him

See also: Him, hím, HIM, H.I.M., and him-

Translingual

Symbol

him

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 language code for Western Pahari languages.

English

Etymology

From Middle English him, from Old English him, from Proto-Germanic *himmai (“to this, to this one”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian him (“him”), West Frisian him (“him”), Sylt North Frisian ham, höm (“him”), Dutch hem (“him”), German Low German hum, hüm, em (“him”), German ihm (“him”, dative).

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) enPR: hĭm, IPA^(key): /ˈhɪm/, unstressed IPA^(key): /əm/, [ɪ̈m]

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Homophone: hymn,'em for unstressed in some pronunciations.
• Rhymes: -ɪm

Pronoun

him (personal pronoun, objective case)

1. A masculine pronoun; he as a grammatical object.
   1. With dative effect or as an indirect object. [from 9th c.]
      • 1529, John Frith, A piſtle to the Chriſten reader […] ‎^[1]:

        […] therfoꝛ Chꝛiſt wold not call him abominable / But the verye abomination it ſilf.

      • 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, New York, N.Y.: Modern Library, →OCLC:

        ‘I promise,’ he said as I gave him the papers.

   2. Following a preposition. [from 9th c.]
      • 1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], Pride and Prejudice: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC:

        She was in no humour for conversation with anyone but himself; and to him she had hardly courage to speak.

   3. With accusative effect or as a direct object. [from 12th c.]
      • 1852 March – 1853 September, Charles Dickens, Bleak House, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1853, →OCLC:

        ‘He's got it buttoned in his breast. I saw him put it there.’

2. (colloquial) As a grammatical subject or object when joined with a conjunction.

   Now him and Bernie are best friends.

   Released a [statement] warning that him and 25,000 troops were going to stage a coup.

3. (now rare) Used reflexively: (to) himself. [from 9th c.]
   • 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Acts:

     Apon a daye apoynted, the kynge arayed hym in royall apparell, and set hym in his seate, and made an oracion unto them.

   • 1765, Oliver Goldsmith, The traveller, or, A prospect of society:

     Though poor the peasant’s hut, his feasts though small,
     He sees his little lot the lot of all;
     [...]
     But calm, and bred in ignorance and toil,
     Each wish contracting, fits him to the soil.

4. With nominative effect: he, especially as a predicate after be, or following a preposition. [from 15th c.]
   • c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene x]:

     Before my body, I throw my warlike Shield: Lay on Macduffe, And damn'd be him, that first cries hold, enough.

   • 2003 June 11, Claire Cozens, The Guardian:

     Lowe quit the West Wing last year amid rumours that he was unhappy that his co-stars earned more than him.

6. (slang) A person of elevated skill at a sport, game, or other activity.

   Synonyms: that guy, that nigga

   Stop trying that, you're not him bro.

   Bro thinks he's him.

   • 2023 October 25, u/baggypantsman, “Super Mario 64 - 0 Star in 6:16 by Suigi”, in Reddit‎^[2], r/speedrun, archived from the original on 23 December 2023:

     Watched this one live, he randomly got it less than an hour into the stream while derusting for PACE. He's just him.

Descendants

• Jamaican Creole: im
• Pijin: hem
• Pijin: -im

Translations

dative / indirect object

• Arabic: ـهُ (ar) m (-hu), ـهِ (ar) m (-hi), إِيَّاهُ m (ʔiyyāhu)
• Armenian: նրան (hy) (nran), իրեն (hy) (iren)

  Old Armenian: նմա (nma)

• Belarusian: яму́ (jamú)
• Czech: mu (cs), jemu (cs)
• Dutch: hem (nl)
• Esperanto: al (eo), li (eo)
• Finnish: häntä (fi), hänelle (fi), häneen (fi), hänestä (fi), häneksi (fi) (choice of case depends on context)
• French: lui (fr)
• German: ihm (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: (personal pronouns) αὐτῷ (autôi), οἷ (hoî); (medial, proximal, distal demonstratives) τούτῳ (toútōi), τῷδε (tôide), ἐκείνῳ (ekeínōi); (Epic demonstratives) τῷ (tôi), ᾧ (hôi)

• Hindi: उसे m (use)
• Hungarian: neki (hu)
• Italian: gli (it)
• Latin: eī (la), illī, istī (la), huic (la)
• Macedonian: му (mk) (mu), (long form) нему (mk) (nemu)
• North Frisian: ham
• Old English: him (ang)
• Polish: jemu, mu (pl) (mute form)
• Portuguese: lhe (pt)
• Romanian: lui (ro) (stressed form), îi (unstressed form)
• Russian: ему́ (ru) (jemú)
• Sicilian: ci (scn)
• Slovak: mu (sk), jemu (sk)
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: jomu

• Spanish: le (es)
• Turkish: ona (tr)
• Ukrainian: йому́ (uk) (jomú)
• Walloon: lyi (wa)
• West Frisian: him
• Zazaki: ayrê f, eyrê m

objective after preposition

• Arabic: ـهُ (ar) m (-hu), ـهِ (ar) m (-hi)
• Czech: mu (cs), jemu (cs)
• Dutch: hem (nl)
• Esperanto: li (eo)
• Finnish: häntä (fi), hänelle (fi), häneen (fi), hänestä (fi), häneksi (fi) (choice of case depends on context)
• French: lui (fr)
• Greek:

  Ancient: (after preposition that governs accusative) αὐτόν (autón), ἕ (hé), τοῦτον (toûton), τόνδε (tónde), ἐκεῖνον (ekeînon), τόν (tón), ὅν (hón); (after preposition that governs dative) αὐτῷ (autôi), οἷ (hoî), τούτῳ (toútōi), τῷδε (tôide), ἐκείνῳ (ekeínōi), τῷ (tôi), ᾧ (hôi); (after preposition that governs genitive) αὐτοῦ (autoû), οὗ (hoû), τούτου (toútou), τοῦδε (toûde), ἐκείνου (ekeínou), τοῦ (toû)

• Irish:

  Old Irish: id-, did-, d-

• Italian: lui (it)
• Latin: (after preposition that governs the accusative) eum (la), illum, hunc (la), istum; (after preposition that governs the dative) eī (la), illī, huic (la), istī (la); (after preposition that governs ablative) eō (la), illō, hōc (la), istō
• Macedonian: му (mk) (mu) (short form), нему (mk) (nemu)
• Polish: niego, niemu (only after ku, przeciw, przeciwko and dzięki), nim (pl) (only after locative prepositions)
• Portuguese: ele (pt)
• Slovak: nemu (sk), neho (sk)
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: njomu

• Spanish: él (es)
• Walloon: lu (wa)
• West Frisian: him
• Zulu: -ye class 1 (most common), -wo class 3, -lo class 5, -so class 7, -yo class 9, -lo class 11

accusative / direct object

• Arabic: ـهُ (ar) m (-hu), ـهِ (ar) m (-hi), إِيَّاهُ m (ʔiyyāhu)
• Armenian: նրան (hy) (nran), իրեն (hy) (iren)
• Belarusian: яго́ (jahó)
• Belizean Creole: ahn
• Czech: ho (cs), jeho (cs)
• Dutch: hem (nl)
• Esperanto: lin (eo)
• Finnish: hänet (fi), häntä (fi) (choice of case depends on context)
• French: le (fr)
• German: ihn (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: αὐτόν (autón), ἕ (hé), τοῦτον (toûton), τόνδε (tónde), ἐκεῖνον (ekeînon), τόν (tón), ὅν (hón)

• Hebrew: אותו (he) (otó)
• Hungarian: őt (hu)
• Irish: é

  Old Irish: a-, id-, did-, d-, -i, -it

• Italian: lo (it)
• Judeo-Italian: אֵיסוֹ (ʾeso /⁠esso⁠/)
• Latin: eum (la), illum, istum, hunc (la)
• Macedonian: го (mk) (go) (short form), него (mk) (nego) (long form)
• Malayalam: അവൻ (ml) (avaṉ)
• North Frisian: ham
• Old English: hine (ang)
• Polish: jego (pl), go (pl) (mute form)
• Portuguese: o (pt)
• Romanian: (pe) el (ro) (stressed form), îl (unstressed form)
• Russian: его́ (ru) (jevó)
• Slovak: ho (sk), jeho (sk)
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: jogo

• Spanish: lo (es)
• Telugu: వాణ్ని (vāṇni), అతణ్ని (ataṇni), ఆయన్ని (āyanni)
• Turkish: onu (tr)
• Ukrainian: його́ (uk) (johó)
• Walloon: li (wa) (between 2 consonants), el (wa) (between 2 consonants), l' (wa) (before or after vowel; the 3 placed before verb), lu (wa) (imperative, after verb)
• Wolof: ko
• Zazaki: ayer f, eyer m
• Zulu: yena class 1 (most common), wona class 3, lona class 5, sona class 7, yona class 9, lona class 11

he — see he

himself — see himself

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Albanian: ^{(please verify)} atij (sq)
• Danish: ^{(please verify)} ham (da)
• Greenlandic: ^{(please verify)} una
• Guaraní: ^{(please verify)} i
• Hindi: ^{(please verify)} इस (hi) (is), ^{(please verify)} उस (hi) (us)
• Hopi: ^{(please verify)} put
• Ido: ^{(please verify)} il (io), ^{(please verify)} ilu (io)
• Interlingua: (direct/indirect object) ^{(please verify)} le (ia), (after preposition) ^{(please verify)} ille (ia)
• Japanese: ^{(please verify)} 彼 (ja)
• Low German: ^{(please verify)} em (nds)
• Ngarrindjeri: ^{(please verify)} kin
• Norwegian: ^{(please verify)} ham (no), ^{(please verify)} han (no)
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} le (es), a ^{(please verify)} el (es)
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} honom (sv)
• Tupinambá: ^{(please verify)} i
• Welsh: ^{(please verify)} fe
• West Frisian: ^{(please verify)} him

See also

English personal pronouns

Dialectal and obsolete or archaic forms are in italics.

			personal pronoun			possessive pronoun	possessive determiner
			subjective	objective	reflexive
first person	singular		I me (colloquial)	me	myself me mysen	mine	my mine (before vowels, archaic) me
	plural		we	us	ourselves ourself oursen	ours	our
second person	singular	standard, formal	you	you	yourself yoursen	yours yourn (obsolete outside dialects)	your
		archaic, informal	thou	thee	thyself theeself thysen	thine	thy thine (before vowels)
	plural	standard	you ye (archaic)	you	yourselves	yours yourn (obsolete outside dialects)	your
		colloquial	you all y'all you guys	you all y'all you guys	y'allselves	y'all's you guys' your guys' (proscribed)	y'all's your all's (nonstandard) you guys' your guys' (proscribed)
		informal / dialectal	(see list of dialectal forms at you and inflected forms in those entries)
third person	singular	masculine	he	him	himself hisself (archaic) hissen	his hisn (obsolete outside dialects)	his
		feminine	she	her	herself hersen	hers hern (obsolete outside dialects)	her
		neuter	it hit	it hit	itself hitself	its his (archaic)	its his (archaic) hits
		genderless	they	them	themself, themselves	theirs	their
		genderless, nonspecific (formal)	one	one	oneself	–	one's
	plural		they	them hem, 'em	themselves theirsen	theirs theirn (obsolete outside dialects)	their

See also

• he
• his
• her
• them

Noun

him (plural hims)

1. (informal) A male person or animal.

   Synonym: he

   I think this bird is a him, but it may be a her.

   • 1985, Hélène Cixous, Sorties (translated)

     […] daring dizzying passages in other, fleeting and passionate dwellings within the hims and hers whom she inhabits […]

   • 2004, Tom Wolfe, I Am Charlotte Simmons: A Novel‎^[3]:

     Both hims took a good look at him.

   • 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?”

References

• “Bro Thinks He's Him / I'm Him”, in Know Your Meme, website first launched 2007

Anagrams

• mi/h, HMI

Gayón

Noun

him

1. water

References

• Luis Oramas, Materiales para el estudio de los dialectos Ayamán, Gayón, Jirajara, Ajagua (1916)

Irish

Noun

him m

1. h-prothesized form of im

Luxembourgish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /him/

• Audio:

  (file)

Pronoun

him

1. third-person masculine singular, dative: him, to him

   Ech baken him e Kuch.

   I'm baking him a cake.

2. third-person neuter singular, dative: her, to her; (rarely: it, to it)

   Hie war gëschter mat him am Kino.

   He went to the cinema with her yesterday.

Usage notes

• For the use of the neuter for referring to female persons, see hatt.

Declension

Luxembourgish personal pronouns

				nominative		accusative		dative		reflexive
				str.	unstr.	str.	unstr.	str.	unstr.
singular	1st person			ech	—	mech	—	mir	mer	like dat. and acc.
	2nd person	informal		du	de	dech	—	dir	der	like dat. and acc.
		formal		Dir	Der	Iech	Iech [əɕ]	Iech	Iech [əɕ]	Iech
	3rd person		m	hien	en	hien	en	him	em	sech
			f	si	se	si	se	hir	er	sech
			n	hatt	et ('t)	hatt	et ('t)	him	em	sech
plural	1st person			mir	mer	eis (ons)	—	eis (ons)	—	eis (ons)
	2nd person			dir	der	iech	iech [əɕ]	iech	iech [əɕ]	iech
	3rd person			si	se	si	se	hinnen	en	sech

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English him. Originally a dative form; gradually displaced accusative hine.

Alternative forms

• himm, hym, im, ym, hime, hyme, hem

Pronoun

him (nominative he)

2. Third-person singular masculine pronoun indicating a grammatical object: him.
3. (reflexive) himself.
   • c. 1275, Judas (Roud 2964, Child Ballad 23, Trinity College MS. B.14.39)‎^[4], folio 34, recto, lines 36-37; republished at Cambridge: Wren Digital Library (Trinity College), 2019 May 29:

     Stille þou be peter. Wel i þe icnowe. / þou wolt fur ſake me þrien . ar þe coc him crowe.

     "Quiet now, Peter. I know you well; / You'll forsake me three times when the cock crows (himself)."

4. Third-person singular neuter pronoun indicating a grammatical object: it.
5. (impersonal) Third-person singular neuter pronoun indicating a grammatical object one, you.

Descendants

• English: him
• Yola: him, ham, em

See also

Middle English personal pronouns

			nominative	accusative	dative	genitive	possessive
singular	1st person		I, ich, ik	me		min mi1	min
	2nd person		þou	þe		þin þi1	þin
	3rd person	m	he	him hine2	him	his	his hisen
		f	sche, heo	hire heo	hire		hire hires, hiren
		n	hit		hit him2	his, hit	—
dual3	1st person		wit	unk		unker
	2nd person		ȝit	inc		inker
plural	1st person		we	us, ous		oure	oure oures, ouren
	2nd person4		ye	yow		your	your youres, youren
	3rd person	inh.	he	hem he2	hem	here	here heres, heren
		bor.	þei	þem, þeim		þeir	þeir þeires, þeiren

¹ Used preconsonantally or before h.
² Early or dialectal.
³ Dual pronouns are only sporadically found in Early Middle English; after that, they are replaced by plural forms. There are no third person dual forms in Middle English.
⁴ Sometimes used as a formal 2nd person singular.

References

• “him, pron.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 6 May 2018.

Etymology 2

Pronoun

him

1. Alternative form of hem (“them”)

Mizo

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /him/

Adjective

him

1. safe
2. unscathed

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hiːm/

Adverb

him

1. (dialectal) alternative form of heim

Old English

Alternative forms

• hym, heom, eom
• heom — Mercian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xim/, [him]

Pronoun

him

1. dative of hē: him
2. dative of hit: it
3. dative of hīe: them
   • late 9th century, translation of Bede's Ecclesiastical History

     Đyssum tidum Ongolcyningas þā æðelestan Ōswēo Norðanhymbra cyning ⁊ Eċġberht Contwarena cyning hæfdon betweoh him sprǣċe ⁊ ġeþēahte, hwæt tō donne wǣre bī þǣm stealle Ongolcynnes ċiriċan .

     At this time the most noble English kings, Oswiu of Northumbria and Ecgberht of Kent, held a discussion and conference between them about what was to be done about the state of the English church.

Descendants

• Middle English: him
  • English: him
  • Yola: him, ham, em
• Middle English: hem
  • English: 'em, hem
  • Fingallian: a'me
  • Yola: aam

Old Frisian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hɪm/

Pronoun

him

1. dative of hī; him
2. dative of hit; it
3. dative of hiā; them

Declension

Old Frisian personal pronoun declensions

			nominative	accusative	dative	genitive
singular	1st person		ik	mī	mī	mīn
	2nd person		thū	thī	thī	thīn
	3rd person	m	hī	hine	him	sīn
		f	hiū, hiō	hiā	hire, hiāre	hire, hiāre
		n	hit	hit	him	sīn
plural	1st person		wī	ūs	ūs	ūser
	2nd person		jī	jū, jō	jū, jō	jūwer
	3rd person		hiā	hiā	him, hirem, hiārem	hira, hiāra

Saterland Frisian

Etymology

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hɪm/

Pronoun

him

1. oblique of hie; him

See also

Saterland Frisian personal pronouns

			subject case		object case
			stressed	unstressed
singular	1st		iek		mie
	2nd		du		die
	3rd	m	hie	er	him
		f	ju	ze	hier
		n	dät	et	dät
plural	1st		wie		uus
	2nd		jie		jou
	3rd		jo	ze	hier

References

• Marron C. Fort (2015) “him”, in Saterfriesisches Wörterbuch mit einer phonologischen und grammatischen Übersicht, Buske, →ISBN

Sursurunga

Verb

him

1. to work

Further reading

• Sursurunga Organised Phonology Data (2011)

West Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian him, from Proto-Germanic *himmai.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hɪm/
• (unstressed) IPA^(key): /(ə)m/

Pronoun

him

1. object of hy

Yola

Alternative forms

• ham, em

Etymology

From Middle English him, from Old English him.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hiːm/ (as if spelled haim)
• IPA^(key): /iːm/
• Homophone: hime

Pronoun

him

1. him
   • 1867, “SONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 3, page 108:

     Shoo zent him o' die.

     She sent him one day.

   • 1867, “SONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 6, page 108:

     Shoo zent him anoor die a gozleen to keep;

     She sent him another day the goslings to keep;

Derived terms

• w'eeme

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 108