[it] pron [ME, fr. OE hit--more at he] (bef. 12c) 1: that one--used as subject or direct object or indirect object of a verb or object of a preposition usu. in reference to a lifeless thing "took a quick look at the house and noticed ~ was very old", a plant "there is a rosebush near the fence and ~ is now blooming", a person or animal whose sex is unknown or disregarded "don't know who ~ is", a group of individuals or things, or an abstract entity "beauty is everywhere and ~ is a source of joy"--compare he, its, she, they 2--used as subject of an impersonal verb that expresses a condition or action without reference to an agent "~ is raining" 3 a--used as anticipatory subject or object of a verb "~ is necessary to repeat the whole thing"--often used to shift emphasis to a part of a statement other than the subject "~ was in this city that the treaty was signed" b--used with many verbs as a direct object with little or no meaning "footed ~ back to camp" 4--used to refer to an explicit or implicit state of affairs or circumstances "how is ~ going"
5: a crucial or climactic point "this is ~"
[2]it n (1842): the player in a game who performs the principal action of the game (as trying to find others in hide-and-seek)