det · name · noun · pron · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Belonging to her (belonging to that female person or animal, or in poetic or old-fashioned language that ship, city, season, etc).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
This is her book
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
det
Meaning 2
Belonging to a person of unspecified gender (to counterbalance the traditional "his" in this sense).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
name
Meaning 3
Abbreviation of Hercules.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: abbreviation, alt-of
Topics: astronomy, natural-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
A female person or animal.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: informal
Examples
I think this bird is a him, but it may be a her.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
pron
Meaning 5
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.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
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)
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
pron
Meaning 6
Honorific alternative letter-case form of her, sometimes used when referring to God or another important figure who is understood from context.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of, honorific
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
From Middle English here, hir, hire, from Old English hire (“her”), from Proto-Germanic *hezōi (dative 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”).
Across languages
Translations
243 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Afrikaans:
haar
— belonging to
American Sign Language:
FlatB@Chesthigh-FingerUp
— belonging to