She (?), pron. [sing. nom. She; poss.
Her. (&?;) or Hers (&?;); obj. Her; pl. nom.
They (?); poss. Their (?)
or Theirs (&?;); obj. Them (?).]
[OE. she,
sche, scheo, scho, AS.
seó, fem. of the definite article, originally a demonstrative pronoun;
cf. OS. siu, D. zij,
G. sie, OHG. siu, sī, si, Icel. sū, sjā, Goth.
si she, sō, fem. article, Russ. siia, fem., this, Gr.
&?;, fem. article, Skr. sā, syā. The possessive her or hers, and the objective her, are from a different root. See Her.] 1.
This or that female; the woman understood or referred to; the animal of the
female sex, or object personified as feminine, which was spoken of.
She loved her children best in every
wise.
Chaucer.
Then Sarah denied, . . . for she was afraid.
Gen. xviii. 15. 2. A woman; a female; -- used substantively. [R.]
Lady, you are the
cruelest she alive.
Shak. &fist; She is used in composition with nouns of common gender, for female, to denote an animal of the
female sex; as, a she-bear; a
she-cat.
Hear it pronounced