Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


They

They

(thā)
,
p
ron.
pl.
;
p
oss.
Theirs
;
obj.
Them
.
[Icel.
þeir
they, properly nom. pl. masc. of
sā
,
sū
,
þat
, a demonstrative pronoun, akin to the English definite article, AS.
sē
,
seó
,
ðaet
, nom. pl.
ðā
. See
That
.]
The plural of he, she, or it.
They
is never used adjectively, but always as a pronoun proper, and sometimes refers to persons without an antecedent expressed.
Jolif and glad
they
went unto
here
[their] rest
And casten
hem
[them] full early for to sail.
Chaucer.
They
of Italy salute you.
Heb. xiii. 24.
Blessed are
they
which do hunger and thirst after righteousness.
Matt. v. 6.
☞
They
is used indefinitely, as our ancestors used man, and as the French use on; as,
they
say (French on dit), that is, it is said by persons not specified.

Webster 1828 Edition


They

THEY

, pron. plu.; objective case, them.]
1.
The men, the women, the animals, the things. It is never used adjectively, but always as a pronoun referring to persons, or as a substitute referring to things.
They and their fathers have transgressed against me. Ezek.2.
They of Italy salute you. Heb.13.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness. Matt.5.
2.
It is used indefinitely, as our ancestors used man, and as the French use on. They say, [on dit,] that is, it is said by persons, indefinitely.