we - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Proto-Germanic *wīz

Proto-West Germanic *wiʀ

Old English wē

Middle English we

English we

From Middle English we, from Old English wē (“we”), from Proto-West Germanic *wiʀ, 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”), Avestan 𐬬𐬀𐬉𐬨 (vaēm), Sanskrit वयम् (vayám).

we (first-person plural personal pronoun nominative case, objective case us, possessive determiner our, possessive pronoun ours, reflexive ourselves, reflexive singular ourself)

  1. Two or more people including or consisting of the speaker(s)/writer(s).
    1. Excluding the person(s) being addressed. (This is the exclusive we.)
      We are here to arrest you.
      • 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.
    2. Including the person(s) being addressed. (This is the inclusive we.)
      We need to have a talk, you and me.
  2. The institution which the speaker/writer is acting for. (This is the editorial we, used by writers and others when speaking with the authority of their publication or organisation.)
    We will in due course state our reasons for publishing the name of the accused.
    As the government, we have a duty to ensure public safety.
    • 2021, Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, “Paper No. CMAB C4/9/1”, in Documents of the Hong Kong Legislative Council‎[2], page 1:
      In light of the promulgation of the aforementioned laws and decisions, we (the administration) propose to make the following amendments to local legislation to implement the relevant requirements on oath taking by public officers.
  3. Any other entity that the speaker is a part of or identifies with, such as place of employment or education, nation, region, language, etc.
    I went to watch our school football match against Puddletown High. We lost 2-0.
    In English, we do not inflect adjectives for gender.
  4. People in general.
    We live and learn.
    We still have much to learn about quantum mechanics.
  5. (royal) The sovereign alone in his or her capacity as monarch. (This is the royal we. The reflexive case of this sense of we is ourself.)
    We are Queen of all these Isles.
  6. (colloquial) Everyone being addressed.
    Good evening everyone. How are we all tonight?
  7. (colloquial; may sometimes seem patronising) An individual being addressed; used especially to a person in the speaker's care, or to whom advice or instruction is being given. (Sometimes called the nurse's we or the doctor's we.)
    Hello Mrs Miggins. How are we feeling this morning?
    You've been spending all your money boozing when you have a wife and family to support. I think we need to get our priorities straight.
  8. (colloquial, uncommon) Used to refer to a third person, especially someone in the speaker's care.
    "I've just been to see Mrs Miggins." — "And how is she?" — "I'm afraid we aren't too good today."
  9. Used to connect to or include readers or listeners.
    1. (colloquial) Used to imply connection between the speaker's experiences or activities and a group of listeners. (Compare the plural of modesty.)
      Hey guys, in this video I'll show you how I make my upside-down sponge cake. First we take 200 g of butter and we whisk in 200 g of sugar. Next, we ...
      • 2021 January 6, 3:38:03 from the start, in Rally on Electoral College Vote Certification‎[3] (television broadcast), spoken by Donald Trump, Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN):
        All Vice President [Mike] Pence has to do is send it back to the states to recertify and we become president and you are the happiest people.
      • 2021 June 24, “Far from Home” (3:07 from the start), in Alone‎[4], season 9, episode 4 (televison production), spoken by Theresa Emmerich Kamper, via HISTORY Channel:
        [Today is] not a day to think about fishing so we will get back to working on the shelter. [cut in video] Cool, so I guess the best analogy for this, then, is that **we'**ve basically framed the house, and now we get to shingle.
      • 2022 October 25, 32:11 from the start, Vote 2022, in Joseph Camp, director, PBS NewsHour‎[5] (television production), spoken by John Fetterman, via Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), archived from the original on 25 October 2022:
        The elephant in the room, you know, we had a stroke back in May.
    2. Used in explanatory or procedural writing, such as mathematical explanations, to imply inclusion of the reader in the undertaking.
      To solve the equation, we first collect all the terms in x on one side.
  10. (colloquial) Used when talking to oneself to refer to oneself.
    Now then ... let me see ... I hope I'm doing this right ... if we just connect these two wires together ...
  11. (West Country, archaic) Us.
  12. (bridge) The side which is keeping score.
    Antonym: they

generic we (the speaker and at least one other person, regardless of whether it's the person being addressed)

exclusive we (the speaker and at least one other person, but excluding the person(s) being addressed)

inclusive we (the speaker and the person(s) being addressed, and possibly others)

items to check for clusivity

the royal we (referring to the sovereign alone acting in their capacity as monarch)

we

  1. Designates the speaker(s)/writer(s) as belonging to or constituting the stated category of people.
    We Canadians like to think of ourselves as different.
    We the undersigned wish to express our disapproval.

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

we

  1. (Geordie) us
    He was a propa gadgie, and always bought we drinks after a long shift.
    He was a great guy, and always bought us drinks after a long shift.
    And what have you done for we since? Nowt!
    And what have you done for us since? Nothing!

Not to be confused with Tyneside us (“me”).

we (dual werom, plural wekon)

  1. tree kangaroo

we

  1. (Mpakwithi) owl

we

  1. water
    kô-ny we
    'my (glass/drink of) water'

From English we.

we

  1. we, us 1st person plural subject and object personal pronoun

Cameroon Pidgin personal pronouns

| | singular | plural | | | ---------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Subject personal pronouns | | | | 1st person | I | we, wu | | 2nd person | you | wuna | | 3rd person | i | dey | | Object and topic personal pronouns | | | | 1st person | me | we | | 2nd person | you | wuna | | 3rd person | yi, -am | dem, -am |

we

  1. our, 1st person plural possessive determiner

Cameroon Pidgin possessive determiners

| | singular | plural | | | ----------- | ------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | | 1st person | my | we | | 2nd person | your | wuna | | 3rd person | yi | dia |

we (plural kewe)

  1. (possessive subject marker) the (singular)

wẹ

  1. water

See wij.

we

  1. unstressed form of wij (“we”)

Dutch personal pronouns

| | 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, mijns | | 2nd person | jij | je | jou | je | jouw | je | jouwe | je | jouwer, jouws | | 2nd person archaic or regiolectal | gij | ge | u | – | uw | – | uwe | u | uwer, uws | | 2nd person formal | u | – | u | – | uw | – | uwe | u, zich7 | uwer, uws | | 3rd person masculine | hij | ie1 | hem | 'm1 | zijn | z'n1 | zijne | zich | zijner, zijns | | 3rd person feminine | zij | ze | haar | h'r1, 'r1, d'r1 | haar | h'r1, 'r1, d'r1 | hare | zich | harer, haars | | 3rd person neuter | het | 't1 | het | 't1 | zijn | z'n1 | zijne | zich | zijner, zijns | | 3rd person gender-neutral8 | hen | – | hen | – | hun | – | hunne | zich | hunner, huns | | plural | full | unstr. | full | unstr. | full | unstr. | pred. | | | | 1st person | wij | we | ons | – | ons, onze2 | – | onze | ons | onzer, onzes | | 2nd person | jullie | je | jullie | je | jullie | je | – | je | – | | 2nd person archaic or regiolectal6 | gij | ge | u | – | uw | – | uwe | u | uwer, uws | | 2nd person formal | u | – | u | – | uw | – | uwe | u, zich7 | uwer, uws | | 3rd person | zij | ze | hen3, hun4 | ze | hun | – | hunne | zich | hunner, huns |

  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, gelle (object form elle) and variants are commonly used colloquially in Belgium. Archaic forms are gijlieden and gijlui ("you people").
  7. Zich is preferred if the reflexive pronoun immediately follows the subject pronoun u, e.g. Meldt u zich aan! 'Log in!', and if the subject pronoun u is used with a verb form that is identical with the third person singular but different from the informal second person singular, e.g. U heeft zich aangemeld. 'You have logged in.' Only u can be used in an imperative if the subject pronoun is not overt, e.g. Meld u aan! 'Log in!', where u is the reflexive pronoun. Otherwise, both u and zich are equally possible, e.g. U meldt u/zich aan. 'You log in.'
  8. Not officially recognized in standard Dutch. It has gained popularity, especially in mainstream media and queer circles, as a respectful term for non-binary individuals.

we

  1. scar

Shortened from ouais.

we

  1. (slang) ouais

we

From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.

we

  1. water (clear liquid H₂O)

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiR.

we

  1. (Talur) water

From English we.

we

  1. (first-person plural subject) we
  2. (first-person plural object-oblique) us

From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.

we

  1. water (clear liquid H₂O)

From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.

we

  1. water (clear liquid H₂O)

From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.

we

  1. water

From w +‎ -e.

we (plural we-i)

  1. The name of the Latin script letter W/w.

From Dutch wee.

wé (plural **we-we)

  1. The name of the Latin script letter W/w.

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

we

  1. that
    • 2023, Yuunivorshal Deklarieshan a Yuuman Raits, United Nations, Aatikl 25:
      Uman we a mada an pikni disorv speshal kier an elp.
      Mothers and children are entitled to special care and assistance.
      (literally, “Women that are mothers, and children, deserve special care and help.”)

Derived from English where.

we

  1. where
    • 2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Maak 14:14:
      Wen im go iina wan ous, tel di uona fi di ous se, "Di tiicha se fi aks yu se: We di ges ruum de we mi kyan nyam di Paasuova fuud wid mi speshal falara dem?"
      and when he goes into a house, ask the owner where I and my disciples can celebrate the Passover.

we

  1. Rōmaji transcription of ゑ
  2. Rōmaji transcription of ヱ
  3. Rōmaji transcription of うぇ
  4. Rōmaji transcription of ウェ

From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.

we

  1. water (clear liquid H₂O)

we

  1. alternative form of w

we (second person singular)

  1. you, thou

we (third person singular)

  1. s/he

Kikuyu independent personal pronouns

| | singular | plural | | | ----------- | ---------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | | 1st person | niĩ | ithuĩ | | 2nd person | we /wɛ(ː)/ | inyuĩ | | 3rd person | we /wɛ/ | o |

we

  1. water

we [_with_ locative]

  1. alternative form of w (especially before labial consonants and consonant clusters)

we (we5 / we0, Zhuyin ˙ㄨㄝ)

  1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 喂

we

  1. nonstandard spelling of wē

we (Raguileo spelling)

  1. new, recent

from Old English wē (“we”), from Proto-West Germanic *wiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *wīz, *wiz (“we”), from Proto-Indo-European *wéy (“we (plural)”). Compare wit (first person dual pronoun).

The Southwest Midland pronunciation with /øː/ is due to the rounding effect of the preceding /w/.

we (accusative us, we, genitive oure, possessive determiner oures)

  1. First-person plural pronoun: we
  2. First-person plural accusative pronoun: us

Middle English personal pronouns

| | | nominative | accusative | dative | genitive | possessive | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | singular | 1st person | I, ich, ik | me | minmi1 | min | | | 2nd person | þou | þe | þinþi1 | þin | | | | 3rd person | m | he | himhine2 | him | his | hishisen | | f | sche, heo | hireheo | hire | hirehires, hiren | | | | n | hit | hithim2 | his, hit | — | | | | dual3 | 1st person | wit | unk | unker | | | | 2nd person | ȝit | inc | inker | | | | | plural | 1st person | we | us, ous | oure | oureoures, ouren | | | 2nd person4 | ye | yow | your | youryoures, youren | | | | 3rd person | inh. | he | hemhe2 | hem | here | hereheres, heren | | bor. | þei | þem, þeim | þeir | þeirþeires, þeiren | | |

1 Used preconsonantally or before h.
2 Early or dialectal.
3 Dual pronouns are only sporadically found in Early Middle English; after that, they are replaced by plural forms. There are no third person dual forms in Middle English.
4 Sometimes used as a formal 2nd person singular.

From Old English wēa, from Proto-Germanic *waiwô. Doublet of wowe.

we (uncountable)

  1. woe, grief, sadness

we

  1. alternative form of wye (“man, warrior”)

From Old Saxon hwē, from Proto-West Germanic *hwaʀ, from Proto-Germanic *hwaz.

wê (accusative wēne or wen, dative wēme or wem, genitive wes)

  1. (interrogative, masculine, feminine) who

From Proto-Germanic *wiz.

wê

  1. (personal, first person, in the plural, nominative) alternative form of wî

we

  1. blood

From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.

we

  1. water (clear liquid H₂O)

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.

we

  1. water

From Old Frisian wī, from Proto-Germanic *wīz, from Proto-Indo-European *wéy.

we (Mooring)

  1. we (first-person plural personal pronoun)

Personal and possessive pronouns (Mooring dialect)

| | personal | | possessive | | | | | | | --------------- | ---------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- | | | subject case | object case | masculinereferent | feminine / neuter / pluralreferent | | | | | | full | reduced | full | reduced | | | | | | singular | 1st | ik | 'k | me | man | min | | | 2nd | dü | – | de | dan | din | | | | 3rd | m | hi | 'r | ham | 'n | san | sin | | f | jü | 's | har | 's | harn | har | | | n | hat | et, 't | ham | et, 't | san | sin | | | plural | 1st | we | üs | üüsen | üüs | | | | 2nd | jam | 'm | jam | jarnge | | | | | 3rd | ja | 's | ja, jam | 's | jare | | |

The reduced forms with an apostrophe are enclitic; they immediately follow verbs or conjunctions. Dü is deleted altogether in such contexts.
Et is not enclitic and can stand in any unstressed position; the full subject form hat is now rarely used. In reflexive use, only full object forms occur.
Dual forms wat / unk and jat / junk are obsolete. Attributive and independent possessives are not distinguished in Mooring.

From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.

we

  1. water (clear liquid H₂O)

From Proto-West Germanic *wiʀ, 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).

wē (personal pronoun)

  1. we (nominative plural of iċ)
    • c. 990, Wessex Gospels, Matthew 6:9-13
      Fæder ūre, þū þe eart in heofenum, sī þīn nama ġehālgod. Tōbecume þīn rīċe. Ġeweorþe þīn willa on eorþan, swā swā on heofenum. Ūrne dæġhwāmlīċan hlāf syle ūs tōdæġ. And forġȳf ūs ūre ġyltas, swā swā wē forġȳfaþ ūrum ġyltendum. And ne ġelǣde þū ūs on costnunge, ac alȳs ūs of yfle: sōþlīċe.
      Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *waʀi, from Proto-Austronesian *waʀi. Doublet of wari.

we

  1. sun
  2. day

Zoetmulder used Old Javanese we as primary entry for sun and day sense, while Old Javanese wwe used for water as primary entry.

we

  1. alternative spelling of wwe (“water”)

we

  1. alternative form of w

From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.

we

  1. water (clear liquid H₂O)

we

  1. alternative form of w, used mostly before words that begin with consonant clusters

Inherited from Middle English we, from Old English wē (“we”), from Proto-West Germanic *wiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *wīz, *wiz (“we”), from Proto-Indo-European *wéy (“we (plural)”). Cognate with English we.

we

  1. we
  2. us
    the flat above we (unstressed) ― the apartment above us

Scots personal pronouns

personal pronoun possessive pronoun possessive determiner subjective objective reflexive first person singular A, I, Ik me mysel mine, mines mine, my plural we us, we oorsel, oorsels oors our second person singular standard (formal) yeyou, yow yeyou, yow yerselyoursel yersyours yeryour Insular (informal) thoo thee thysel, theesel thines thy, thee, thees plural ye, yeseyou, youse ye, yeseyou, yousetheer yeselsyoursels yersyours yeryour third person singular masculine he, e him, im himsel, hissel his, is his, is feminine scho, she, shu her, er hersel hers her, er neuter ithit ithit itselhitsel itshits itshits genderless, nonspecific(formal) ane ane – – ane's plural thay thaim thaimsel, thaimsels thairs thair

we

  1. alternative form of w, used mostly before words that begin with consonant clusters

we

  1. alternative form of w

Variant of güey, representing the relaxed pronunciation of the /gw/ sounds and in some cases loss of the /i/ sound.

we m or f by sense (plural wees)

  1. (colloquial) dude, guy, buddy
    Synonyms: carnal, cuate, tonto, bato
  2. (Mexico, colloquial slang) chump, punk, dumbass, idiot, jerk

we

  1. (interrogative) who

cardinal numbers

Previous: sas
Next: tre

From Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁. Compare Tocharian B wi.

we f

  1. two

From English where.

we

  1. where
    • 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Port Moresby: Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Jenesis 3:9:

Borrowed from Persian وَ (va).

we

  1. and

we (definite accusative [please provide], plural [please provide])

  1. The name of the Latin script letter W/w.

we

  1. Latin (ULY) transcription of ۋە (we)

we

  1. water

we

  1. soft mutation of gwe

we

  1. leaf

we

  1. alternative form of wough
    • 1867, CONGRATULATORY ADDRESS IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 114, lines 7-9:
      and whilke we canna zei, albeit o' 'Governere,' 'Statesman,' an alike.
      and for which we have no words but of 'Governor,' 'Statesman,' &c.
    • 1867, CONGRATULATORY ADDRESS IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 114, lines 21-23:
      Ye pace——yea, we mai zei, ye vaste pace whilke bee ee-stent owr ye londe zince th'ast ee-cam,
      The peace——yes, we may say the profound peace—which overspreads the land since your arrival,
    • 1867, CONGRATULATORY ADDRESS IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 116, lines 6-8:
      Na oure gladès ana whilke we dellt wi' mattoke, an zing t'oure caulès wi plou,
      In our valleys where we were digging with the spade, or as we whistled to our horses in the plough,

From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.

we

  1. water (clear liquid H₂O)

we

  1. head lice

we

  1. three

-we

  1. Combining stem of wena.