English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zə/

Article

ze

1. Eye dialect spelling of the (usually signifying a foreign accent, often French).
   • 1992, Tristan Jones, Adrift, page 257:

     Then one French-American sous-chef, still in his white kitchen gear, climbed down from the cockpit, where he had been inspecting the cabin, peering inside, murmuring, "wonderfool–wonderfool, ze workmansheep!"

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zi/

Pronoun

ze

1. (neologism) they (singular). Gender-neutral third-person singular subject pronoun, coordinate with gendered pronouns he and she.
   • 1996 June, Sullivan, Caitlin; Bornstein, Kate, Nearly Roadkill: an Infobahn erotic adventure, New York: Serpent's Tail, ISBN 978-1852424183, LCCN 95072971, OL 820831M, LCC PS3569.U3449 N43 1996, page 10:

     But I do know what sex ze is. It used to influence me. But now I talk to hir like a normal person. I mean, without thinking about what ze is.

   • 1997 December 18, Bornstein, Kate, My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You, or Something Else Entirely, London, New York: Routledge, ISBN 978-0415916738, LCCN 98134184, OL 7495768M, LCC HQ1075.B69 1998, page 130:

     A case in point is Tula, a transgendered woman who for years lived well as a model and actress until ze was outed in both national and international media.

   • 2006 March 22, Feinberg, Leslie, Drag King Dreams, New York: Carroll & Graf, ISBN 978-0786717637, LCCN 2006297545, OL 17890120M, LCC PS3556.E427 D73 2006, page 205:

     Ze takes my right hand in hirs and folds it into a fist.

   • 2010 October 12, Lopez, Erika, The Girl Must Die: A Monster Girl Memoir, Hicken, Jeffrey, San Francisco: Monster Girl Media, ISBN 978-0984401406, LCCN 21010902427, page 143:

     Ze changed hir name to one of those New Testament names, and re-fashioned hirself into a soft, puffy, half-finished hermaphrodite nicknamed, The Pop n' Fresh Doe.

   • 2011 March 15, Locke, M. J., Up Against It, New York: Tor, ISBN 978-0765315151, LCCN 2010036538, OL 24494916M, LCC PS3612.O249 U7 2011, page 361:

     Hir face was implacable, but ze dashed away in tears.

Synonyms

• (singular) they
• (neologism) e, ey, sie

Coordinate terms

• he, she (when used to mean “neither male nor female”)
• hir, hirs, hirself
• zir, zirs, zirself

Hyponyms

• he, she (when used to mean “male or female (unspecified)”)

Usage notes

• The genderqueer community are the primary proponents of ze. One refers to a person with ze and hir or zir typically (a) when their gender is unknown, and one wishes to avoid assuming their gender, or (b) when they are neither male nor female in gender, making he and she (and also either/or terms like s/he or (s)he) inappropriate and potentially hurtful.

See also

• other attested and proposed gender-neutral pronouns

Anagrams

• EZ

Albanian

Etymology

A Gheg dialect word, of unclear origin.

Noun

ze f (indefinite plural ze, definite singular zeja, definite plural zejet)

1. soul

Related terms

• zemër

Aukan

Etymology

From Dutch zee ‎(“sea”).

Noun

ze

1. the sea, the ocean

References

• Aukan-English Dictionary (SIL)

Czech

Pronunciation

Preposition

ze

1. from

Usage notes

This preposition is followed by the genitive case.

Synonyms

• z

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zə/

Pronoun

ze

1. Unstressed form of zij

Usage notes

Ze is used for both subject (she, they) and object (them).

Inflection

Adverb

ze

1. (following an imperative) break a leg, go get 'em, do well, good luck

   Werk ze vanavond!

   Good luck working tonight!

Ido

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ze/, /zɛ/

Proper noun

ze ‎(plural ze-i)

1. The name of the Latin script letter Z/z.

See also

• (Latin script letter names) litero; a, be, ce, che, de, e, fe, ge, he, i, je, ke, le, me, ne, o, pe, que, re, se, she, te, u, ve, we, xe, ye, ze ^{(Category: io:Latin letter names)}

Japanese

Romanization

ze

1. rōmaji reading of ぜ
2. rōmaji reading of ゼ

Lojban

Cmavo

ze ‎(rafsi zel)

1. (cardinal) seven

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [zɛ]

Preposition

ze

1. Alternative form of z (both meanings; used before sibilants and certain consonant clusters)

   Stej bratš ze sotšu.‎ ― They are brother and sister (lit. ‘brother with sister’).

Luxembourgish

Etymology

Contracted form of zu ‎(“to”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tsə/

Adverb

ze

1. too (more than enough; when unstressed, otherwise zu)

   De Kaffi ass ze waarm fir ze drénken.

   The coffee is too hot to drink.

2. to (with a following infinitive, otherwise usually zu)

   De Kaffi ass ze waarm fir ze drénken.

   The coffee is too hot to drink.

Mandarin

Romanization

ze

1. Nonstandard spelling of zé.
2. Nonstandard spelling of zè.

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.

Polish

Alternative forms

• z

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zɛ/

Etymology

An alternative form of z.

Preposition

ze

1. An alternative form of z. See usage notes for details.

Turkish

Noun

ze ‎(definite accusative, plural zeler)

1. The name of the Latin-script letter Z/z.

See also

• (Latin script letter names) harf; a, be, ce, çe, de, e, fe, ge, yumuşak ge, he, ı, i, je, ke, le, me, ne, o, ö, pe, re, se, şe, te, u, ü, ve, ye, ze ^{(Category: tr:Latin letter names)}

Turkmen

Noun

ze ‎(definite accusative }}}, plural }}})

1. The name of the Latin-script letter Z/z.

Zazaki

Adverb

ze

• same