Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of She?

\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. se['o], fem. of the definite article, originally a demonstrative pronoun; cf. OS. siu, D. zij, G. sie, OHG. siu, s[=i], si, Icel. s[=u], sj[=a], Goth. si she, s[=o], fem. article, Russ. siia, fem., this, Gr. ?, fem. article, Skr. s[=a], sy[=a]. 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. Note: 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.