| The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. |
A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English. 1996.
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Page 174
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Date
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Pronoun
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about |
ne, nis, nim |
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1850 |
hiser |
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1868 |
en |
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1884 |
thon, thons |
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hi, hes, hem |
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le, lis, lim |
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hiser, himer |
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ip, ips |
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1888 |
ir, iro, im |
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1890 |
e, es, em |
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1912 |
he’er, him’er, his’er, his’er’s |
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1927 |
ha, hez, hem |
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on |
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hesh, hizzer, himmer |
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about |
thir |
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1930 |
|
1935 |
himorher |
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1938 |
se, sim, sis |
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1945 |
hse |
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1970 |
she (since it contains he), heris, herim |
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co, cos |
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ve, vis, ver |
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1972 |
tey, term, tem |
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shis, shim, shims, shimself |
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ze, zim, zees, zeeself |
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per, pers |
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1973 |
na, nan, naself |
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s/he |
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him/er |
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his-or-her |
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1974 |
en, es, ar |
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hisorher |
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herorhis |
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1975 |
ey, eir, em |
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1977 |
e, ris, rim |
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em, ems |
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1978 |
ae |
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hir |
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1979 |
et, ets, etself |
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shey, sheir, sheirs |
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1980 |
it |
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1981 |
heshe, hes, hem |
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1984 |
hann |
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1985 |
herm |
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| 1 |
-ess
| | Many people feel that sexist connotations may be implicit in the use of the suffix -ess to indicate a female, as found in words like sculptress, waitress, stewardess, and actress. According to this view, the sexism lies in the nonparallel use of terms to designate men or women: the ending for men, -er or -or, seems neutral or unmarked in a word like sculptor, and sculptress by comparison seems to be marked for gender, suggesting that a man in that role is what is expected and a woman is somehow unexpected or different. | 2 |
| While it is true that the specific terms actress and waitress are in wide use and are largely acceptable, in general the use of such pairs of terms as actor/actress, steward/stewardess, and waiter/waitress to indicate gender is sometimes considered offensive and is often unnecessary. For occupational titles, the use of -ess is usually considered inappropriate and has been almost completely replaced by newly formed gender-neutral compounds or by the -er/-or forms. When you board an airplane, for example, you are now assisted by a flight attendant instead of steward or stewardess. British peerage titles formed | 3 |
| The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. Copyright © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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