their'n
Theirs; the thing that belongs to them.
Also called theirn, theirs.
Updated September 24, 2026
their'n pronunciation
/THAIR-un/
Meaning
Absolute possessive for "theirs," built like his'n, her'n, your'n, and our'n. You use it when the owned thing stands alone: that truck is their'n, this one is our'n. Same job as theirs, just with the old mountain -n ending. Rarer than the others in the set, but still heard in older rural talk.
How folks use it
- “That pile of firewood is their'n, leave it be.”
- “We got our dogs, and they got their'n.”
Origin and etymology
Appalachian and Upland Southern possessive formed by analogy with mine and thine (hisn, hern, ourn, yourn, theirn). Smoky Mountain English lists theirn beside theirs. Speakers sometimes feel it as "their" plus a clipped "one" or "own." The pattern rode in with Scots-Irish and older British speech and stuck in the mountains.
Frequently asked questions
Is their'n different from theirs?
Same meaning. Their'n is the dialect form with the -n ending, like his'n for his.