She (?), pron. [sing. nom. She; poss. Her. () or Hers (); obj. Her; pl. nom. They (?); poss. Their (?) or Theirs (); obj. Them (?).] [OE. she, sche, scheo, scho, AS. seo, fem. of the definite article, originally a demonstrative pronoun; cf. OS. siu, D. zij, G. sie, OHG. siu, si, si, Icel. s&umac;, sja, Goth. si she, s&omac;, fem. article, Russ. siia, fem., this, Gr. , fem. article, Skr. sa, sya. The possessive her or hers, and the objective her, are from a different root. See Her.]
1.
This or that female; the woman understood or referred to; the animal of the female sex, or object personified as feminine, which was spoken of.
She loved her children best in every wise.
Chaucer.
Then Sarah denied, . . . for she was afraid.
Gen. xviii. 15.
2.
A woman; a female; -- used substantively.
[R.]
Lady, you are the cruelest she alive.
Shak.
She is used in composition with nouns of common gender, for female, to denote an animal of the female sex; as, a she-bear; a she-cat.
© Webster 1913.