eldertongue

Old English · noun

forma had

Part of speech
noun, masculine
Modern English
first person

Meaning

  1. the first person

    Sē forma hād is þe spricþ be him selfum ānum ("iċ seċġe", oþþe mid ōðrum mannum on maniġfealdum ġetæle, "wē seċġaþ").

    The first person talks about himself alone ("I say", or with other people in the plural, "we say").

    c. 995, Ælfric, Excerptiones de Arte Grammatica Anglice

Etymology

Calque of Latin prīma persōna, itself a calque of Ancient Greek πρῶτον πρόσωπον (prôton prósōpon). Equivalent to forma (“first”) + hād (“grammatical person”)

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