them
/ðɛm/
pronoun
Origin
Old Norse
þeim — them (dative plural)
Overview
Meaning Now
- Used to refer to two or more people or things previously mentioned or easily identified.
- Used to refer to people in general or a group of people in authority.
Language path
Proto-Indo-European → Proto-Germanic → Old Norse → Middle English → English
Earliest form
þeim
Earliest period
12th century
Journey
The modern English pronouns 'they', 'them', and 'their' were borrowed from Old Norse. Old English originally used 'hie' (nominative), 'him/heom' (dative), and 'hiera' (genitive). Because these native forms were phonetically similar to singular pronouns, the Scandinavian forms were adopted to maintain clarity.
Evolution
- Proto-Germanic
*þaimiz
“those”
- Old Norse
þeim
“them”
Dative plural form
- Middle English
them
“them”
Adopted into Northern dialects, eventually replacing Old English 'heom'
Connections
Word parts
them
root
third-person plural pronoun
Related across languages
Old Norse
þeim
them
Swedish
dem
them
Explore next
Related to them
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.