ze

or zie

[ zee ]

pronoun

1. the person being discussed or last mentioned (used as a neopronoun in place of the gendered pronouns he and she ):

   My friend didn't want to go to the party, but ze got up and danced when hir favorite song came on!

2. Rare. a generic or unspecified person previously mentioned, about to be mentioned, or present in the immediate context (used as a neopronoun):

   If any employee has questions, ze should contact HR.

Gender Note

Gender-neutral pronouns were proposed as far back as the mid-1800s, especially in connection with progressive ideas about women’s rights. More recently, the coinage and use of ze and other gender-neutral pronouns has been motivated by discussions about gender identity. Some individuals, such as nonbinary, genderqueer, and gender-nonconforming people, feel uncomfortable being referred to as he or she. Even so, use of ze as a gender-neutral singular third-person pronoun is quite limited, partly because of a general resistance to replacing English pronouns. Pronouns belong to a small, closed class of words whose membership is relatively fixed. they.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ze¹

First recorded in 1970–75; based on the German pronoun sie

Example Sentences

Much-loved artist/humorist/speaker Ze Frank offered the keynote at Yahoo!

From The Daily Beast

Ze under lip rather retires, and this adds to the receding effect of the chin, you see.

From Project Gutenberg

There's one called ze, on top of a hill shaped almost like a horn; she showed me a picture of it.

From Project Gutenberg

His surprise was still greater when the latter took the yoke-lines and gave the order to "Pull you to ze ship!"

From Project Gutenberg

You tink I haf not imparted ze instruction to ze midsheepmens before, eh?

From Project Gutenberg

One should give only from ze happiness of ze heart, Madeline.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• he
• I
• it
• she
• sie
• they
• ve
• xe
• you
• zie