# my

Pronunciation: US say "MY" /maɪ/; UK say "MI" /mɪ/

## Determiner

1. Belonging to, used by, related to, or associated with the speaker; always before a noun.
   - Simple: Belonging to me or connected with me, as in my car, my dentist, or my mother.
   - _My car is parked outside._
   - _Everyone keeps asking for my opinion._

## Interjection

2. An exclamation of surprise, shock or wonder ('My, what big teeth you have!'), softened from oaths such as 'my word' or 'my Lord'.
   - Simple: Used to show surprise, often at the start of a sentence.
   - _My, this soup is good._
   - _My, my, look who is here._

## Origin

**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".
**Meaning 2** — It is a shortened oath, cut down from phrases like "my word" or "my Lord".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/my (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).