# she

Pronunciation: say "SHEE" US /ʃi/, UK /ʃiː/

## Pronoun

1. Used as the subject of a verb to refer to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned or implied.
   - Simple: Used as the subject to talk about a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned.
   - _My neighbor waved at me, but she didn't stop to talk._
   - _When the queen arrived, she was greeted with cheers._
2. Used as a generic pronoun for a person of unknown gender, in some books alongside or instead of 'he'.
   - Simple: Used in some writing for any person, whatever their gender, instead of 'he'.
   - _When a child builds a tower, she wants it higher than the last one._
   - _The user should back up her files before she installs the update._
3. Used, often affectionately, to refer to a ship, vehicle, machine, country or other thing thought of as female.
   - Simple: Used for a ship, car, machine or country, as if it were a woman.
   - _The lifeboat was launched at dawn, and she reached the wreck within the hour._
   - _They repainted the yacht, and now she looks brand new._
5. Standing in for it when speaking of the general state of affairs or of how things are going. *(colloquial, Australia, New Zealand)*
   - Simple: Used instead of "it" to talk about how things are going in general.
   - _Missed the ferry? No worries, she'll be right, there's another one in twenty minutes._
   - _The drought's dragged on for months, and she's getting pretty grim out on the station._

## Noun

4. A female, whether a woman, girl or animal, especially in contrast with 'he'.
   - Simple: A female person or animal, used as a noun, often when telling the sexes apart.
   - _Our new puppy turned out to be a she, so we had to rethink the name Max._
   - _I think the new hire is a she, not a he._

## Verb

6. To refer to someone with the pronouns she and her, especially when the person uses other pronouns.
   - Simple: To call someone 'she' when talking about them, whether or not they use that pronoun.
   - _Nobody should she a person who has asked to be called 'he'._
   - _The article kept sheing the actor even after he had publicly corrected the reporter._

## Other meanings

- (determiner) In some Caribbean and African-American dialects, used as the possessive 'her' before a noun.

## Origin

"She" was inherited from Middle English "sche," "scho," and related forms. It probably comes from Old English "heo," through an irregular shift in stress and sound (from /hj-/ to /ʃ-/), ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *hiju and Proto-Germanic *hijo ("this, this one"), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱe-, *ḱey- ("this, here"). A derivation from Old English "seo" ("that one," occasionally "she") is also possible, though considered less likely.

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