They (&thlig;ā), pron. pl.;
poss. Theirs;
obj. Them. [Icel. þeir they, properly nom. pl. masc. of sā, sū, þat, a demonstrative pronoun,
akin to the
English definite article, AS. sē, seó, ðæt, nom. pl. ðā. See
That.]
The plural of he, she, or it. They is never used adjectively, but always as
a pronoun proper, and sometimes refers to persons without an antecedent expressed.
Jolif and glad they went unto here [their] rest
And casten hem [them] full early for to sail.
Chaucer.
They of
Italy salute you.
Heb. xiii. 24. Blessed
are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness.
Matt. v. 6. &fist; They is used indefinitely, as our ancestors used man, and as
the French use on; as, they say (French on dit), that is, it is said by
persons not specified.
Hear it pronounced