See Also:

we (iou)



we pers. pronoun, 1 pl. subjective (nom.), & noun.

A. pronoun.
Used by the speaker or writer referring to himself or herself and one or more other people considered together as the subject of predication or in attributive or predicative agreement with that subject. OE.
H. James I dare say we seem to you a vulgar lot of people. Woman's Illustrated We Naval men never smile when on duty. I. Murdoch We two have our separate histories. C. Rayner We are Mr and Mrs Lucas from Boston in Massachusetts.
b. With a preceding verb in imper., in exhortations. Now only poet. & rhet. OE.
Shakespeare Richard II Put we our quarrel to the will of heaven.
c. Used by the speaker or writer referring to people or society in general. OE.
L. Steffens We have to..establish a steady demand for good government. M. Roberts Solitude is a necessity which we enjoy too rarely.
d. Used confidentially or playfully (often implying condescension) to mean the person addressed, with whose interests the speaker thus identifies himself or herself, as by a doctor to a patient. E18.
J. B. Priestley Good-morning..Are we all very well this morning?
a. Used by and with reference to a monarch or ruler, esp. in formal pronouncements and declarations. Cf. OUR adjective 2. OE.
royal we: see ROYAL adjective.
M. Thatcher We are in the fortunate position..of being..the senior person in power.
b. Used by the speaker or writer to establish an impersonal or inclusive tone, or spec. by a newspaper editor expressing views understood to be supported by the editorial staff collectively. Cf. OUR adjective 3. OE.
Objective: us. Now colloq. & dial. L15.
Shakespeare Coriolanus And to poor we Thine enmity's most capital.
Possessive: our. dial. & W. Indies. M19.
b. noun. The speaker or writer together with one or more people, referred to as a group. M19.
E. Hardwick I am alone here in New York, no longer a we.
we-ness noun = US-NESS E20.