ye

1
[ yee ]

pronoun
  1. Archaic, except in some elevated or ecclesiastical prose Literary, or British Dialect.

    • (used nominatively as the plural of thou especially in rhetorical, didactic, or poetic contexts, in addressing a group of persons or things): O ye of little faith; ye brooks and hills.

    • (used nominatively for the second person singular, especially in polite address): Do ye not know me?

    • (used objectively in the second person singular or plural): I have something to tell ye. Arise, the enemy is upon ye!

  2. (used with mock seriousness in an invocation, mild oath, or the like): Ye gods and little fishes!

Origin of ye

1
before 900; Middle English; Old English gē; cognate with Dutch gij,German ihr,Old Norse ēr,Gothic jus

Words Nearby ye

Other definitions for ye (2 of 2)

ye2
[ thee; spelling pronunciation yee ]

definite articleArchaic.

usage note For ye

The word ye2 , as in Ye Olde Booke Shoppe, is simply an archaic spelling of the definite article the. The use of the letter Y was a printer's adaptation of the thorn, þ, the character in the Old English alphabet representing the th- sounds (th) and (th̸) in Modern English; Y was the closest symbol in the Roman alphabet. Originally, the form would have been rendered as or ye. The pronunciation [yee] /yi/ today is a spelling pronunciation.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use ye in a sentence

  • He set down as the second the golden rule, “Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so to them.”

    The Giant of the North | R.M. Ballantyne
  • By a voice he saith: Hear me, ye divine offspring, and bud forth as the rose planted by the brooks of waters.

  • Decide about it, ye that are learned in the ethnographic distinctions of our race—but heaven defend us from the Bourbonnaises!

  • "I've brought ye thet Injun I wuz tellin' ye uv," she said, with a wave of her hand toward Alessandro.

    Ramona | Helen Hunt Jackson
  • Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly of heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

    Solomon and Solomonic Literature | Moncure Daniel Conway

British Dictionary definitions for ye (1 of 3)

ye1

/ (jiː, unstressed ) /


pronoun
  1. archaic, or dialect refers to more than one person including the person addressed but not including the speaker

  2. Also: ee () dialect refers to one person addressed: I tell ye

Origin of ye

1
Old English gē; related to Dutch gij, Old Norse ēr, Gothic jus

British Dictionary definitions for ye (2 of 3)

ye2

/ (ðiː, spelling pron jiː) /


determiner
  1. a form of the, used in conjunction with other putative archaic spellings: ye olde oake

Origin of ye

2
from a misinterpretation of the as written in some Middle English texts. The runic letter thorn (Þ, representing th) was incorrectly transcribed as y because of a resemblance in their shapes

British Dictionary definitions for ye (3 of 3)

ye3

the internet domain name for
  1. Yemen

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012