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Definition 2024

Hu

Hu

See also: Appendix:Variations of "hu"

English

Proper noun

Hu

  1. A common surname​ of east Asian derivation.
  2. A name for God in the Eckankar religion.
  3. A chant consisting of many people singing "Hu" together.

Translations

Anagrams

hu

hu

See also: Appendix:Variations of "hu"

English

Pronoun

hu ‎(third-person singular, epicene, nominative case, reflexive huself)

  1. (neologism) they (singular). Gender-neutral third-person singular subject pronoun, coordinate with gendered pronouns he and she.
    • 2002 January 3, McMahon, Bryan T., quoting Sasha Newborn, “A terrible book”, in The Ponchatoula Times, page 7:
      Hu is fond of enigmas, of conundrums, of hieroglyphics; exhibiting in hus solutions of each and all a degree of acumen which appears to the ordinary apprehension preternatural.
    • 2003 October 14, Epstein, Mikhail, “"Hu," from "human," as a gender-neutral pronoun”, in , Usenet, message-ID <f732cdb7.0310141153.6c715df8@posting.google.com>:
      When the lecturer arrives, hu will be speaking on the topic of anonymity.
    • 2005, Shivery, Jake, “Why Hu would be a nice word to have”, in hupronoun.org, retrieved 2011-10-31:
      As previously mentioned, this can be faintly disenchanting, particularly to someone who feels that hu is already well spoken.
    • 2007 November 29, Epstein, Mikhail, “hu”, in International Society for Universal Dialog:
      It's the vice-president's job to support the president and take hus place when hu is away.
    • 2008 March, Hitz, Christoph, “Hu, Me?”, in Mother Jones, ISSN 0362-8841:
      Maybe, but if his/herstory's any guide, hu has hu work cut out for hu.
  2. (neologism) them (singular). Gender-neutral third-person singular object pronoun, coordinate with gendered pronouns him and her.
    • 2006, Anderson, Perry; Burgess, Glenn, DeLuna, D. N., editor, The Political Imagination in History: Essays Concerning J.G.A. Pocock, Owlworks, ISBN 978-1934084021, page 175:
      One of his favorite metaphors for the historian, drawn from the "Preface" to Hegel's Philosophy of Right, likens hu to the owl of Minerva, whose flight at dusk provided the setting for mature reflection on the day that had passed.
  3. (neologism) their (singular). Gender-neutral third-person singular possessive adjective, coordinate with his and her.
    • 2006 October 1, “He said, she said, hu said”, in Los Angeles Times:
      Now, however, the editorial writer has a new weapon in hu arsenal.
    • 2006 November 17, Kyff, Rob, “Hu Joins Heesh As Neutral Pronoun”, in Hartford Courant:
      If hu doesn't do hu homework, I will fail hu.

Hyponyms

Derived terms

  • huself

See also

  • other attested and proposed gender-neutral pronouns

Abau

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /hu/

Noun

hu

  1. water

References

  • transnewguinea.org, citing D. C. Laycock, Languages of the Lumi Subdistrict (West Sepik District), New Guinea (1968), Oceanic Linguistics, 7 (1): 36-66

Akan

Pronunciation

Verb

hu

  1. to see
  2. to discern, to descry, to find

References

  1. ↑ Kotey, Paul Amon (2007) Twi-English/English-Twi Dictionary. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN 978-0-7818-0264-2

Albanian

Alternative forms

  • Gheg: hû
    • indef. sg. huni
    • def. pl. hûj

Etymology

From Proto-Albanian *skuna, from *skun-o- (compare Norwegian/Faroese skon ‘snout’), from Proto-Indo-European *skeud-.[1] More at hedh.

Noun

hu m (indefinite plural hunj, definite singular huri)

  1. wooden post, fencepost
  2. stake, picket
  3. pole, stilt
  4. (colloquial) ****

Related terms

References

  1. ↑ Adam Hyllested, “Albanian hundë ‘nose’ and Faroese, SW Norwegian skon ‘snout’”, in Proceedings of the 23rd Annual UCLA Indo-European Conference (Bremen: Hempen, 2012), 73-81.

Danish

Interjection

hu

  1. An expression of eeriness, horror or a very strong emotion

Etymology

From Old Norse hugr

Noun

hu c (singular definite huen, not used in plural form)

  1. inclination, sympathy

Derived terms

  • husvale

Verb

hu

  1. imperative of hue

Esperanto

Interjection

hu

  1. oh, ooh, oof, wow (indicating surprise or another strong emotion)

German

Interjection

hu

  1. an exclamation of feeling cold

Kriol

Etymology

From English who.

Pronoun

hu

  1. (interrogative) who

Lower Sorbian

Preposition

hu

  1. Obsolete spelling of wu

Maltese

Etymology

From Arabic هُوَ ‎(huwa)

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /uː/

Pronoun

hu

  1. he

Inflection

Mandarin

Romanization

hu

  1. Nonstandard spelling of hū.
  2. Nonstandard spelling of hú.
  3. Nonstandard spelling of hǔ.
  4. Nonstandard spelling of hù.

Usage notes

  • English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

Old English

Pronunciation

Adverb

hū

  1. how

Conjunction

hū

  1. how

Descendants

Old French

Alternative forms

Etymology

Onomatopoeia.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /hu/

Interjection

hu

  1. a shouting noise made when pursuing someone or something

Noun

hu m ‎(oblique plural hus, nominative singular hus, nominative plural hu)

  1. commotion; racket (noisy situation)

References

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *hwō.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /huː/

Adverb

hu

  1. how

Conjunction

hu

  1. how

Synonyms

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *hwō. Cognate with Old Frisian hū, Old Saxon hū (Dutch hoe), Old High German wuo.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /huː/

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