Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “he” come from?

he (Middle English) comes from Old English hē, from Proto-West Germanic *hiʀ, from Proto-Germanic hīz — nominative plural masculine of *hiz; these, these...

he (Middle English): Third-person singular masculine pronoun: he; it;...

Definitions

  1. Third-person singular masculine pronoun: he; it;...

Ancestry of “he”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishhēhey
2Proto-West Germanic*hiʀ—
3Proto-Germanichīznominative plural masculine of *hiz; these, these...

Words derived from “he”

  • here
  • hair
  • hers
  • hire
  • heir
  • hare
  • ho
  • hay
  • hi
  • hereby
  • herein
  • Hayes
  • hairy
  • Hare
  • hey
  • whore
  • heiress
  • hereinafter
  • hoary
  • Hayward
  • haircut
  • hearse
  • hoar
  • hereabouts
Every word from Proto-Germanic hīz →