generic they
Unspecified person's pronoun
Generic they is the use of they, them, and their to refer to a single person whose gender is unknown, unspecified, or intentionally left neutral.
This usage has existed in English for centuries, appearing in Shakespeare and the King James Bible, though it gained renewed attention as a conscious alternative to he/she constructions and as a pronoun for nonbinary individuals.
If someone calls, tell them I'll call back.
Each student should bring their own laptop.
- pronounNoun's grammatical replacement
- nameIdentifying word for someone
- pluralMore than one
- antecedentSomething that precedes
- Middle EnglishLanguage between 1100-1500
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