Etymograph

English

him

Him comes from Old English him, from Proto-Germanic *himmai ‘to this (one)’, a dative of *hiz ‘this’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱís ‘this’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱís‘this’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hizas *himmai‘this’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*himmai‘to this, to this one’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150him‘him’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500him
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1526him

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱís‘this’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hizas *himmai‘this’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*himmai‘to this, to this one’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150him‘him’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500him
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1526him

Earliest quotation: 1526, [William Tyndale, The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible): “Apon a daye apoynted, the kynge arayed hym in…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱís ‘this (here)’

cis

through Proto-Germanic *hiz ‘to this, to this one’

he, her, here, his, hey, en, hence, hitherto, hither

through Old English him

hem

Today it means

pron With dative effect or as an indirect object.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱís / him

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