Etimology
From Middle English here, hir, hire, from Old English hire (“her”), from Proto-Germanic *hezōi (dative and genitive singular of *hijō). Cognate with North Frisian hör, Saterland Frisian hier, hiere (“her”), West Frisian har (“her”), Dutch haar (“her”), German Low German hör (“her”), German ihr (“her”).
determiner
her
Belonging to her (belonging to that female, or in poetic or old-fashioned language that ship, city, season, etc).
Belonging to a person of unspecified gender (to counterbalance the traditional "his" in this sense).
Examples
This is her book
Prodigal in everything, summer spreads her blessings with lavish unconcern, and waving her magic wand across the landscape of the world, she bids the sons of men to enter in [...]
Her crew knew that deep in her heart beat engines fit and able to push her blunt old nose ahead at a sweet fourteen knots, come Hell or high water.
On top of the circle she wrote her name, Louise, just above where the 12 on a clock would be.
On 24 April Nelson rejoined his ship, her battle damage repaired […]
Begin by having students choose a short poem to memorize; they will enjoy searching the library for a poem that appeals to them. If a student wishes to memorize her poem and share it aloud with the rest of the class, suggest a buddy system.
pronoun
her
The form of she used after a preposition, as the object of a verb, or (colloquial) as a subject with a conjunction; that woman, that ship, etc.
Examples
Give it to her
He wrote her a letter
He treated her for a cold
Him and her went for a walk
"Then what became of her?"
"Her? Which ‘her’? The park is full of ‘hers’."
"The lady with the green feathers in her hat. A big Gainsborough hat. I am quite sure it was Miss Hartuff."
"It's all right," he was shouting. "Come out, Mrs. Beaver. Come out, Sons and Daughters of Adam and Eve. It's all right! It isn't her!" This was bad grammar of course, but that is how beavers talk when they are excited; I mean, in Narnia—in our world they usually don't talk at all.
Every day I had to watch as him and her went off for long walks together, and each night I had to go to my lonely, cold bed with the thought that they were sharing the same one […]
noun
her (plural hers)
(informal) A female person or animal.
Examples
I think this bird is a him, but it may be a her.
[…] daring dizzying passages in other, fleeting and passionate dwellings within the hims and hers whom she inhabits […]
By this time, she had so many questions, but she only hit him up for one answer about those “hims” and “hers.” She asked, “Do both hims and hers reproduce hummers?”
Related words
synonyms
she