browne (1927), “THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD.”, in Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of lreland (Sixth Series)‎[1], volume 17, number 2, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland

    Zazaki

    Etymology 1

    Related to Persian هر (har).

    Adjective

    her

    1. each

    Etymology 2

    Related to Persian خر (xar).

    Noun

    her

    1. donkey