Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

His

His

(hĭz)
,
p
ron.
[AS.
his
of him, his, gen. masc. & neut. of
hē
, neut.
hit
. See
He
.]
1.
Belonging or pertaining to him; – used as a pronominal adjective or adjective pronoun;
as, tell John
his
papers are ready
; formerly used also for its, but this use is now obsolete.
No comfortable star did lend
his
light.
Shakespeare
Who can impress the forest, bid the tree
Unfix
his
earth-bound root?
Shakespeare
☞ Also formerly used in connection with a noun simply as a sign of the possessive. “The king his son.”
Shak.
“By young Telemachus his blooming years.”
Pope.
This his is probably a corruption of the old possessive ending -is or -es, which, being written as a separate word, was at length confounded with the pronoun his.
2.
The possessive of he;
as, the book is
his
.
“The sea is his, and he made it.”
Ps. xcv. 5.

Webster 1828 Edition

His

HIS

, pron. possessive of he,and pronounced hiz.
1.
Of him. Thus in Alfred's Orosius, 'Sume for his ege ne dorstan.' Some for fear of his durst not; literally, for his awe, for awe of him. Lib.3.8. In this instance, his does not express what belongs to the antecedent of his, [Philip,] but the fear which others entertained of him.
2.
The present use of his is as a pronominal adjective, in any case indifferently, corresponding to the L. suus. Thus, tell John his papers are ready. I will deliver his papers to his messenger. He may take his son's books. When the noun is omitted, his stands as its substitute, either in the nominative or objective case. Tell John this book is his. He may take mine and I will take his.
3.
His was formerly used for its, but improperly, and the use has ceased.
4.
It was formerly used as the sign of the possessive. The man his ground, for the man's ground. This use has also ceased.
5.
His is still used as a substitute for a noun, preceded by of; as all ye saints of his; he ministers of his.
Hisself is no longer used.

Definition 2024

His

His

See also: his and hís

Translingual

Abbreviation

His

  1. (biochemistry) IUPAC 3-letter abbreviation of histidine

English

Pronoun

His ‎(possessive pronoun)

  1. Alternative letter-case form of his often used when referring to God or another important figure who is understood from context.
    • 1983, Alan Hart, Spinoza's Ethics, Part I and II: a platonic commentary, volume 1, Brill Archive, ISBN 9789004069152, page 43:
      But, the individual entities of that order depend upon God and His laws for their existence.

Translations

Anagrams

German

Noun

His

  1. (music) B-sharp

his

his

See also: His and hís

English

Pronunciation

  • (stressed)
  • (unstressed)
    • IPA(key): /ɪ̈z/
    • (weak vowel merger) IPA(key): /əz/
  • Rhymes: -ɪz

Determiner

his

  1. Belonging to him. [from 8th c.]
    • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, IV.i:
      With that he put his spurres vnto his steed, / With speare in rest, and toward him did fare, / Like shaft out of a bow preuenting speed.
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 4, in The Celebrity:
      No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or otherwise his man would be there with a message to say that his master would shortly join me if I would kindly wait.
    • 2011, Xan Rice, The Guardian, 8 Apr 2011:
      In his first televised address since the siege in Abidjan began this week, Ouattara said he would focus on returning the country to normal to ease the plight of civilians.
  2. (dated) Belonging to a person of unspecified gender.
    • David Hume
      On the contrary, those other passions, commonly denominated selfish, both produce different sentiments in each individual, according to his particular situation […]
  3. (obsolete) Its; belonging to it. (Now only when implying personification.) [11th-17th c.]
    • 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essayes, London: Edward Blount, OCLC 946730821, II.2:
      My stomacke could not well reach so farre: it is very much troubled to come to an end of that which it takes for his need.
    • 1611, Matthew 5:13, King James Version:
      Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted?
  4. (archaic) Used as a genitive marker in place of ’s after a noun, especially a masculine noun ending in -s, to express the possessive case. [from 11th c.]
    Ahab his mark for Ahab's mark.
Usage notes
  • When followed by a noun, it is sometimes referred to as a possessive adjective, qualifying the following noun. It is, however, the possessive case of the personal pronoun he.
Translations
See also

Pronoun

his

  1. That which belongs to him; the possessive case of he, used without a following noun.
    The decision was his to live with.
  2. Alternative spelling of His
Translations

See also

Etymology 2

Noun

his

  1. plural of hi
    • 2009, John M. Carney, Welcome to Tranquility
      The Hikkams pushed a table over by the booth where the Lochwoods and Meekums were sitting, exchanged his and sat down.

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: that · was · he · #10: his · with · is · it

Anagrams

Danish

Noun

his n

  1. genitive singular indefinite of hi

Finnish

Noun

his

  1. (music) B-sharp

Latin

Pronoun

hīs

  1. dative masculine plural of hic
  2. dative feminine plural of hic
  3. dative neuter plural of hic
  4. ablative masculine plural of hic
  5. ablative feminine plural of hic
  6. ablative neuter plural of hic

Navajo

Alternative forms

  • xis (in older Americanist literature)

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [xɪ̀s]

Noun

his

  1. pus

Scots

Determiner

his

  1. his

Turkish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [his]

Noun

his ‎(definite accusative hissi, plural hisler)

  1. feeling, sensation, emotion

Declension

Synonyms

Derived terms

  • hisli > hislilik
  • hissiz > hissizlik
  • hissetmek > hissettirmek
  • hislenmek
  • hissî
  • hissiyat

Etymology

From Middle English his, from Old English his ‎(“his; its”), from Proto-Germanic *hes ‎(“of this”), genitive of Proto-Germanic *hiz ‎(“this, this one”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱe-, *ḱey- ‎(“this”). Cognate with Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic hans ‎(“his”). More at he; see also its.

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