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her
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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Languages (30)
Translingual • English
Aromanian • Cornish • Czech • Danish • Dutch • Faroese • German • Gothic • Icelandic • Indonesian • Limburgish • Middle English • North Frisian • Northern Kurdish • Norwegian Bokmål • Norwegian Nynorsk • Old English • Old Frisian • Old High German • Old Norse • Pumpokol • Salar • Spanish • Turkish • Volapük • Welsh • Yola • Zazaki
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Aromanian • Cornish • Czech • Danish • Dutch • Faroese • German • Gothic • Icelandic • Indonesian • Limburgish • Middle English • North Frisian • Northern Kurdish • Norwegian Bokmål • Norwegian Nynorsk • Old English • Old Frisian • Old High German • Old Norse • Pumpokol • Salar • Spanish • Turkish • Volapük • Welsh • Yola • Zazaki
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Translingual
Symbol
her
See also
English
Alternative forms
- herė
- hor (Northumbria)
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
- (UK)
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈhɜː/; (unstressed) /hə/, /ə/
- (Humberside, Teesside, fair–fur merger) IPA(key): /hɛː/
- (Lancashire, fair–fur merger) IPA(key): /hɜː(ɹ)/
- (Liverpool, fair–fur merger) IPA(key): /heː/
- (Northumbria) IPA(key): /hɔː/; (unstressed) /æ/, /ɐ/
- (Scotland) IPA(key): /hɛr/
- (US, Canada) IPA(key): /ˈhɝ/; (unstressed) /ˈhɚ/, /ɚ/
- (New Zealand) IPA(key): /høː/
- Homophones: hair, hare (both fair–fur merger); a (non-rhotic, unstressed form)
- Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)
Determiner
her
- 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 […]
- 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
Pronoun
her
- 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, 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 […]
Derived terms
Translations
Noun
her (plural hers)
- (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
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Aromanian
Alternative forms
- heru, hjeru
Etymology
From Latin ferrum. Compare Daco-Romanian fier, Spanish hierro.
Noun
Related terms
Cornish
Noun
her
- mixed mutation of ger
Czech
Pronunciation
Noun
her f
Danish
Etymology
Pronunciation
Adverb
her
Related terms
Dutch
Etymology
From Middle Dutch her. Cognate with Old High German hera (“hither”) and likely Gothic 𐌷𐌹𐍂𐌹 (hiri).
Pronunciation
Adverb
her
Usage notes
- Not in common usage, "hier" is rather used. "her" is only used in expressions like the ones below.
Derived terms
- her en der (“here and there, hither and thither”)
- herkomst
- oudsher
- van hot naar her (“from pillar to post, here, there and everywhere”)
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Faroese
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Adverb
her
Etymology 2
From herur.
Noun
her
German
Etymology
From Middle High German her, from Old High German hera. Cognate to German Low German her.
Pronunciation
Adverb
her
- hither, to this place, to here, to me/us
- Komm her!
- Come here!
- 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
Gothic
Romanization
hēr
- romanization of 𐌷𐌴𐍂
Icelandic
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
her m (genitive singular hers, nominative plural herir or (archaic/obsolete) herjar)
Declension
1Archaic/obsolete.
Derived terms
References
- Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, →ISBN (Available at Málið.is under the “Eldri orðabækur” tab.)
- Kristín Bjarnadóttir, editor (2002–2025), “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)
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Indonesian
Etymology 1
Pronunciation
- (Standard Indonesian) IPA(key): /ˈhɛr/ [ˈhɛr]
- Rhymes: -ɛr
- Syllabification: her
Noun
- 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
Pronunciation
- (Standard Indonesian) IPA(key): /ˈhɛr/ [ˈhɛr]
- Rhymes: -ɛr
- Syllabification: her
Noun
- (education) apocopic form of hereksamen
Further reading
- “her”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016
Limburgish
Etymology
From hieër.
Noun
her m
Middle English
Etymology 1
Inherited from Old English hǣr, from Proto-West Germanic *hār, from Proto-Germanic *hērą.
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Noun
her (plural heres)
- (countable) a hair (follicular growth on the skin)
- c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.), published c. 1410, Apocalips 1:14, folio 117, verso; republished as Wycliffe's translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:
- ⁊ þe heed of him ⁊ his heeris weren whiyt as whiyt wolle .· ⁊ as ſnow / ⁊ þe iȝen of him as flawme of fier .·
- And his head and his hairs were white, like white wool or snow, and his eyes were like fire's flame.
- 1387–1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Wyfe of Bathes Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, [Westminster: William Caxton, published 1478], →OCLC; republished in [William Thynne], editor, The Workes of Geffray Chaucer Newlye Printed, […], [London]: […] [Richard Grafton for] Iohn Reynes […], 1542, →OCLC:
- Tho rad he me how sāpson lost his heeres
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- (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.
- pelt, hide, animal skin
- Something similar in appearance to hair (e.g. a botanical hair)
- (figurative) small part, any part (of a person)
Related terms
Descendants
References
- “hēr, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 16 May 2018.
Etymology 2
Inherited from Old English hēr, *hǣr, from Proto-West Germanic *hēr, from Proto-Germanic *hē₂r.
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Adverb
her
Descendants
References
- “hẹ̄r, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Etymology 3
Determiner
her
- alternative form of hire (“her”, genitive)
Pronoun
her
- alternative form of hire (“hers”)
Etymology 4
Pronoun
her
- alternative form of hire (“her”, object)
Etymology 5
Determiner
her
- alternative form of here (“their”)
Etymology 6
Adjective
her
- alternative form of here (“pleasant”)
Etymology 7
Noun
her (heres)
- alternative form of here (“haircloth”)
Etymology 8
Noun
her
- alternative form of herre (“hinge”)
Etymology 9
Noun
her
- alternative form of here (“army”)
Etymology 10
Noun
her (heres)
- alternative form of heir (“heir”)
Etymology 11
Verb
her
- alternative form of heren (“to hear”)
Etymology 12
Adjective
her
- alternative form of herre: comparative degree of heigh (“high”)
North Frisian
Etymology 1
Pronoun
her
Etymology 2
Verb
her
- inflection of haa:
Northern Kurdish
Etymology
From Proto-Indo-Iranian *sárwas.
Adverb
her
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
Pronunciation
Adverb
her
Derived terms
References
- “her” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Adverb
her
Etymology 2
Noun
her m (definite singular heren, indefinite plural herar, definite plural herane)
References
- “her” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Old English
Alternative forms
- ᚻᛖᚱ (her) — Franks Casket
Pronunciation
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
- 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!"
- late 10th century, Ælfric, the Old English Hexateuch, Genesis 46:2
Descendants
Etymology 2
Noun
- alternative form of hǣr
Declension
Strong a-stem:
Old Frisian
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic *hār. Cognates include Old English hǣr, Old Saxon hār and Old Dutch hār.
Pronunciation
Noun
hēr n
Descendants
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)
Declension
Descendants
Etymology 2
From Proto-West Germanic *hiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *hiz.
Pronoun
hër
- (northern dialects) alternative form of ër
Descendants
Old Norse
Noun
her
Pumpokol
Etymology
Derived from Proto-Yeniseian *atɬ (“side, half; one of a pair”).
Noun
her (M., W.)
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
Adjective
her
Derived terms
- her gün (“every day”)
References
- Tenishev, Edhem (1976), “her”, in Stroj salárskovo jazyká [Grammar of Salar], Moscow, pages 333-334
Spanish
Verb
her
Conjugation
1Rare; now chiefly used in legal language.
These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.
Further reading
- “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
Determiner
her
Volapük
Noun
her (nominative plural hers)
Declension
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
Noun
her f (plural heriau, not mutable)
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
Zazaki
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