Talk:'em
Latest comment: 1 year ago by J3133 in topic "Now" colloquial?
Native English plural him or hem edit
The native English plural him or hem may well survive, at least colloquially, in modern English 'em, as in “Give 'em back!” https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=they --Backinstadiums (talk) 16:08, 29 July 2021 (UTC)
"Now" colloquial? edit
Why is there a "now" before the word "colloquial" as a label? Was there ever a time when this word was not colloquial or what? Mölli-Möllerö (talk) 20:35, 26 May 2023 (UTC)
- @Mölli-Möllerö: Etymology: “from Old English heom (“them”, dative)”. The Online Etymology Dictionary states, “since 17c. taken as a colloquial abbreviation of them, but originally at least in part a form of hem, dative and accusative of the third person plural pronoun.” There is also a Shakespeare quotation from c. 1601. Thus, it was not always colloquial. J3133 (talk) 08:24, 27 May 2023 (UTC)