hers
UK[hɜːz]US[hɜːrz]
pron
That which belongs to or is associated with a female person or animal previously mentioned.
Etymology
The word 'hers' is a relatively modern formation, solidifying in the 14th century to provide a distinct, absolute possessive pronoun for the feminine gender. It evolved from the Middle English 'heres', which itself was a reanalysis of the phrase 'hire s' (her + 's), where 'hire' was the genitive form of the Old English 'heo' (she). This development paralleled the creation of 'ours', 'yours', and 'theirs', establishing a consistent pattern for absolute possessives. The logic is one of grammatical streamlining, moving from a declined genitive form to an independent, invariant pronoun that clearly denotes possession by a previously referenced female entity.
Analysis
The word 'hers' is a possessive pronoun formed as a single, unsegmentable unit in Modern English. It originates from the genitive (possessive) case form of the Old English feminine pronoun 'heo' (she), which combined with the possessive suffix '-es'.
Examples
The red car is hers.
She brought her own book, so I gave mine to a friend and kept hers for reference.
The decision is ultimately hers to make.