this
/ðɪs/ determiner, adverb, pronoun, noun, interjection
Forms these thises
- determiner The (thing) here (used in indicating something or someone nearby). “This classroom is where I learned to read and write.”
- determiner (colloquial, with stress on this) Referring to oneself.
- determiner The known (thing) (used in indicating something or someone just mentioned). “They give the appearance of knowing what they're doing. It's this appearance that lets them get away with so much.”
- determiner The known (thing) (used in indicating something or someone about to be mentioned). “When asked what he wanted for his birthday, he gave this reply: “[…]””
- determiner (informal) A known (thing) (used in first mentioning a person or thing that the speaker does not think is known to the audience). Compare with “a certain ...”. “I met this woman the other day who's allergic to wheat. I didn't even know that was possible!”
- determiner (of a time reference) Designates the current or next instance. “It's cold this morning.”
- adverb To the degree or extent indicated. “I need this much water.”
- pronoun The thing, item, etc. being indicated. “This isn't the item that I ordered.”
- noun (philosophy) Something being indicated that is here; one of these.
- interjection (Internet slang) Indicates the speaker's strong approval or agreement with the previous material. “― I wish trolls could be banned from the forum immediately, without any discussion. ― This!”
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English þis, this, from Old English þis (neuter demonstrative), from the North Sea Germanic base *þa- (“that”), from Proto-Germanic *þat, from Proto-Indo-European *tód, extended form of demonstrative base *to-; + North-West Germanic definitive suffix *-s, from Proto-Indo-European *só (“this, that”).
Cognate with Scots this (“this”), Saterland Frisian dusse (“this”), West Frisian dizze (“this”), German dies, dieses (“this”), Old Gutnish þissi (“this”).
Webster’s 1913
- pronoun As a demonstrative pronoun, this denotes something that is present or near in place or time, or something just mentioned, or that is just about to be mentioned.
- pronoun As an adjective, this has the same demonstrative force as the pronoun, but is followed by a noun; as, this book; this way to town.
Etymology [OE. this, thes, AS. th\'c7s, masc., theós, fem., this, neut.; akin to OS. these, D. deze, G. dieser, OHG. diser, deser, Icel. Þessi; originally from the definite article + a particle -se, -si; cf. Goth. sai behold. See The, That, and cf. These, Those.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “this”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details