| 释义 |
it, pron.|ɪt|
[The neuter nom. and acc. of the (orig. demonstr.) stem hi-, the nom. masc. of which is he, q.v. OE. hit was identical in form and sense with OFris. hit (het), OLFrankish hit, MDu. het (hit), Du. het, and in form identical with Goth. hita, which remained a demonstr., ‘this’. The pronoun was in Goth. ita, corresp. to OLG. (OS., OMFrank.) it, MLG. it (et), LG. et, OHG. iȥ (eȥ), MHG. eȥ, Ger. es, from the parallel stem i-. OE. hit was nominative and accusative; the dative and genitive were him, his, identical with the same cases of the masc. he. During the ME. period, hit lost its initial h, first when unemphatic, and at length in all positions, in Standard Eng.; dialectally, the h was preserved to a much later period, esp. in the north; and in Sc. hit is still the emphatic, and it ('t, 'd) the unemphatic form. Dialectally or colloquially, and to some extent in the literary language (though less now than formerly), it is further reduced in certain positions to 't (e.g. 't is, 't was, 't were, is't, was't, do't, to't, in't, on't), which in some dialects becomes, esp. after a long vowel, 'd. While in the masc. the original acc. hine was supplanted by the dative him, in the neuter, on the contrary, the dative him gradually yielded to the acc. form hit, it. This was not yet complete in the beginning of the 17th c. In the 16th c. the tendency arose to restrict the genitive his to the masculine gender, or rather to the male sex. For the neuter was substituted the periphrasis thereof or of it (mod. dial. o't, o'd), also the uninflected nom.-acc. form it (used in n.w. dial. from 14th c., and still common in Lancash. and parts of Yorksh.), and finally c 1600 a new factitious genitive (possessive) it's, its. The plural neuter has always been in Eng. the same as the pl. masc. The historical inflection is therefore as follows:
Goth.OE.ME.16th c.mod.E.dial.
N.A.hitahithit, it(hit) itit, 't(h)it, 't, 'd.
D.himmahimhimhim, itit, 't(h)it, 't, 'd.
G.*hishishis (hit)his, thereof, itits(h)its, it.
The following explanations and illustrations refer only to the nominative and accusative hit, it, and to the use of the same form as dative and genitive; for the inflexional him, his, and its, see the separate articles in their alphabetical places.]
A. Forms.
1. a. (α) 1–6 (dial. –9) hit, 1–6 hyt, (3 hitt, 5 hitte).
878O.E. Chron., Hit ᵹedældon sum, ond sum Ceolwulfe saldon. c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. xiv. 27 Habbað ᵹeleafan ic hyt eom. 1070O.E. Chron., He hit forsoc. a1225Ancr. R. 88 Vuel me seið þæt hit is; and ȝet hit is wurse. a1300Cursor M. 2961 (Cott.) Til a contre cades he flitt, Abimalech was lauerd of hitt [Fairf., Trin. hit; Gött. itt]. 1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 1996 God wulde hyt were now so here. 13..Cursor M. 14463 (Fairf.) Ȝet walde þai noȝt traw on hitte. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 426 Nouþer wolde I graunte hit, ne doute hit, ne denye hit. c1440Anc. Cookery in Househ. Ord. (1790) 447 Do hit in a pot, and let hitte sethe. c1450Myrc 74 Be hyt husbande, be hyt wyue. 1524Pace Let. to Hen. VIII in Strype Eccl. Mem. I. App. xi. 20 Pleasith hyt your highnes. Ibid. 21 Hyt were able..to discomfit the Turque. 1525Tindale N.T. Prol., Howe that hit is good.., and that god is rightewes whych made it. 1555Eden Decades 92 Hit scarsely riseth..a cubet aboue the bankes. 1586–7Queen Elizabeth in Four C. Eng. Lett. 30 To truste my life in anothers hand and send hit out of my owne. Ibid., Might fortune say hit. Mod. Sc., Whulk'll be hit?
(β) 3– it, (3 -et, 3–4 itt, 4–5 itte), 5–6 yt.
c1200Ormin Ded. 27 Unnc birrþ baþe þannkenn Crist Þatt itt iss brohht till ende. c1250Gen. & Ex. 590 Oðer fowerti..Dais and niȝtes stodet [the water] so. Ibid. 1411 Quan god haueð it so bi-sen Alse he sendet, als it sal ben. c1375Cursor M. 9960 (Laud) God hym-self devysid yt. c1400Rom. Rose 2522 Feyne thee other cause than itte. c1450Lonelich Grail lvi. 72 It Nys non nede. c1500Two Dandies Hen. VII in Furniv. Ballads fr. MSS. I. 456 He that had yt in his hart. 1500― [see B. passim].
(γ) 2–3 -t, 6– 't.
c1200Ormin 2343 Acc to Drihhtin ȝhot haffde seȝȝd. Ibid. 2858 Ȝhot unnderrstod & wisste. c1250Gen. & Ex. 749 Nov ist a water of loðlic ble Men callið it ðe dede se. Ibid. 3472 Ne ist noȝt moyses, amrame sune. 1598R. Haydocke tr. Lomazzo ii. 47 T'is onely thou that can'st dis-arme this hande. 1605Shakes. Macb. i. vii. 1 If it were done, when 'tis done, then 'twer well, It were done quickly. 1606― Ant. & Cl. ii. ii. 179 You staid well by 't in Egypt. 1610― Temp. i. ii. 61 What fowle play had we, that we came from thence? Or blessed was't we did? Ibid. 87 The Iuy which had hid my princely Trunck, And suckt my verdure out on't. Ibid. ii. i. 176 'Twas you we laugh'd at. Ibid. iii. i. 19 'Twill weepe for hauing wearied you. 1611― Wint. T. v. iii. 73 Let 't alone. 1610–1842 [see in't]. 1610–1876 [see is't]. 1674Brevint Saul at Endor 158 Tis she that takes care of us when we decay. 1684Bunyan Pilgr. ii. 67 'Tis a Good Boy, said his Master. 1741Richardson Pamela I. 96 'Twill be rather too good for me. 1808Scott Marm. v. xii, And the bride-maidens whispered, ‘'Twere better by far To have matched our fair cousin with young Lochinvar’. 1844Mrs. Browning Lady Geraldine's Courtship xxxvi, 'T is a picture for remembrance.
(Beside 't is there is also the contraction it's, which is now the common colloquial form.)
1625Skynner in Ussher's Lett. (1686) 367 It's likely my Lord Keeper would remember me the sooner. 1627W. Sclater Exp. 2 Thess. (1629) 283 They say its made for fees. 1651Culpepper Astrol. Judgem. Dis. Epist., Speculation brings only pleasure to a mans self; its practice which benefits others. 1677A. Yarranton Eng. Improv. 69 It's impossible but upon the breaking out of Fire the greatest part of the Cities would be destroyed. 1710Prideaux Orig. Tithes ii. 65 Its true the Scripture saith [etc.]. 1789Burns Capt. Grose's Peregrin. v, Its tauld he was a sodger bred. 1859Geo. Eliot A. Bede ii, ‘It's a pretty spot, whoever may own it’, said the traveller. Mod. It's a fine day. Mod. Sc. ‘Where's the ball, boy?’ Cadie. ‘Thair it 's.’
(δ) Sc. 5–6 -d, 6– 'd.
c1470Henry Wallace iv. 482 To tak him in thai maid thaim redy ford [= for it]. a1500Rate Thewis off Gud women 201 Quhilk war nocht forss þai wald nocht dud [= do it] And ȝit it cummys thaim al for gud. 1535Lyndesay Satyre 2095 Gude, halie peopill, I stand for'd. 1560Rolland Crt. Venus i. 122 Of biggest bind as he thocht best to haid [= hae it]. 1597Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 1022, I marveld mekill ond. Ibid. 1064 Affection dois affermd. a1901Mod. Sc. If you say'd I'll believe'd, for ye wadna tell'd if ye didna ken'd to be true.
B. Senses and constructions.
I. As nominative.
1. a. As the proper neuter pronoun of the third person sing. Used orig. instead of any neuter n.; now only of things without life, and of animals when sex is not particularized; hence usually of all the lower animals, and sometimes of infants.
c1000Ags. Gosp. Luke vi. 48 Hyt ne mihte þæt hus astyrian, hit wæs ofer þæne stan ᵹetrymed. c1000ælfric Hom. II. 266 Etað þisne hlaf, hit is min lichama. a1250Owl & Night. 772 An hors is strengur than a mon, Ac for hit non iwit ne kon, Hit berth on rugge grete semes. c1300Harrow. Hell 86 Whose buyth any thyng Hit ys hys ant hys ofspryng. c1315Shoreham 9 Water is kendeliche cheld, Thaȝ hit be warmd of fere. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 7 Þe folk þat is þerin, it is of diuers kynd. 1477Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes A ij b, Whyche book..as I vnderstande it was translated out of latyn in to frenshe. 1611Bible Luke xi. 14 And he was casting out a deuil, and it was dumbe. 1623Cockeram iii. G vj b, Hiena, a subtill beast..counterfeiting the voyce of a man; in the night it will call shepherds out of their houses, and kill them. Ibid. K vj, Being burnt, it [Ebone] yeelds a sweet smell. 1766Pennant Zool. (1768) II. 341 It [the heron] perches and builds in trees. 1847Carpenter Zool. §394 The Raven..in its general habits it is not unlike the Eagle; for it resorts to the inaccessible ledges of rocks, tall trees, &c., to construct its nest. Ibid. §647 This species [of beetle] is remarkable for the pertinacity with which it feigns death when alarmed. 1879Bain Higher Eng. Gram. 27 It is a hearty child. Mod. The house was humble; but it was our own home. It is a promise, and it must be kept.
b. Used in childish language, and hence contemptuously or humorously, of a person.
c1300Beket 1003 Wel we witeth hit is a wrecche. 1588Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 337 See where it comes. 1654Whitlock Zootomia 91 Slip but from any Profession some little while, and say it hath travelled, and it may passe for an able Physitian.
c. It may refer, not to any thing or person mentioned, but to a matter expressed or implied in a statement, or occupying the attention of the speaker.
c1000Ags. Ps. (Th.) l. 6 Nis hit nan wundor þeah þu sy god and ic yfel. c1175Lamb. Hom. 69 We ne maȝen þe f[e]ond from us driue..bute hit beo þurh godes ȝifte. a1225Juliana 7 Ha wes him sone ihondsald, þah hit hire unwil were. 1307–27Maximon in Rel. Ant. I. 125 Amen, par charite! Ant so mote hit be! c1420Avow. Arth. xxxiii, I conne notte say the ther-tille Hit is atte the quene wille. c1460Towneley Myst. v. 41 Isaac, it were my deth, If Iacob weddeth in kynd of Hethe. 1526Tindale Mark viii. 36 What shal it profet a man yf he shulde wyn all the worlde, and loose his awne soule? 1606Shakes. Ant. & Cl. i. iii. 87 Sir, you and I must part, but that's not it. a1901Mod. Of course I must go, but it is a great nuisance. He has come out at the top of the list; is it not splendid?
d. Sexual intercourse. Now slang or colloq. Cf. do v. 16 b.
1611Cotgrave Dict., Fretiller..to..lust to be at it. 1896Farmer Vocab. Amatoria 118/1 Faire, to copulate; ‘to do it’. 1922Joyce Ulysses 747 Gardner said no man could look at my mouth and teeth smiling like that and not think of it. 1923T. Wolfe Lett. (1956) 45, I have been reading the Amores of Ovid this morning. It is beautiful Latin and beautiful poetry—although it is altogether concerned with two topics: How am I going to get it and How fine it was when you let me have it. 1941H. G. Wells You can't be too Careful iii. xi. 161 Edward Albert knew..of venereal disease, clumsy ‘precautions’ and the repulsive aspects of the overwhelming desire for ‘It’. 1949N. Mitford Love in Cold Climate i. xi. 119, I was lugged off to their secret meeting-place..to be asked what it was like. 1972F. Warner Maquettes 16 He doesn't even know I'm overdue. And he hasn't had it for a week.
e. In emphatic predicative use: the actual or very thing required or expected; that beyond which one cannot go; the ne plus ultra; the acme. (In 20th-c. use from U.S.)
a1834C. Lamb Dramatic Ess. (1891) 52 Lovegrove..revived the character..and made it sufficiently grotesque; but Dodd was it, as it came out of Nature's hands. 1896Ade Artie i. 4, I didn't do a thing but push my face in there about eight o'clock last night, and I was ‘it’ from the start. 1900Dialect Notes II. i. 42 Did he know his Greek? I should say so. He was it. 1904F. Lynde Grafters xxx. 397 Mrs. Hepzibah..thinks you are It. 1906Daily Chron. 5 Mar. 6/6 There is in America a curious use of the word ‘it’ conveyed by emphasis. Pre-eminently Roosevelt is ‘it’. Next after Roosevelt an American would say ‘Shaw is it’. 1915‘I. Hay’ First Hundred Thousand xx. 307 You can't go anywhere in London without running up against him. He is It. 1916‘Taffrail’ Pincher Martin vii. 111 On board his ship he had a very poor time; but ashore he was absolutely it, so far as the ladies were concerned. 1923D. H. Lawrence Birds, Beasts & Flowers 206 Red Men still stick themselves over with bits of his fluff, And feel absolutely it. 1930H. M. Smith Inspector Frost in City iii. v. 103, I have some new plus-fours which are ‘it’. 1963P. Willmott Evolution of Community i. 8 People were making themselves out to be something they weren't... They thought they were it.
f. In children's games, the player who has the task of catching or touching the others. Also transf. and fig.
1842R. Chambers Pop. Rhymes Scotl. 62/2 The tig usually catches and touches some one upon the crown before all are in—otherwise he has to be it for another game. 1888[see count v. 15 b]. 1923Kipling Land & Sea Tales 279 As the sides are chosen and all submit To the chance of the lot that shall make them ‘It’. 1949J. B. Priestley Delight 137 The boy who was ‘it’ retrieved the can and replaced it in the circle. 1950C. S. Lewis Lion, Witch & Wardrobe iii. 30 They decided to play hide-and-seek. Susan was ‘It’ and..the others scattered to hide. 1969I. & P. Opie Children's Games i. 18 They do whatever they can to avoid being..the one who, as they express it, is..‘it’. 1970G. Jackson Let. 23 Mar. in Soledad Brother (1971) 188 It's us against them, hide and seek. They're always it and getting caught means getting dusted. 1974S. Gulliver Vulcan Bulletins 111 ‘I'm not helping to get him knocked off to suit..the CIA.’ ‘That's too bad, Lee,’ said Selby quietly, ‘because you're it.’
g. ‘Sex appeal.’
1904Kipling Traffics & Discov. 352 'Tisn't beauty, so to speak, nor good talk necessarily. It's just It. Some women'll stay in a man's memory if they once walk down a street. 1927E. Glyn ‘It’ i. 10 He had that nameless charm, with a strong magnetism which can only be called ‘It’. 1930G. B. Stern Mosaic iii. i. 205 The Viennese composer made his first awed acquaintance with the words pep, kick, body-urge, sex-appeal, a hundred-per-cent. stuff, spin it along, put it over, and It. 1932Bystander 23 Mar. 546 A film star who has proved to producers and film public alike that she is blessed with that undefinable quality called ‘It’. 1972L. P. Bachmann Ultimate Act i. 16 She really had ‘It’, as it was called.
2. a. As nominative of the verb to be, it refers to the subject of thought, attention, or inquiry, whether impersonal or personal, in a sentence asking or stating what or who this is; as What is it? Who was it? It is a diamond, a rare fern, a wild boar; It is I, It was John. Often with a relative clause implied when not actually expressed, as Who is it (that knocks)? What is it (that is wanted)? What was it (that excited your attention, that did this, etc.)? It was the king (who appeared, who so acted, etc.). So Fr. ce, Ger. es.
Formerly the verb agreed (as in German) with the following n. or pron., thus It am I (= It is I), it are ye (= it is you), it were two dragons. When a relative clause is appended, the relative being the subject, its verb still agrees in number and person with the pronoun: It is I who am to blame; It was they who were wrong, not we.
c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. xiv. 26 Hi..cwædon þus: Soþlice hyt ys scinlac. Ða spræc se hælend..ic hyt eom. a1225Juliana 39 Ich hit am þe deouel belial. c1290Beket 1209 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 141 ‘Sire’, quad þe oste, ‘þov it art’. c1305St. Christopher 41 in E.E.P. (1862) 60 Beau frere, quaþ þis oþer, ic hit am. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xv. 321 If any peple perfourme þat texte it ar þis pore freres. c1380Sir Ferumb. 3183 Hit ne buþ..none Vauasers, þat buþ þer on þe tour. c1384Chaucer H. Fame 1323 Thoo atte last aspyed y That pursevantes and herauldes..Hyt weren alle. c1386― Shipman's T. 214 Peter, it am I, Quod she. 1401Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 57 It ar ȝe that stonden bifore, in Anticristis vauwarde. 1413Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton) ii. xlv. (1859) 51 What is hit thenne that thou beryst soo trussed in thy fardel? c1450Cov. Myst. (Shaks. Soc.) 293 It is I that am here in ȝour syth. c1460Towneley Myst. xx. 372 Wene ye that I it am? 1593Shakes. 2 Hen VI, iv. i. 117 It is thee I feare. 1611Bible Mark vi. 50 It is I, be not afraid. 1852Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xxiv. 232 Is it the secret instinct of decaying nature?
†b. It was formerly used where there is now substituted. (Cf. Ger. es ist, es sind.)
a1300Cursor M. 22169 It es na land þat man kan neuen..Þat he ne sal do þam to be soght. c1330R. Brunne Chron. Pref. 80 Many it ere þat strange Inglis In ryme wate neuer what it is. 13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 280 Hit arn aboute on þis bench bot berdlez chylder. c1380Wyclif Wks. III. 345 It is no nede to argue here for to disprove þis foli. c1435Torr. Portugal 1494 It were two dragons stiff and strong, Uppon theyre lay they sat and song, Beside a depe welle. 1577tr. Bullinger's Decades Introd., It was sometime when he was not. 1577–87Holinshed Scot. Chron. (1805) II. 256 It was no need to bid them pack away. 1590Marlowe Edw. II, ii. ii, Cousin, it is no dealing with him now. a1617Bayne On Coloss. 211 [They] are so proud, so censorious, that it is no living with them.
c. In archaic ballad style, the introductory it (it was, it is) is sometimes = there (as in mod.Ger. es war, es ist); but in other cases, it appears to mean ‘the subject of my song’ or ‘tale’.
a1603Beggar's Dau. Bednall Gr. i. 1 in Percy Reliques (1883) I. 361 Itt was a blind beggar, had long lost his sight, He had a faire daughter of bewty most bright. 1798Coleridge Anc. Mar. 1 It is an ancient mariner, And he stoppeth one of three. 1805Scott Last Minstr. vi. xi, It was an English Ladye bright..And she would marry a Scottish knight. 1832Tennyson Miller's Dau. 169 It is the miller's daughter, And she is grown so dear.
†d. It also occurs where he, she, or that would now be preferred. Cf. F. c'est, Ger. es ist.
1596Shakes. Merch. V. iii. iii. 18 It is the most impenetrable curre That euer kept with men. 1605― Macb. i. iv. 58 It is a peerelesse Kinsman. 1684[see A. γ.]
e. this is it colloq. phr.: used when something previously spoken about or foreboded has come to pass or is about to happen.
[1908G. Murray tr. Aristophanes' Frogs i. iii. 34 That's it, sir. These are the Initiated Rejoicing somewhere, just as he told us.] 1942Newsweek 27 July 23/3 Finucane tried to settle the rocking plane onto the water. It hit the waves, then sank like a rock. Just before, Paddy spoke into the two-way radio: ‘This is it, chaps.’ 1959Sunday Times 5 Apr. 15/7 He heard the sound of countless aircraft overhead. This is it, he thought.
f. that's it (and similar colloq. phrases): there is no more to it than that.
1966P. Willmott Adolescent Boys E. London v. 88 You got no encouragement. They'd look at the report at the end of term and that was about it. Ibid. 92 We just sat about..doing half-witted things. You only had to find a weak teacher and that was it. 1968Listener 31 Oct. 574/3 Really I think the Brummie likes to stay at home. And work. And shop in Birmingham. Holiday in Majorca—and that's it. 1968New Yorker 2 Nov. 163 They are excellent musicians (except for one of the girls, whose function is obscure; she shakes a tambourine now and then, but that's about it). 1972Observer (Colour Suppl.) 13 Feb. 18/1 Adoption agencies are wary..of any people who want to adopt for any reason other than that they love children, that they have homes and that there are children who need homes. To put it briefly, parents are parents and that's it.
3. As the subject of an impersonal verb or impersonal statement, expressing action or a condition of things simply, without reference to any agent.
a. In statements of weather, as it rains, it blows hard, it is cold.
c888K. ælfred Boeth. xxi, On sumera hit bið wearm and on wintra ceald. c900tr. Bæda's Hist. ii. x. [xiii.] (1890) 134 Swa..hit rine and sniwe and styrme ute. c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. vii. 27 Þa rinde hit. c1205Lay. 3895 Þre dæȝes hit rinde blod. a1300Fragm. Pop. Sc. (Wright) 223 Horfrost cometh whan hit is cold. c1300St. Brandan 683 Hit bigan to haweli faste. c1305St. Edm. Conf. 356 in E.E.P. (1862) 80 So durk hit was ek þerto, þat vneþe me miȝte iseo. 13..Seuyn Sag. (W.) 2271 Sche saith hit hath ben thonder. c1425Seven Sag. (P.) 2213 Hyt raynyd and lygnyd and thonryd fast. 1526Tindale John xii. 29 Then sayde the people that stode by and herde: it thoundreth [1611 said that it thundered]. 1719De Foe Crusoe i. i, By this time it blew a terrible storm indeed. 1766,1848[see dog n.1 17 c]. 1820Keats St. Agnes i, St. Agnes' Eve—Ah, bitter chill it was! 1846Dickens Italy, A Rapid Diorama, It is now intensely cold. a1901Mod. Evidently it has thawed during the night. Is it freezing or thawing at present? I fear it is going to rain.
b. In statements as to the time of day, season of the year, and the like; as It is midnight, it is very late, it is still winter, it is Christmas day, it draws towards evening.
These are connected with the prec. by such as it is dark, it is day-light, it dawns.
c1000Ags. Gosp. Luke xxiv. 29 Hit æfenlæcð. Ibid. John i. 39 Hit wæs þa seo teoðe tid. c1000ælfric Exod. x. 9 Hit ys haliᵹ tid. c1000O.E. Chron. (MS. C.) an. 979 Þonne hit daᵹian wolde. a1100Ibid. (MS. E.) an. 1006 Þa hit winter læhte. c1200Ormin 8917 Till þatt itt comm till efenn. a1250Owl & Night. 332 From eve fort hit is dailiȝt. 13..Seuyn Sag. (W.) 1629 Sire, vp! vp! hit is dai! 13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 284 Hit is ȝol & nwe ȝer. c1400Ywaine & Gaw. 596 It neghed nere the nyght. c1450Erle Tolous 457 When hyt dawed he rose up soone. 1526Tindale John x. 22 Hit was at Ierusalem the feaste of the dedicacion, and itt was wynter. 1599Shakes. Hen. V, iii. vii. 2 Would it were day. Ibid. 6 Will it neuer be Morning? 1678Bunyan Pilgr. i. 44 It was almost night. 1727–46Thomson Summer 432 'Tis raging noon. 1800Coleridge Wallenst. ii. iv. ii. 137 It strikes eleven. 1832Tennyson Miller's Dau. 59 'T was April then. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 175 It was ten o'clock. Ibid. 191 It was Monday night.
c. In statements as to space, distance, or length of time.
1593Shakes. Rich. II, ii. iii. 1 How farre is it, my Lord, to Berkley now? 1594― Rich. III, v. iii. 234 How farre into the Morning is it? 1749Fielding Tom Jones v. ii, Nor was it indeed long before Jones was able to attend her to the harpsichord. 1819Scott Leg. Montrose xii, ‘It is a far cry to Lochow’..‘It is not for me to say how far it may be to Lochow’. 1850–85[see cry n. 18]. Mod. How far is it to London? It is only 6 miles to Oxford. It is a long way to the sea. It wants five minutes to the half-hour.
d. In statements of condition, welfare, course of life, and the like; as It has fared badly with the soldiers; How is it in the city? It will soon come to a rupture between them; It is all over with poor Jack; It is very pleasant here.
c1000ælfric Gen. xxxvii. 14 Loca hwæþer hit wel si mid him..and cyþ me hu hit si. c1000Gosp. Nicod. xxvi. in Thwaite Hept. (1698) 13 Hyt wæs ða swyþe angreslic. c1230Hali Meid. 7 Sekerliche swa hit fareð. a1310in Wright Lyric P. 103 Thus hit geth bitwene hem tuo. c1325Metr. Hom. 31 Hou sal it far of us kaytefes? c1481Caxton Dialogues 4/37 What do ye? How is it with you? 1535Coverdale 2 Kings iv. 26 Axe her yf it go well with her. 1611Bible ibid., Is it well with thee? Is it well with thy husband? Is it well with the child? 1681Nevile Plato Rediv. 15 Well, Sir, How is it? Have you rested well to Night? 1810Scott Lady of L. v. xv, Ill fared it then with Roderick Dhu, That on the ground his targe he threw. 1850Tennyson In Mem. iv, O heart, how fares it with thee now? 1881F. Hall Lett. to Editor N.Y. Nation 21 As it has fared with all others..so, simply, it fares with me.
e. In statements of physical or mental affection, pleasurable, painful, etc.
These often have a clause expressing the affecting cause, and then pass into 4.
c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. xiv. 6 Hit licode herode. c1175Lamb. Hom. 55 Ȝif we leornið godes lare, Þenne of-þuncheð hit him sare. a1310in Wright Lyric P. 83 In myn herte hit doth me god, when y thenke on Jesu blod. c1420Avow. Arth. xxiv, Hit schalle the noȝte greue. 1844Mrs. Browning Fourfold Aspect ii, How that true wife said to Pœtus..‘Sweet, it hurts not!’ Mod. Where does it feel painful? It pleases me when he does well.
f. In quoting from books, in the phrases it says, it tells, etc. Now arch. or colloq.; usually expressed by the passive it is said, written, etc.: see 4 b.
c1175Lamb. Hom. 15 Fulsoð hit seið, moni hit forlet for drihtenes eye. a1225Ancr. R. 356 Elies hweoles þet weren furene, ase hit telleð. c1305Pilate 169 in E.E.P. (1862) 115 As hit saiþ in þe godspel. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 55 In Saynt Edwardes life it sais, he was forsuorn. 1390Gower Conf. III. 224 In a cronique it telleth thus. 1482Monk of Evesham (Arb.) 15 Founde hem as hit folowth wele aftir in this boke. 1840K. H. Digby Mores Catholici x. vii. 171 In Saxon histories... Thus it says. 1894G. F. X. Griffith tr. C. Fouard's St. Paul xv. 352 From the sequel, as it reads in the Acts, it would seem [etc.]. 1902H. K. Mann Lives of Popes I. ii. 234 ‘In mense Junius Indictione ii,’ or x., as by mistake it reads in the Chronicle. 1932Chesterton Chaucer iii. 108 Chaucer was a man for whom the world teemed with quiet fun, as it says in the comic opera. 1955tr. William of Rubruck's Journey in C. Dawson Mongol Mission xxxvii. 212 In Isaias it says that they fled into the land of Ararat.
g. In other expressions in which the subject is undefined.
1551T. Wilson Logike (1580) 6 b, No one man could bee knowne from an other..if it were not for the accidentes. 1710Swift Jrnl. to Stella 30 Sept. (1948) I. 47 They may talk of the you know what; but, gad, if it had not been for that I should never have been able to get the access I have had. a1732J. Gay Fables (1738) II. xiii. 118 Were it not for this cursed show'r, The park had whil'd away an hour. 1736J. Butler Analogy of Relig. ii. v. 200 Assistance which they would have had no Occasion for, had it not been for their Misconduct. 1780Mirror No. 102 The misapplication of the term is so completely ridiculous, as to be beneath contempt, were it not for the mischief that I am convinced has been occasioned by it. 1864G. Meredith Emilia in England II. v. 69, I feel better already, if it weren't for my legs. 1974Times Lit. Suppl. 5 Apr. 375/2 Disaster that would have been total had it not been for the conventional crime-writer's beginning and end.
4. When the logical subject of a verb is an infinitive phrase, a clause, or sentence, this is usually placed after the verb, and its place before the verb is taken by it as ‘provisional’ or ‘anticipatory subject’.
When the order of the clauses is reversed, it is omitted; but sometimes rhetorically retained.
a. with an infinitive phrase.
In OE. the infinitive was in the dative governed by tó, and its construction was rather that of the L. supine in -u after an adj., but this has passed without break into the present use.
c900tr. Bæda's Hist. Pref. (1890) 2 Forþon hit is god godne to herianne and yfelne to leanne. c1205Lay. 31106 Hit is on mine rede to don þat þu bede. c1250Hymn Virg. in Trin. Coll. Hom. App. ii. 257 On þe hit is best to calle. 1340Ayenb. 53 Hit is grat wyt to loki mesure ine mete and ine drinke. c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 634 Cleopatras, In the see hit happed hem to mete. c1420Anturs of Arth. xv, Hit were fulle tere for a tung my tourmentes to telle. 1548Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Matt. 58 a, To lothe and dyspyse them, it is no holynes, but pryde. 1604Shakes. Oth. ii. iii. 203 Vnlesse..to defend our selues it be a sinne. 1611― Cymb. iii. iii. 79 How hard it is to hide the sparkes of Nature. 1635J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Banish'd Virg. 98 Depends it on mee..to know either your being..or your stay here? 1667Milton P.L. viii. 641 To stand or fall Free in thine own Arbitrement it lies. a1717Bp. O. Blackall Wks. (1723) I. 25 It has been commonly their Fate to fare hardlier. 1742Young Nt. Th. vi. 227 Is it in Time to hide Eternity? 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 49 It was necessary to make a choice.
b. with a clause introduced by that expressed or understood. Now esp. frequent with the passive voice, in it is said, written, stated, thought, believed, known, seen, etc., instead of the active people say, one has written, etc.
c897K. ælfred Gregory's Past. xlvi. 355 Ðonne hit tocymð ðæt hie hit sprecan sculon. c1000ælfric Hom. II. 340 Hit is awriten, Lufa ðinne nextan. a1250Owl & Night. 1337 Soth hit is, of luve ich singe. 13..K. Alis. 3720 Schame hit is we weore so faynt. c1305St. Dunstan 117 in E.E.P. (1862) 37 Hit biful þat þe bischop of wircetre was ded. a1350Childh. Jesu 99 (Mätz.) It es þe beste, vnder þis treo þat ich me reste. c1369Chaucer Dethe Blaunche 805 Hit happed that I came on a day In-to a place. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 7 Hyt is redde in storyes that Ytaly somme tyme..was callede the grete londe off Grece. c1400Apol. Loll. p. xvi, Hit is writen in the first book of holy writ, that ther weren thre patriarkes in the peple of God. 1611Bible 1 Kings xviii. 1 It came to passe after many daies, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah. Ibid. 4 It was so, when Iezebel cut off the Prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah tooke an hundred Prophets and hid them. 1650Weldon Crt. Jas. I, 122 Its verily beleeved..it was intended the Law should run in its proper channell. 1749Fielding Tom Jones vi. iii, It may be objected, that very wise men have been notoriously avaricious. 1805Scott Last Minstr. ii. xxxii, Use lessens marvel, it is said. Mod. It appears that you were present.
c. The same construction is sometimes employed when the logical subject is a n., esp. with attributes.
In mod. use, this is poetical or rhetorical; also dialectal or colloquial; in the latter use the verb is sometimes repeated, e.g. It is a country of vast extent, is China.
c900tr. Bæda's Hist. i. Introd. (1890) 26 Hit is weliᵹ þis ealond on wæstmum. a1225Juliana 12 Hit nis nan eðelich þing þe refschipe of rome. 13..K. Alis. 4154 Hit schal beo ful deore abought, Theo tole that was in Grece y-sought. 1432–50tr. Higden (Rolls) I. 109 The cyte..where hit is schewede the palice of Melchisedech. c1460Towneley Myst. xiv. 463 Lord, it is sothe all, that we say. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. clxix. 207 It canne nat be recorded the gret feest and chere that they of the Cytie..made to the prince. c1530Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. 524 It greved her hert right sore, thassurance of her and of Arthur. 1805Scott Last Minstr. i. xii, What may it be, the heavy sound? 1841Longfellow Goblet of Life v, Above the lowly plants it towers, The fennel with its yellow flowers.
d. Also in a periphrastic construction (to bring into prominence an adverbial adjunct); as it was on a Monday that I met him = the day on which I met him was a Monday = I met him on a Monday.
Always with the verb to be, as in 2.
(In OE. hit is omitted, or its place taken by þæt.)
[c888K. ælfred Boeth. xxvii. §1 For þam þingum wæs ᵹio þæt se wisa Catulus hine ᵹebealᵹ. a1070O.E. Chron. (MS. C.) an. 1052 Ðæt wæs on þone Monandæᵹ æfter sca Marian mæsse þæt Godwine mid his scipum to Suðᵹeweorce becom.] a1250Owl & Night. 1163 Hervore hit is that me the shuneth. 1297R. Glouc. 204 (MS. B.) In þe tyme bi twene Abraham & Moyses it was, þat men come to Engolond. c1420Sir Amadas (Weber) 284 Hyt is in the deyd name that Y speyke. c1450Cov. Myst. (Shaks. Soc.) 126 How is it that the modyr of God me xulde come to? 1593Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iv. ii. 137 It is to you good people, that I speake. 1776Gibbon Decl. & F. x, It was not till the eighteenth year of his reign, that Diocletian could be persuaded by Galerius to begin a general persecution. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 28 It was by him that money was coined. a1901Mod. It was there that Columbus was born. It is but seldom that he comes our way.
5. The pronoun is also used pleonastically after the noun subject: now esp. in ballad poetry, or, in an interrogative sentence, in rhetorical prose, for the sake of emphasis. Cf. he 3 a.
c1430Freemasonry (1844) 36 Hys name hyt spradde ful wondur wyde. 1534Tindale Mark xi. 30 The baptyme of John, was it from heuen, or of men? Answer me. 1578Timme Caluine on Gen. 236 What grievous torments of mind, this horrible Confusion brought..it cannot by words be sufficiently expressed. 1601Shakes. Twel. N. v. i. 401 The raine it raineth euery day. 1742Young Nt. Th. v. 171 The sacred Shade, and Solitude, what is it? 1798Wordsw. Idiot Boy lv, This piteous news so much it shocked her. Ibid. lxxxiii, And as her mind grew worse and worse, Her body—it grew better. 1801Campbell Mariners of England 13 The deck it was their field of fame, And Ocean was their grave. 1801Scott Fire-King vii, The tree green it grows..The stream pure it flows. a1806Kirke White Gondoline, The night it was still, and the moon it shone. a1849Poe Annabel Lee 27 Our love it was stronger by far than the love Of those who were older than we.
II. As objective case (accusative and dative).
6. a. The neuter accusative or direct object after a vb.: having the same range of reference as the nominative: see 1, 1 b, 1 c.
885O.E. Chron., Þy ilcan ᵹeare feng Carl to þam west rice..swa hit his þridda fæder hæfde. c893K. ælfred Oros. i. i. §7 On þam lande is twa and twentiᵹ þeoda . nu hæt hit man eall Parthia. 971Blickl. Hom. 231 Hu mæȝ ic hit on þrim daᵹum ᵹefaran? c1000ælfric Exod. ii. 9 Underfoh þis cild and fed hit me. c1075O.E. Chron. an. 1070 Se arcebiscop axode hyrsumnesse mid aþswerunge at him, and he hit forsoc. c1200Moral Ode 252 (Trin. MS.) Þar is fur..Ne mai hit quenche salt water. c1200Ormin Ded. 125, & forrþi whase lerneþþ itt & follȝheþþ itt wiþþ dede. a1250Owl & Night. 235 Alvred king hit seide and wrot ‘He schuntet that hi ne wl wot’. c1305Judas 142 in E.E.P. (1862) 111 His gvttes fulle to the grounde, menie men hit iseye. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. i. 90 Clerkes þat knowen hit scholde techen hit aboute. c1440Anc. Cookery in Househ. Ord. (1790) 428 Set hit on the fyre, and let hit boyle. c1440Lonelich Grail l. 728 Certein me Semeth In My wyt that they han wel deservit It. 1532More Confut. Tindale Wks. 600/1 Adam eate hit also through temptacion. 1535Coverdale Exod. ii. 9 Take this childe, and nurse it for me, I wyll geue y⊇ thy rewarde. 1606Shakes. Tr. & Cr. iv. ii. 34 Would he not (a naughty man) let it sleepe. 1611Bible Ps. cxix. 140 Thy word is very pure: therefore thy seruant loueth it. ― 1 Kings iii. 26 Let it be neither mine nor thine, but diuide it. 1635J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Banish'd Virg. 98 Taking mee by the hand and gently wringing it. 1733Pope Ess. Man iii. 73 Heaven..To Man imparts it [knowledge of his end]; but with such a view, As, while he dreads it, makes him hope it too. 1749Fielding Tom Jones v. vi, Pardon me if I have said anything to offend you. I did not mean it. 1808Scott Marm. v. xii, The bride kissed the goblet, the knight took it up. 1859Geo. Eliot A. Bede xxii, She must keep it under her clothes, and no one would see it. 1879Bain Higher Eng. Gram. 27 The day will be fine; no one doubts it. a1901Mod. They say he has left the country, but I do not believe it.
b. Also used as anticipatory object when the logical object is a clause. Cf. 4.
1596Shakes. Merch. V. i. i. 63, I take it your owne business calls on you. 1599― Much Ado iv. i. 206 Publish it that she is dead. 1850Tennyson In Mem. i, I held it truth..That men may rise on stepping-stones Of their dead selves to higher things. 1881Mason Engl. Gram. §405 He made it clear that the plan was impossible. Mod. May I take it that you will sign the document?
7. After a preposition. (In OE. hit or him, according to the regimen of the prep. Cf. him 2 a.)
The usual ME. construction was there- (þar-) + prep.: e.g. thereat, thereby, thereafter, therein, thereon, therewith.
1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 674 Þe rotes þat of it springes. Ibid. 1649 Afterward I sal speke of it. Ibid. 2795 Þat place is neghest aboven hel pitte Bytwen purgatory and itte. 1382Wyclif Rev. xxi. 24 The kinges of erthe shulen bringe to her glory and honour in to it [1526 Tindale vnto hit]. 1485Caxton Paris & V. 3 Nor say nothynge to hyr of hyt. 1582N. T. (Rhem.) Matt. xxviii. 4 What is that to vs? looke thou to it. Ibid. 24 Looke you to it [1611 See ye to it]. 1590Tarlton Newes Purgat. (1844) 82 He hyed him thither, and found them all hard at it by the teeth. 1590Shakes. Mids. N. iii. i. 34 Wee ought to looke to it. 1608― Per. iii. i. 21 A little daughter; for the sake of it be manly. 1611― Cymb. ii. iv. 141 Another staine, as bigge as Hell can hold, Were there no more but it. 1635J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Banish'd Virg. 99 Shee would oft-times sigh to thinke of it. 1663Pepys Diary 15 Apr., I to my office, and there hard at it till almost noon. 1749Fielding Tom Jones vi. vi, Unless you consent to it, I will not give you a groat. 1858Lytton (title) What will he do with it? a1901Mod. There is nothing for it but to run.
8. As simple dative = ‘to it’. (In OE. him: see him 2 a.)
c1400Mandeville (1839) xv. 165 To don it worschipe and reuerence. 1595Shakes. John ii. i. 162 It grandame will Giue yt a plum. 1610― Temp. i. ii. 186 'Tis a good dulnesse, And giue it way. a1822Shelley Superstition 31 Converging thou didst give it name, and form. a1901Mod. Bring the calf and give it a drink. She took the child and gave it suck.
9. It is often used as an indefinite object of a transitive verb, e.g. to carry it, fight it, face it, brave it; so in imprecations, as confound it! hang it! Also of an intransitive verb, e.g. to go it, run it, trip it, ride it, flaunt it. And in this way verbs are formed for the nonce upon nouns, with the sense to do, act, or play the person or character, to use the thing; e.g. to king it, queen it, lord it, foot it, boat it, cab it, coach it, train it, etc. The use now is colloquial.
App. first used with transitive vbs., and with adv. out, as to fight it (i.e. the matter, affair) out. Afterwards out was omitted, and the usage extended through amphibolous to intransitive vbs., as to flaunt it out, to flaunt it. Through vbs. having ns. of the same form, as to lord, it was extended to other ns. as king, queen, etc. There may have been some influence from do it as a substitute, not only for any transitive vb. and its object, but for an intransitive vb. of action, as in ‘he tried to swim, but could not do it’, where it is the action in question.
1548Patten Exp. Scotl. in Arb. Garner III. 109 If they had meant to fight it out. 1579G. Harvey Letter-bk. (Camden) 73 To face it oute lustelye. 1583Stubbs Anat. Abus. ii. (1882) 108 That flaunt it out in their saten doblets. 1588Shakes. Tit. A. iv. i. 121 Ile goe braue it at the Court. 1590H. Smith Wedding Garm. (1592) 335 When our backs flant it like courtiers. 1593Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, i. iii. 80 She sweepes it through the Court with troups of Ladies. Ibid. iv. viii. 47, I see them Lording it in London streets. 1605― Macb. ii. iii. 19 Ile Deuill-Porter it no further. 1610― Temp. i. ii. 380 Foote it featly heere, and there. 1611― Wint. T. iv. iv. 460 Ile Queene it no inch farther. 1632Milton L'Allegro 33 Come, and trip it, as you go, On the light fantastick toe. 1647Ward Simp. Cobler (1843) 71 Taught many Successors to King it right for many Ages. Ibid. 91 Poore Coblers well may fault it now and then. 1650Fuller Pisgah 194 Hissop doth tree it [arborescit] in Judæa. 1787Jefferson Writ. (1859) II. 334 She is coqueting it with England. 1850Mrs. Browning Calls on the Heart ii, The world goes riding it fair and grand. 1856R. E. Egerton-Warburton Hunt. Songs (1883) xxxvi. 104 Dyspepsy and gout the amusement may share, So go it, ye cripples! and take a Bath chair. 1889Jerome Three Men in a Boat ii, We decided that we would..hotel it, and inn it, and pub. it when it was wet. a1901Mod. She is inclined to lord it over her brothers. (colloq.) Go it, old man! We will walk as far as we can, and then train it.
III. 10. As possessive case or possessive pronoun; = its. Now dial.
13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 264 Kepe to hit, & alle hit cors clanly ful fylle. Ibid. 956 Aboute Sodamas & hit sydez alle. c1420Anturs of Arth. viii, Of hit woe wille I wete, Gif that I may hit bales And the body bare. 1541R. Copland Guydon's Quest. Chirurg., It sendeth the humour melencolyke to the stomacke for to prouoke it appetyte. 1548Udall Erasm. Par. Luke vii. 81 b, Loue..also hath it infancie & it hath it commyng forewarde in growthe of age. 1563Davidson Confut. Kennedy in Wodrow Misc. (1844) 206 The Romane Kirk hes receavit be it awin judgement, the commune translatione. 1587Golding De Mornay ii. 19 It hath no forme of it owne; for had it any of it owne, it could not breede them, because it owne would occupie it to the full. 1605Shakes. Lear i. iv. 236 It's had it head bit off by it young. 1608–27Bp. Hall Medit. & Vowes ii. 86 That which with it owne glory can make them happy. 1611Bible Lev. xxv. 5 That which groweth of it [ed. 1660 its] owne accord..thou shalt not reape. 1616Surfl. & Markh. Country Farme 150 He shall suffer the young Asse to sucke it damme vntill it be two yeares old. 1622Wither Mistr. Philar. Wks. (1633) 653 Each part as faire doth show In it kind, as white in Snow.
Mod. dial.1869E. Waugh Lanc. Sketches 89 Look at it een; they're as breet as th' north-star ov a frosty neet. 1881Lancash. Gloss. s.v., If he can catch houd o' that dog he'll have it life. 1884Cheshire Gloss. s.v., Come to it mammy. 1892J. Wright Windhill Dial. 121 Possessive it its. 1899N.E. Scotch (Dundee, arch.), ‘See at the cat pittin' up it paw an' clawin' it head’.
IV. As reflexive pronoun.
11. In accus. and dative = itself (which is the ordinary equivalent).
The reflexive use of it is rarer than that of him, her, because of the less frequency of neuter agents.
1595Shakes. John v. vii. 55 My heart hath one poore string to stay it by. a1901Mod. The tree draws to it all the moisture from the adjacent ground. The horse sprang over the precipice carrying its rider with it.
12. As possessive = its (L. suus).
1548–1622 [see 10].
V.
13. As antecedent pronoun followed by relative expressed or understood. (Rare; more frequently expressed by that which, the one that, what.)
c1200Vices & Virtues 117 Hit is soð ðat tu seiest. c1305St. Edm. Conf. 562 in E.E.P. (1862) 86 Louerd..þu hit ert þat ich habbe iloued. 1382Wyclif Eccl. i. 9 What is that was? it that is to come. What is that is mad? it that is to be maad. a1533Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) Q vj b, Idelnesse, whereby our envy entreth, is it whiche openeth the gate to all vyces. 1535Coverdale 1 Chron. iv. 10 God caused it for to come that he axed. 1535Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 541 It that tha wyn at our plesour to spend. 1562J. Heywood Prov. & Epig. (1867) 133 It hapth in an houre that hapth not in vii yeare. 1588Shakes. Tit. A. v. i. 59 An if it please me which thou speak'st. 1596― 1 Hen. IV, ii. i. 58 It holds currant that I told you yesternight. 1601― Twel. N. ii. iv. 80 That's it, that alwayes makes a good voyage of nothing. 1611Bible Isa. li. 9 Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab? 1651Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxvi. 137 But that is not it I intend to speak of here.
14. When the antecedent is the subject of a clause which precedes the relative, it may be used of persons as well as things.
1596Shakes. Merch. V. i. ii. 15 It is a good Diuine that followes his owne instructions. Ibid. ii. ii. 80 It is a wise Father that knowes his owne childe. 1768Sterne Sent. Journ. (1775) II. 124 (Fragment ii.) ‘It is an ill wind’, said a boatman..‘which blows no body any good’. a1901Mod. It is not everybody who can afford to take a holiday.
▸ attrib.After It girl n.; compare also It boy n. Designating a person who or thing which is exceptionally fashionable, successful, or prominent at a particular time, as it bag, it couple, it gadget, etc. Freq. with capital initial.
1997Sunday Times 2 Nov. x. 12 Her range of It Bags are attracting a loyal following, especially among supermodels. 1998Time 19 Jan. 73/2 By the end of 1967, Sonny & Cher had sold 40 million records world wide and had become rock's ‘it’ couple. 2000Wired July 260/2 Hyderabad..is becoming the new ‘it’ place for startups. 2003Vanity Fair July 122/3 For now, executives and producers of the genre are suddenly Hollywood's ‘It kids’. 2005J. Cox Around World in 80 Dates iv. 102 Paul, a chef who worked in one of the ‘It’ restaurants in Copenhagen. 2008Sun (Nexis) 13 May The latest ‘it’ gadget to set pulses racing, the iPhone caused a stir when it was released earlier this year. |