she

/shee/, pron., sing. nom. she, poss. her or hers, obj. her; pl. nom. they, poss. their or theirs, obj. them; n., pl. shes.

pron.

1. the female person or animal being discussed or last mentioned; that female.

2. the woman: She who listens learns.

3. anything considered, as by personification, to be feminine: spring, with all the memories she conjures up.

n.

4. a female person or animal.

5. an object or device considered as female or feminine.

[1125-75; ME, alter. of OE seo, sio, sie, fem. of se THE¹; r. OE heo, hio, fem. personal pronoun; see HE¹, HER]

Usage. See he¹, me, they.

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▪ people

      any member of a people distributed in the mountainous areas of Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Anhui, and Guangdong provinces of South China. Their language (which is classified as either Hmong-Mien [Miao-Yao] or Sino-Tibetan) appears to be related to that of the Yao, though most She are now thoroughly Sinicized and speak Chinese even among themselves. Most She are farmers engaged in wet-rice cultivation, and they are also well known as tea producers. Their bamboo handicrafts are highly esteemed in the region. Their religion contains elements of both animism and ancestor worship. In the early 21st century the She numbered more than 700,000.

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