English Reference

Word

hee

/ˈhi/

Definitions

01he (archaic spelling)

C2

pron. an old way of spelling the word 'he'.

pron. an obsolete spelling of the third-person singular masculine pronoun 'he', occasionally used for emphasis in Early Modern English.

“In the old book, the writer wrote 'hee' instead of 'he'.”

“The scholar noted that in the original seventeenth-century manuscript, the author consistently used the spelling 'hee' to denote the subject.”

Archaic

Usage

Used as the subject of a sentence in historical texts.

Teaching tip

This spelling is only found in historical documents or literature from the 16th and 17th centuries; students should not use it in modern writing.

Synonyms

he

02sound of laughter

B1

interj. a sound you make when you are laughing, often written as 'hee hee'.

interj. an onomatopoeic representation of a high-pitched or giggling laugh.

“The children went 'hee hee' as they hid under the table.”

“The villain in the play gave a short, sharp 'hee' before disappearing behind the velvet curtains.”

Informal

Usage

Often repeated as 'hee hee' to represent a giggle.

Synonyms

hahatee-hee

This entry

Level
C2 · Proficiency
Frequency
Frequent
Updated

Scan code

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English Reference