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thou - 9 dictionary results
thou
1
[th
ou] 
,pronoun, singular, nominative thou; possessive thy or thine; objective thee; plural, nominative you or ye; possessive your or yours; objective you or ye; verb –pronoun
| 1. | Archaic (except in some elevated or ecclesiastical prose). the personal pronoun of the second person singular in the nominative case (used to denote the person or thing addressed): Thou shalt not kill. |
| 2. | (used by the Friends) a familiar form of address of the second person singular. |
–verb (used with object)
| 3. | to address as “thou.” |
–verb (used without object)
| 4. | to use “thou” in discourse. |
Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE thū; c. G, MD du, ON thū, Goth thu, OIr tú, Welsh, Cornish ti, L tū, Doric Gk tý, Lith tù, OCS ty; akin to Skt tvam; (v.) late ME thowen, deriv. of the pronoun
bef. 900; ME; OE thū; c. G, MD du, ON thū, Goth thu, OIr tú, Welsh, Cornish ti, L tū, Doric Gk tý, Lith tù, OCS ty; akin to Skt tvam; (v.) late ME thowen, deriv. of the pronoun
thou
2 [thou] ,–noun, plural thous, (as after a numeral) thou. Slang.
) thou. Slang. | one thousand dollars, pounds, etc. |
Origin:
1865–70; by shortening
1865–70; by shortening
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To thou
| thou 1 (thou) pron. Used to indicate the one being addressed, especially in a literary, liturgical, or devotional context. [Middle English, from Old English thū, second person nominative sing. personal pron.; see tu- in Indo-European roots.] |
| thou 2 (thou) n. Slang A thousand, especially of dollars. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Thou
Thou\, pron. [Sing.: nom. Thou; poss. Thyor Thine; obj. Thee. Pl.: nom. You; poss. Youror Yours; obj. You.] [OE. thou, [thorn]u, AS. [eth][=u], [eth]u; akin to OS. & OFries. thu, G., Dan. & Sw. du, Icel. [thorn][=u], Goth. [thorn]u, Russ. tui, Ir. & Gael. tu, W. ti, L. tu, Gr. sy`, Dor. ty`, Skr. tvam. [root]185. Cf. Thee, Thine, Te Deum.] The second personal pronoun, in the singular number, denoting the person addressed; thyself; the pronoun which is used in addressing persons in the solemn or poetical style. Art thou he that should come? --Matt. xi. 3. Note: "In Old English, generally, thou is the language of a lord to a servant, of an equal to an equal, and expresses also companionship, love, permission, defiance, scorn, threatening: whilst ye is the language of a servant to a lord, and of compliment, and further expresses honor, submission, or entreaty." --Skeat. Note: Thou is now sometimes used by the Friends, or Quakers, in familiar discourse, though most of them corruptly say thee instead of thou.Thou
Thou\, v. t. To address as thou, esp. to do so in order to treat with insolent familiarity or contempt. If thou thouest him some thrice, it shall not be amiss. --Shak.Thou
Thou\, v. i. To use the words thou and thee in discourse after the manner of the Friends. [R.]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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thou
2nd nominative singular personal pronoun, O.E. þu, from P.Gmc. *thu (cf. O.Fris. thu, M.Du., M.L.G. du, O.H.G., Ger. du, O.N. þu, Goth. þu), from PIE *tu-, second person singular pronoun (cf. L. tu, Ir. tu, Welsh ti, Gk. su, Lith. tu, O.C.S. ty, Skt. twa-m). Superseded in M.E. by plural form you (from a different root), but retained in certain dialects (e.g. Philadelphia Quakers). The plural at first was used in addressing superior individuals, later also (to err on the side of propriety) strangers, and ultimately all equals. By c.1450 the use of thou to address inferiors gave it a tinge of insult unless addressed by parents to children, or intimates to one another. Hence the verb meaning "to use 'thou' to a person" (c.1440).
"Avaunt, caitiff, dost thou thou me! I am come of good kin, I tell thee!"["Hickscorner," c.1530]A brief history of the second person pronoun in Eng. can be found here.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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| thou thousand |
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
