Etymograph

English

them

Them comes from Old Norse þeim ‘(to) them’, from Proto-Germanic *þaimaz, dative plural of *sa ‘that’.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þaimaz1‘dative plural of *sa ‘that’’reconstructed
  2. Old Norsec. 800–1350þeim1‘to them’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500þem1
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1611them1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English them
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “If there be found among you, within any of…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þaimazWiktionary, English them‘dative plural of *sa ‘that’’reconstructed
  2. Old Norsec. 800–1350þeimWiktionary, English them‘to them’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500þemWiktionary, English them
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1611themWiktionary, English them. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “If there be found among you, within any of…”

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Today it means

pron Used as the direct object of a verb.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “them”. 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-Germanic *þaimaz / them