Talk:'em
Latest comment: 11 months 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)