The Different Senses of "My"

1- the “my” as applied to inanimate objects; this is the most possessive sense
example: my boots

2- the “my” as applied to characteristics; this is a very odd sense in that on the one hand we do possess them much more than many other things in one sense but they also have a certain extent of possession of us
example: my virtues

3- the “my” as applied to pets and livestock
example: my dog

4- the “my” as applied to human beings over whom one has authority
example: my child

5- the “my” as applied to a group of people over whom one has authority; like the previous sense, this involves certain responsibilities on behalf of the speaker but it also implies greater power of the subject to hold him/her accountable to that responsibility
example: my class

6- the “my” as applied to equals with whom the speaker has a mutually agreed upon relationship
example: my coworkers

7- the “my” as applied to an equal with whom the speaker has a more valuable and therefore responsibility-laden relationship
example: my wife

8- the “my” as applied to an individual who has a mild authority over the speaker
example: my master

9- the “my” as applied to an individual who has a strong moral or political authourity over the speaker
example: my president

10- the “my” as applied to a group with casual authourity over the speaker
example: my team

11- the “my” as applied to a group with strong moral and/or political authourity over the speaker
example: my country

12- the “my” as applied to God, moral laws, religions, and spiritual truths
example: my doctrine

13: the “my” as applied to craftsmanship, meaning items that one made but does not actually own
example: my painting

There are thirteen different senses of the word “my” used here but with the possible exception of the thirteenth sense, all of these senses fall into either the category of possession, authority, association, or subordination. Words could be produced for each one of the thirteen senses or else simply for these four categories. Either way, however, it is important to recongize the many different ways in which we use this word and how few of them actually imply authority.