it

Where “it” sits in English frequency

Definition

1. 1
   The third-person singular neuter personal pronoun used to refer to an inanimate object, abstract entity, or non-human living thing.
2. 2
   A third-person singular personal pronoun used to refer to a baby or child, especially of unknown gender.
3. 3
   A third-person singular pronoun used to refer to an unspecified person.
4. 4
   An affectionate third-person singular personal pronoun.
5. 5
   A third-person singular personal pronoun used to refer to an animate referent who is transgender or non-binary.
6. 6
   Refers to someone being identified, often on the phone, but not limited to this situation.
7. 7
   The impersonal pronoun, used without referent as the subject of an impersonal verb or statement (known as the dummy pronoun, dummy it or weather it).
8. 8
   The impersonal pronoun, used without referent, or with unstated but contextually implied referent, in various short idioms or expressions.
9. 9
   The impersonal pronoun, used without referent, or with unstated but contextually implied referent, in various short idioms or expressions.
10. 10
    The impersonal pronoun, used without referent, or with unstated but contextually implied referent, in various short idioms or expressions.
11. 11
    Sex appeal, especially that which goes beyond physical appearance.
12. 12
    The impersonal pronoun, used as a placeholder for a delayed subject, or less commonly, object; known as the dummy pronoun (according to some definitions), anticipatory it or, more formally in linguistics, a syntactic expletive. The delayed subject is commonly a to-infinitive, a gerund, or a noun clause introduced by a subordinating conjunction.
13. 13
    All or the end; something after which there is no more.
14. 14
    Followed by an omitted and understood relative pronoun: That which; what.

Etymology

From Middle English it, hit ( > dialectal English hit (“it”)), from Old English hit (“it”), from Proto-West Germanic *hit, from Proto-Germanic *hit (“this, this one”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱe (“here; here”). Cognates Cognate with Yola it, t', yt (“it”), North Frisian at, et, 't (“it”), Saterland Frisian et (“it”), West Frisian it (“it”), Dutch het (“it”), Luxembourgish hatt (“her, it, she”), Elfdalian eð (“it”); also Primitive Irish ᚕᚑᚔ (koi, “here”), Latin cis (“short of; before”), hic (“this”), Greek εκείνος (ekeínos, “that; those”). Compare Cimbrian es, is, 's, 'z (“it”), German es, 's (“it, there”), Mòcheno and Vilamovian s (“it”), Yiddish עס (es, “it”), Faroese ið (“that, which, who”), Gothic 𐌹𐍄𐌰 (ita, “it”), which instead descends from Proto-Germanic *it (“it”). More at he.

This word in other languages

Frequently Asked Questions