ils

they (male or mixed group); they (female)

Inherited from Vulgar Latin illī, which sounded il in Old French, to which a plural -s was added. While il was the nominative form from late Latin, els, eus was the oblique form ("them") that had evolved from late Latin illōs, and is the ancestor of modern French eux. In Old French, "they", being a nominative, was il from late Latin *illi, thus it didn't have the final -s, thus it was il used both for "he" and "they". The -s was added at the end of the 13th century in some regions, at the time t