Them

pers. pron. Forms: see below. [Three types are found in ME. α. þeȝȝm, þeym, a. ON. þeim ‘to those,’ ‘to them,’ dat. pl. of the demonst. sá, sú, þat, the plural of which also supplies that of the 3rd pers. pron. (see THEY). This came down to the 16th c. in Eng. in the form theim, and still exists in north. dial. and in Sc. as thaim. β. Northern Eng. þam, app. bef. 1300; this appears to represent þǽm, þám, dat. pl. of OE. se, séo, þæt, pl. þá (see THAT, THO), found already as accus. in the Rushworth Gospels, where Lindisf. has hía, Ags. Gosp. híʓ, Hatton hyo, all in the sense ‘them.’ This came down in Sc. as thame to 16th c. γ. The existing form them, found in R. Brunne c. 1330. This may have originated as an unstressed form of þeim or (?) þam, or it may actually have represented the OE. Anglian þæm of the Rushworth Gospels.

  Although the form from Norse is not known before Ormin, it must have been current in the Danelaw much earlier, since it was only dative in Norse, and must have been taken into OE. as dative, and have shared in the peculiar English change by which the accusative and dative of the pronouns were leveled under the dative form. In the singular hine, him, instances of this change are seen in the Rushworth Gospel Gloss c. 975 (see HIM 1 d); and it is noteworthy that the same Gloss shows the use of þæm as acc., = hia, hiʓ, hyo, as mentioned above. This use of þæm as pers. pron. may itself have been due to Norse influence, the OE. word being used in the same sense as the Norse þeim.

  The commoner pron. of 3rd pers. pl. obj. (dat. and acc.) in OE. and ME. was HEM, surviving colloq. and dial. as ’em.]

  A.  Illustration of Forms.

  α.  2–3 (Orm.) þeȝȝm, 4–6 þeym, þeim, theym(e, theim, 6 theime; 4 þaime, þaym, 4–6 þaim, (4 þaem, 4–5 taim), 4–6 (4– Sc.) thaim, 4–6 thaym(e, 6 thaime.

c. 1200.  Ormin, 1751. Þatt he þeȝȝm ȝife blisse. Ibid., 1768. And hellpe þeȝȝm … To winnenn eche blisse.

a. 1300.  Cursor M., 47 (Cott.). A saumpul her be þaem [Gött. þaim, F. ham, T. hem] I say. Ibid., 19378 (Edin.). Þai lerid at taim to suffer harde.

c. 1330.  R. Brunne, Chron. Wace, 13072. Wawayn … smot aboute, & made þeym rounn.

c. 1375.  Sc. Leg. Saints, xxvii. (Machor), 724. He betwene þaym pes can ma.

c. 1400.  trans. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh., 58. Worschippe … þayme þat þou seez þat doon to be worschipped.

1523.  Ld. Berners, Froiss., I. clxxxvi. 220. A stryfe fell bytwene theym and they of Parys.

1533.  Gau, Richt Vay (S.T.S.), 3. Thay quhilk red thayme or buyr thaime.

1534.  Cromwell, in Merriman, Life & Lett. (1902), I. 374. They … make not so muche for your purpose as ye allege thaim for.

1536.  Wriothesley, Chron. (Camden), I. 43. Great lamentation that the poore people made for theim.

1537.  Adm. Crt. Exemplif., I. No. 174. Seeing a ship coming somewhat rome with theym.

1565.  Allen, Def. Purg., xv. 272. Sumwhiles by thabasing of theime.

1873.  Thaim [see B. 5].

  β.  1 þæm, 3–4 þam, 4–6 þame (6 yame), 4–7 thame, tham.

c. 975.  Rushw. Gosp., Matt. xx. 25. Hælend þa ceiʓde þæm [Lind. hia, Ags. hiʓ, Hatt. hyo] to him.

13[?].  Cursor M., 4900 (Cott.). Þe sargantz … Ran and ouertok þam [Gött. þaim] þare. Ibid., 7120. A redel þam vndo he badd.

c. 1330.  R. Brunne, Chron. (1810), 2. Iuor & Ini were disconfite þat day, Þe Iris & þe Wals with þam fled away.

1357.  Lay Folks Catech. (Ms. T.), 39. That … suld teche thame. Ibid., 65. To lere tham.

a. 1400.  Isumbras, 122. For thame es alle my kare.

1513.  Douglas, Æneis, XIII. x. 88. Gyf thame happynis careit for to be Tyll ony wther sted.

1577.  Holinshed, Chron., Hist. Scot., I. 371/2. To yame that receyuit thy noble father y^e Duke of Longcastell.

1641.  in Row, Hist. Kirk (Wodrow Soc.), p. xliii. Being found qualifeit be thame.

  γ.  4 þem, 4– them, (5–6 theme).

c. 1330.  R. Brunne, Chron. Wace (Rolls), 15336. Oure kynde … Schal do þem bowe, maugre þayres.

13[?].  Cursor M., 13725 (Cott.). Him for to tak bituix þem tua.

c. 1430–.  Them [see B. 4].

1482.  in Eng. Hist. Rev., XXV. 123. If ye wylle not, we bene purveyde of theme yat wylle.

1573.  Satir. Poems Reform., xl. 21. To theme that was his fais.

  B.  Signification. I. Personal pronoun.

  1.  As pronoun of the third person plural, objective, direct and indirect (accusative and dative) of THEY. Also as antecedent pron. followed by relative, or prepositional phrase, and having then a demonstrative function, equivalent to those but less emphatic.

  a.  Direct object or accusative. (= L. eos, illos, G. sie.)

c. 975.  [see A. β].

c. 1200.  [see A. α].

a. 1300.  Cursor M., 1228. He þam for-soke in all þer nedis. Ibid., 8118. He heild þam to þaim for to kys.

c. 1330.  [see A. γ].

1470–85.  Malory, Arthur, X. lxix. 533. The grene knyghte hath … beten all them of Orkeney.

1474.  Coventry Leet Bk., 389. To bye theym in þe Croschepyng.

1552.  Lyndesay, Monarche, 4622. Unoccupyit thay hald thame in thare neif.

1560.  Bible (Genev.), 1 Sam. ii. 30. Them that honour me, I wil honour.

1586.  T. B., La Primaud. Fr. Acad., I. (1589), 383. Have them in great estimation and admiration.

1667.  Milton, P. L., IX. 420. By Fountain or by shadie Rivulet He sought them both.

1864.  J. H. Newman, Apol., iv. (1904), 125/1. Charges … which … I fully believed at the time when I made them.

  b.  Indirect object or dative. (= L. eis, illis, G. ihnen.)

c. 1200.  Ormin, 1142. Þatt he þeȝȝm … Forrȝæfe þeȝȝre gilltess.

a. 1300.  Cursor M., 667. Witte and wisdam he þam gaue.

1375.  Barbour, Bruce, I. 79. Þis ordynance þaim thocht þe best.

c. 1400.  Rule St. Benet, 20. And by-kenne it taim þat best can serue god & te cuuent.

c. 1500.  Merch. & Son, 269, in Hazl., E. P. P., I. 151. The maryage of them ij. ys made.

1523.  Ld. Berners, Froiss., I. ccxli. 353. He sent … and made alyaunces with them thre.

1535.  Coverdale, Jer. xxxv. 2. Geue them wyne to drynke.

1656.  Earl Monm., trans. Boccalini’s Advts. fr. Parnass., I. i. (1674), 2. If their Lord … do but cast an artificial smile them, they take it as … a reward.

1779.  Mirror, No. 23, ¶ 2. To show them what they are to understand.

1812.  Crabbe, Tales, xviii. Men … whose pains, Credit, and prudence, brought them constant gains.

Mod.  I give them credit for good intentions.

  c.  As the object of a preposition.

c. 1300.  Harrow. Hell, 29 (MS. E). Crist loked þaim vnto.

c. 1340.  Hampole, Prose Tr., 28. Þou will noghte tente to thaym.

1474.  Caxton, Chesse, 7. Take not from them that is theyres.

1535.  Coverdale, Ps. xvii[i]. 48. Thou shalt lift me vp from them that ryse agaynst me.

1663.  Gerbier, Counsel, f viij. Letters, which the Ægiptians did attribute unto them.

1780.  Mirror, No. 96, ¶ 2. They are neither of them niggardly.

1847.  Tennyson, Princess, Concl. 68. Too solemn for the comic touches in them.

Mod.  What will he do with them?

  d.  Sometimes indefinitely, as objective case of THEY 3. colloq. or dialectal.

  2.  Often used for ‘him or her,’ referring to a singular person whose sex is not stated, or to anybody, nobody, somebody, whoever, etc. Cf. THEY 2.

1742.  Richardson, Pamela, III. 127. Little did I think … to make a … Complaint against a Person very dear to you,… but dont let them be so proud … as to make them not care how they affront everybody else.

1853.  Miss Yonge, Heir of Redclyffe, xliv. Nobody else … has so little to plague them.

1874.  Dasent, Half a Life, II. 198. Whenever any one was ill, she brewed them a drink.

  3.  Used for the nominative they. a. As antecedent or demonstrative pronoun: = THOSE. Now only dial. or illiterate.

c. 1489.  Caxton, Sonnes of Aymon, iii. 78. All the foure brethern, and all theym or theyr companye arayed them selfe.

c. 1530.  Ld. Berners, Arth. Lyt. Bryt., 393. Blessyd be them that hath brought that about.

1581.  Marbeck, Bk. of Notes, 150. Such are them to whom y^e Lord doth giue his holy spirit.

1632.  Lithgow, Trav., VII. 333. In a moment, them of the Villages came downe on horse and foote.

1873.  Murray, Dial. S. Scotl., 184. Thaim at dyd it.

1891.  Barrie, Little Minister, iii. Them as says there’s no has me to fecht.

  a. 1825.  Forby, Voc. E. Anglia, Introd. 141. Them are the women I meant.

1877.  L. J. Jennings, Field Paths, iii. 47. Them be my two children.

1901.  N. Lloyd, Chronic Loafer, i. 11. Them wasn’t our only troubles.

  b.  As personal pronoun after than, as, and in the predicate after the verb to be. Common colloq., but considered incorrect grammatically.

1654–66.  Earl Orrery, Parthen. (1676), 708. It was an impossibility that these could be them.

1777.  Mickle, Cumnor Hall, xix. How far less blest am I than them!

1845.  E. Warburton, Crescent & Cross, I. 331. It was not them we wanted.

1888.  ‘J. S. Winter,’ Bootle’s Childr., xiv. It was them told me about her.

1888.  ‘R. Boldrewood,’ Robbery under Arms, xxxiv. It was them or us … now.

1901.  Theo. W. Wilson, Bacca Queen, xi. 89. Such as them enjoys thersells.

  II.  4. As reflexive pron. = themselves. (= L. se, sibi, G. sich.)

  As direct or indirect obj. of vb. (arch.), or obj. of prep.

13[?].  Cursor M., 1713. Þe meke be þam ai tua and tua, Þe wild do be þam-self al-sua. Ibid., 15757 (Cott.). Þai fell þaim don vn-to þe grund.

1375.  Barbour, Bruce, I. 205. Gyff þat ony man þaim by Had ony thing þat wes worthy.

c. 1430.  Syr Tryam., 770. The knyghtes gysed them fulle gay, And proved them fulle preste.

1535.  Coverdale, Exod. xxxii. 8. They haue made them a molten calfe.

a. 1550.  Christis Kirke Gr., xi. To dans thir damysellis thame dicht.

1565.  Cooper, Thesaurus, Rubriceta,… roset colour that women vse to paynte them.

1794.  Mrs. Radcliffe, Myst. Udolpho, lvii. Superior attainments of every sort bring with them duties of superior exertion.

1848.  J. H. Newman, Loss & Gain, II. xx. (1904), 254. What a way those fellows have with them!

1855.  Macaulay, Hist. Eng., xxii. IV. 697. They then bethought them of a new expedient.

  III.  5. As demonstr. adj. = THOSE. Now only dial. or illiterate.

  a.  Qualifying an objective (direct or indirect). Also strengthened by adding there (’ere, air).

1596.  H. Clapham, Bible Hist., 92. To Samaria and them partes.

1598.  Barret, Theor. Warres, I. i. 4. The warres and weapons are now altered from them dayes.

1621.  Ainsworth, Annot. Pentat., Gen. xviii. 6. Foure of them Logs make a Kab.

1726.  Cavallier, Mem., III. 231. If I had but one of them Hangmen.

1809–12.  Mar. Edgeworth, Absentee, xii. I hope, then, the agent will give you encouragement about them mines.

1840.  Thackeray, Catherine, vii. It was a rare rise we got out of them chaps.

1878.  Mrs. Stowe, Poganunc P., i. He don’t believe in keeping none of them air prayer-book days.

  b.  Qualifying a nominative.

1607.  Topsell, Four-f. Beasts (1658), 126. Them few [dogs] which be kept must be tyed up in the day time.

1610.  Healey, Vives’ Comment St. Aug. Citie of God, XII. xvi. Augustine … saith that them times were called eternall.

1778.  J. Crane, in F. Chase, Hist. Dartmouth (Mass.) Coll. (1891), I. 389. The major part tories, or them sort of creatures called neuters.

1842.  S. Lover, Handy Andy, xxviii. Them ribbons of yours cost a trifle, Kitty.

1889.  Tennyson, Owd Roä, viii. ‘Faaithful an’ True’ Them words be i’ Scriptur.

1901.  M. E. Francis, Fiander’s Widow, II. v. 255. ‘Them there legs o’ yourn should be pretty well stretched by now.’