we
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Middle English we, from Old English wē (“we”), from Proto-Germanic *wīz, *wiz (“we”), from Proto-Indo-European *wéy (“we (plural)”). Cognate with Scots wee, we (“we”), North Frisian we (“we”), West Frisian wy (“we”), Low German wi (“we”), Dutch we, wij (“we”), German wir (“we”), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian vi (“we”), Icelandic vér, við (“we”).
PronunciationEdit
- (UK) enPR: wē, IPA(key): /wiː/
- (US) enPR: wē, IPA(key): /wi/
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Audio (US) (file) -
Audio (UK) (file) - Homophones: wee, Wii, whee (in accents with the wine-whine merger)
- Rhymes: -iː
PronounEdit
we (first-person plural, nominative case, objective case us, reflexive ourselves, possessive (with noun) our, possessive (without noun) ours)
- (personal) The speakers/writers, or the speaker/writer and at least one other person (not the person being addressed). (This is the exclusive we.)
-
2017 February 20, Paul Mason, “Climate scepticism is a far-right badge of honour – even in sweltering Australia”, in the Guardian[1]:
- It’s time to overcome queasiness and restraint. We, the liberal and progressive people of the world, are at war with the far right to save the earth.
-
- (personal) The speaker(s)/writer(s) and the person(s) being addressed. (This is the inclusive we.)
- (personal) The speaker/writer alone. (This use of we is the editorial we, used by writers and others, including royalty—the royal we—as a less personal substitute for I. The reflexive case of this sense of we is ourself.)
- (personal) The plural form of you, including everyone being addressed.
-
2013 July-August, Stephen P. Lownie, David M. Pelz, “Stents to Prevent Stroke”, in American Scientist:
- As we age, the major arteries of our bodies frequently become thickened with plaque, a fatty material with an oatmeal-like consistency that builds up along the inner lining of blood vessels.
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How are we all tonight?
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- (personal, generally considered patronising) A second- or third-person pronoun for a person in the speaker's care.
-
How are we feeling this morning?
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TranslationsEdit
the speakers, or the speaker(s) and other person(s) not being addressed (exclusive we: he or she or they and I)
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the speaker(s) and the listener(s) (inclusive we: you and I)
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DeterminerEdit
we
- The speakers/writers, or the speaker/writer and at least one other person.
- We Canadians like to think of ourselves as different.
StatisticsEdit
Most common English words before 1923 in Project Gutenberg: so · me · an · #42: we · who · said · would
AnagramsEdit
CaacEdit
ChuukeseEdit
DadibiEdit
NounEdit
wẹ
SynonymsEdit
ReferencesEdit
- Karl J. Franklin, Comparative Wordlist 1 of the Gulf District and adjacent areas (1975), page 67
- Karl James Franklin, Pacific Linguistics (1973, ISBN 0858831007, page 130: Polopa so/sou woman, cf. DAR sou female animal but we woman. Several multiple cognate sets appeared in the data. Daribi uses both ạị and wẹ for water; some Polopa speakers gave one term, some another. Both are probably known everywhere.
DutchEdit
PronunciationEdit
EtymologyEdit
See wij.
PronounEdit
we (personal pronoun)
InflectionEdit
| subject | object | possessive | reflexive | genitive5 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular | full | unstr. | full | unstr. | full | unstr. | pred. | ||
| 1st person | ik | 'k1 | mij | me | mijn | m'n1 | mijne | me | mijner |
| 2nd person | jij | je | jou | je | jouw | je | jouwe | je | jouwer |
| 2nd person archaic or regiolectal | gij | ge | u | – | uw | – | uwe | u | uwer |
| 2nd person formal | u | – | u | – | uw | – | uwe | zich | uwer |
| 3rd person masculine | hij | ie1 | hem | 'm1 | zijn | z'n1 | zijne | zich | zijner |
| 3rd person feminine | zij | ze | haar | h'r1, 'r1, d'r1 | haar | h'r1, 'r1, d'r1 | hare | zich | harer |
| 3rd person neuter | het | 't1 | het | 't1 | zijn | z'n1 | zijne | zich | zijner |
| plural | |||||||||
| 1st person | wij | we | ons | – | ons, onze2 | – | onze | ons | onzer |
| 2nd person | jullie | je | jullie | je | jullie | je | – | je | – |
| 2nd person archaic or regiolectal6 | gij | ge | u | – | uw | – | uwe | u | uwer |
| 2nd person formal | u | – | u | – | uw | – | uwe | zich | uwer |
| 3rd person | zij | ze | hen3, hun4 | ze | hun | – | hunne | zich | hunner |
| 1) Not as common in written language. 2) Inflected as an adjective. 3) In prescriptivist use, used only as direct object (accusative). 4) In prescriptivist use, used only as indirect object (dative). |
5)Archaic. Nowadays used for formal, literary or poetic purposes, and in fixed expressions. 6) To differentiate from the singular gij, and in a similar vein to "you lot" or "you guys" in English, it is common to use gijlui ("you people") or gijlieden ("you people") or one of their contracted variants, and their corresponding objects, possessives and reflexives, in the plural. |
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SynonymsEdit
See alsoEdit
FwâiEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.
NounEdit
we
- water (clear liquid H₂O)
ReferencesEdit
- André-Georges Haudricourt, Françoise Ozanne-Rivierre, Dictionnaire thématique des langues de la région de Hienghène (1982)
GaloliEdit
NounEdit
we
- (Talur) water
ReferencesEdit
- Bryan Hinton, The languages of Wetar, in Spices from the east: Papers in languages of eastern Indonesia (2000), page 121
HaekeEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.
NounEdit
we
- water (clear liquid H₂O)
ReferencesEdit
- Jean Claude Rivierre, Sabine Ehrhart, Raymond Diéla, Le Bwatoo: et les dialectes de la région de Koné (2006)
HavekeEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.
NounEdit
we
- water (clear liquid H₂O)
ReferencesEdit
- Jean Claude Rivierre, Sabine Ehrhart, Raymond Diéla, Le Bwatoo: et les dialectes de la région de Koné (2006)
IdoEdit
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
we (plural we-i)
- The name of the Latin script letter W/w.
See alsoEdit
- (Latin script letter names) litero; a, be, ce, che, de, e, fe, ge, he, i, je, ke, le, me, ne, o, pe, que, re, se, she, te, u, ve, we, xe, ye, ze (Category: io:Latin letter names)
JapaneseEdit
RomanizationEdit
we
- Rōmaji transcription of ゑ
- Rōmaji transcription of ヱ
- Rōmaji transcription of うぇ
- Rōmaji transcription of ウェ
JaweEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.
NounEdit
we
- water (clear liquid H₂O)
ReferencesEdit
- André-Georges Haudricourt, Françoise Ozanne-Rivierre, Dictionnaire thématique des langues de la région de Hienghène (1982)
LamboyaEdit
Lower SorbianEdit
PronunciationEdit
PrepositionEdit
we (with locative)
- Alternative form of w (especially before labial consonants and consonant clusters)
MapudungunEdit
AdjectiveEdit
we (using Raguileo Alphabet)
ReferencesEdit
- Wixaleyiñ: Mapucezugun-wigkazugun pici hemvlcijka (Wixaleyiñ: Small Mapudungun-Spanish dictionary), Beretta, Marta; Cañumil, Dario; Cañumil, Tulio, 2008.
Middle Low GermanEdit
PronunciationEdit
- Certainly: Stem vowel: ê⁴
Etymology 1Edit
From Old Saxon hwē, from Proto-Germanic *hwaz.
PronounEdit
wê (accusative wēne or wen, dative wēme or wem, genitive wes)
Etymology 2Edit
From Proto-Germanic *wiz.
PronounEdit
wê
- (personal, first person, plural, nominative) Alternative form of wî.
NedebangEdit
NounEdit
we
ReferencesEdit
- Gary Holton and Laura Robinson, The Internal History of the Alor-Pantar language family, in The Alor-Pantar languages: History and Typology, edited by Marian Klamer
- transnewguinea.org (wæ), ASJP 1 (wE i.e. wɛ), ASJP 2 (we)
NemiEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.
NounEdit
we
- water (clear liquid H₂O)
ReferencesEdit
- André-Georges Haudricourt, Françoise Ozanne-Rivierre, Dictionnaire thématique des langues de la région de Hienghène (1982)
North AmbrymEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.
NounEdit
we
Further readingEdit
- Darrell T. Tryon, New Hebrides languages: an internal classification (1976)
- George William Grace, The position of the Polynesian languages within the Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian) language family (1959)
NyâlayuEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.
NounEdit
we
- water (clear liquid H₂O)
ReferencesEdit
- Jim Hollyman, K. J. Hollyman, Études sur les langues du Nord de la Nouvelle-Calédonie (1991), page 81
Old EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Proto-Germanic *wiz, *wīz, from Proto-Indo-European *wéy-, plural of *éǵh₂. Cognate with Old Frisian wī (West Frisian wy), Old Saxon wī (Low German wi), Old Dutch wī (Dutch wij), Old High German wir (German wir), Old Norse vér (Danish and Swedish vi), Gothic 𐍅𐌴𐌹𐍃 (weis).
PronunciationEdit
PronounEdit
wē (personal pronoun)
DescendantsEdit
- Middle English:
- English: we
PijeEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.
NounEdit
we
- water (clear liquid H₂O)
ReferencesEdit
- André-Georges Haudricourt, Françoise Ozanne-Rivierre, Dictionnaire thématique des langues de la région de Hienghène (1982)
PolishEdit
Alternative formsEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Proto-Slavic *vъ(n), from Proto-Indo-European *én
PronunciationEdit
PrepositionEdit
we (before words that begin with awkward consonant clusters)
SpanishEdit
PronunciationEdit
EtymologyEdit
Variant of güey, representing the relaxed pronunciation of the /gw/ sounds and in some cases loss of the /i/ sound.
NounEdit
we m, f (plural wees)
SynonymsEdit
Tocharian AEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Proto-Indo-European *dwóy(h₁). Compare also wu.
NumeralEdit
we f
Related termsEdit
Tok PisinEdit
EtymologyEdit
AdverbEdit
we
- where
- 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Genesis 3:9 (translation here):
- Tasol God, Bikpela i singaut long man na i tok, “Yu stap we?”
- 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Genesis 3:9 (translation here):
This entry has fewer than three known examples of actual usage, the minimum considered necessary for clear attestation, and may not be reliable. Tok Pisin is subject to a special exemption for languages with limited documentation. If you speak it, please consider editing this entry or adding citations. See also Help and the Community Portal.
TurkmenEdit
WelshEdit
YuagaEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.
NounEdit
we
- water (clear liquid H₂O)
ReferencesEdit
- Jim Hollyman, K. J. Hollyman, Études sur les langues du Nord de la Nouvelle-Calédonie (1999), page 81