its

its · determiner neuter

imported

Definitions

determiner

  1. 1.

    Belonging to or associated with a thing previously mentioned or easily identified.

  2. 2.

    Belonging to or associated with an animal or child of unspecified sex.

  3. 3.

    Used to refer to something belonging to or associated with a neuter entity.

Related words

See also: his, it, itself, their

Etymology

Formed by adding possessive "-s" to "it," by analogy with "his" and other possessives. Surprisingly, "its" is a relatively recent word, first appearing in the late 16th century. Before that, "his" was used for neuter possessives. The apostrophe-less spelling distinguishes it from "it's" (it is/has).