DictionaryAI

my

MY/maɪ/UKMI/mɪ/

2 meanings of my

Practice

  1. 1
    owneddeterminer
    Belonging to, used by, related to, or associated with the speaker; always before a noun.

    My car is parked outside.

    Everyone keeps asking for my opinion.

    UsageWithout a noun, use mine: my car, but the car is mine (not incorrect: the car is my).

    Note

    Older English kept mine before vowels (mine eyes), much as a and an still divide the work today.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Older English retained mine before vowels. en.wiktionary.org
    • Mine eyes is an attested example of that older construction. folger.edu
    • The older alternation resembles the consonant/vowel distinction between a and an. en.wiktionary.org
  2. 2
    surpriseinterjection
    An exclamation of surprise, shock or wonder ('My, what big teeth you have!'), softened from oaths such as 'my word' or 'my Lord'.

    My, this soup is good.

    My, my, look who is here.

    Similarwow, gosh, goodness, golly

    Note

    The oath behind it is gone, and what is left is mild to the point of quaintness. Because the oath's noun has dropped away, no noun follows it, which is what separates it from the determiner.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

Practice

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Origins

Meaning 1

From Middle English "mi" or "my", a shortened form of "min", from Old English "mīn" ("my, mine"), going back through Proto-Germanic "*mīnaz" (the possessive of "I") to Proto-Indo-European "*méynos". It is cognate with Dutch "mijn", German "mein", and Swedish "min".

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts

  • My comes from Middle English mi or my, shortened from min. en.wiktionary.org
  • The Middle English forms descend from Old English mīn, meaning my or mine. en.wiktionary.org
  • The ancestry includes Proto-Germanic *mīnaz, the first-person singular possessive. en.wiktionary.org
  • The ancestry extends to reconstructed Proto-Indo-European *méynos. en.wiktionary.org
  • My is cognate with Dutch mijn, German mein and Swedish min. en.wiktionary.org
Meaning 2

It is a shortened oath, cut down from phrases like "my word" or "my Lord".

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts