Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • pronoun nonstandard they (singular). Gender-neutral third-person singular subject pronoun, coordinate with gendered pronouns he and she.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

This pronoun has been independently invented by several people. Don Rickter invented the pronoun xe in November 1971. It appeared in "UU World" (the Unitarian Universalist publication) on 1 May 1973. Mario Pei gave him credit on page 145 of his 1978 book, "Weasel Words". It is also attributed to Jim Sinclair, who apparently coined it circa 1992.

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Examples

  • Or ask any one of the ubiquitous motorbike taxi drivers (called xe om in Vietnamese) to take you to his favorite pho spot.

    The Dish: Pho 2008

  • With their ATM card, the one that is devoid of any Visa or Mastercard logo on the front, you can go to ANY bank, and not be charged fees, and there exchange rates usually are equal to or better than the daily mid-market rate posted by xe. com.

    Avoiding bank fees for ATM withdrawals 2009

  • You can employ he or she, or s/he, or some stupid made-up gender-neutral pronoun of your own devising like xe.

    Singular “they” and the many reasons why it’s correct « Motivated Grammar 2009

  • But the aside in your summary about “stupid made-up” gender neutral terms like “xe”, brief as it is, seems to miss the point by dismissing them out of hand.

    Singular “they” and the many reasons why it’s correct « Motivated Grammar 2009

  • “You can employ [...] some stupid made-up gender-neutral pronoun of your own devising like xe.”

    Singular “they” and the many reasons why it’s correct « Motivated Grammar 2009

  • With their ATM card, the one that is devoid of any Visa or Mastercard logo on the front, you can go to ANY bank, and not be charged fees, and there exchange rates usually are equal to or better than the daily mid-market rate posted by xe. com.

    Avoiding bank fees for ATM withdrawals 2009

  • With their ATM card, the one that is devoid of any Visa or Mastercard logo on the front, you can go to ANY bank, and not be charged fees, and there exchange rates usually are equal to or better than the daily mid-market rate posted by xe. com.

    Avoiding bank fees for ATM withdrawals 2009

  • With their ATM card, the one that is devoid of any Visa or Mastercard logo on the front, you can go to ANY bank, and not be charged fees, and there exchange rates usually are equal to or better than the daily mid-market rate posted by xe. com.

    Avoiding bank fees for ATM withdrawals 2009

  • With their ATM card, the one that is devoid of any Visa or Mastercard logo on the front, you can go to ANY bank, and not be charged fees, and there exchange rates usually are equal to or better than the daily mid-market rate posted by xe. com.

    Avoiding bank fees for ATM withdrawals 2009

  • With their ATM card, the one that is devoid of any Visa or Mastercard logo on the front, you can go to ANY bank, and not be charged fees, and there exchange rates usually are equal to or better than the daily mid-market rate posted by xe. com.

    Avoiding bank fees for ATM withdrawals 2009

Comments

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  • Gender-neutral pronoun.

    October 11, 2007

  • Xe. Chemical element symbol for Xenon.

    December 2, 2007