They with a singular antecedent goes back to the Middle English of the 14th century[21][22] (slightly younger than they with a plural antecedent, which was borrowed from Old Norse in the 13th century),[23] and has remained in common use for centuries in spite of its proscription by traditional grammarians beginning in the mid 18th century.[24][25] Informal spoken English exhibits nearly universal use of the singular they. An examination by Jrgen Gerner of the British National Corpus published in 1998 found that British speakers, regardless of social status, age, sex, or region, used the singular they overwhelmingly more often than the gender-neutral he or other options.[26]
Older usage Singular they is found in the writings of many respected authors. Here are some examples, arranged chronologically: "Eche on in er craft ys wijs." ("Each one in their craft is wise.") Wycliffe's Bible, Ecclus. 38.35 (1382)[27] "And whoso fyndeth hym out of swich blame, They wol come up..." Chaucer, "The Pardoner's Prologue" of The Canterbury Tales (c. 1400)[28] quoted by Jespersen and thence in Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage.[29] "Eche of theym sholde ... make theymselfe redy." Caxton, Sonnes of Aymon (c. 1489)[30] "If a person is born of a ... gloomy temper ... they cannot help it." Chesterfield, Letter to his son (1759);[31] quoted in Fowler's.[32] "A person can't help their birth." Rosalind, in W. M. Thackeray, Vanity Fair (1848);[33] quoted from the OED by Curzan in Gender Shifts in the History of English.[34] "Now nobody does anything well that they cannot help doing" Ruskin, The Crown of Wild Olive (1866);[35] quoted in Fowler's.[32] "Nobody in their senses would give sixpence on the strength of a promissory note of the kind." Bagehot, The Liberal Magazine (1910);[36] quoted in Fowler's.[37]
