Meanings
alternative his'n
- AppalachiaUKUSdialectalespeciallyHis.First known use 15th c.
An' every feller felt ez though all Mexico wuz hisn.
1848, James Russell Lowell, The Biglow Papers2 more examples
I will not show him this letter of yours, though you seem to desire it, lest it should provoke him to be too severe a schoolmaster, when you are his'n.
1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter XXXII”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; [a]nd sold by John Osborn, […], →OCLCBut in the absolute whosen is often substituted, as in "if it ain't hisn, then whosen is it?" The imitation is obvious.
[1921 [1919], H. L. Mencken, The American Language, 2nd edition, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 297
Origin
- Middle Englishhisen
- Englishhisn
From Middle English hisen, ultimately corresponding to an alteration of his after mine, thine.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
hisn. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hisn
“hisn.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hisn. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hisn,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hisn.
Source: hisn on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.