hisn

H4I1S1N1

pronoun

His.

First used 15th c.Scrabble 7

Meanings

pronoun

alternative his'n

  1. AppalachiaUKUSdialectalespeciallyHis.First known use 15th c.

    An' every feller felt ez though all Mexico wuz hisn.

    1848, James Russell Lowell, The Biglow Papers
    2 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, […], →OCLC

    But 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

  1. Middle Englishhisen
  2. Englishhisn

From Middle English hisen, ultimately corresponding to an alteration of his after mine, thine.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

hisn. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hisn

MLA

“hisn.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hisn. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hisn,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hisn.

Source: hisn on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.