Etymograph

English

he

He comes from Middle English he, from Old English hē, from Proto-Germanic *hiz ‘this’, from PIE *ḱís ‘this’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱís1‘this’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hiz1‘this’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hiʀ1reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150hē1
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500he1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1620he1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English he
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1620, Giovanni Bocaccio, The Decameron: “[…]purſued his vnneighbourly purpoſe in ſuch ſort: that hee…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱísWiktionary, English he‘this’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hizWiktionary, English he‘this’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hiʀWiktionary, English hereconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150hēWiktionary, English he
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500heWiktionary, English he
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1620heWiktionary, English he. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1620, Giovanni Bocaccio, The Decameron: “[…]purſued his vnneighbourly purpoſe in ſuch ſort: that hee…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱís ‘this’

cis

through Proto-Germanic *hiz ‘this, this one’

his, him, her, here, hence, hitherto, hither

through Old English hē

en, hey

Today it means

pron A person who identifies as male, or animal already known or implied.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “he”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱís / he

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