our'n
Ours; belonging to us, said absolute.
Also called ourn.
Updated September 24, 2026
our'n pronunciation
/OW-ern/
Meaning
The Appalachian and rural Southern form of ours when it stands alone. You say "our truck" with our, but "that truck is our'n" when nothing follows. Same family as your'n, his'n, her'n, and their'n. It marks ownership without dressing it up for school English.
How folks use it
- “That old blue Ford is our'n. Leave it be.”
- “Y'all sold your'n last spring, but we kept our'n.”
Origin and etymology
Absolute possessives ending in -n (ourn, yourn, hisn) go back to older English patterns modeled on mine and thine. Middle English had forms like youren beside yours. Standard writing kept the -s set; mountain and Southern speech kept the -n set. Smoky Mountain English still lists ourn next to ours.
Frequently asked questions
When do you use our'n instead of our?
Use our before a noun ("our barn"). Use our'n when the pronoun stands alone ("the barn is our'n").