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thou

1

[ thou ]

pronoun

possessive: your or yoursplural: you or yepossessive: thy or thineobjective: you or yesingular: thouobjective: thee
  1. Archaic except in some elevated or ecclesiastical prose. the second person singular subject pronoun, equivalent to modern you (used to denote the person or thing addressed):

    Thou shalt not kill.

  2. (used by Quakers ) a familiar form of address of the second person singular:

    Thou needn’t apologize.



verb (used with object)

  1. to address as “thou,” especially during an era of historical English when “thou” was distinguished as an informal form of you:

    It would have been scandalous for household staff to thou the lord of the manor.

verb (used without object)

  1. to use “thou” in discourse:

    There are still Quakers who thou as a matter of custom.

thou

2

[ thou ]

noun

, Slang.
, plural thous, (as after a numeral) thou.
  1. one thousand dollars, pounds, etc.

thou

1

/ ðaʊ /

pronoun

  1. archaic.
    refers to the person addressed: used mainly in familiar address or to a younger person or inferior
  2. usually capital refers to God when addressed in prayer, etc


thou

2

/ θaʊ /

noun

  1. one thousandth of an inch. 1 thou is equal to 0.0254 millimetre
  2. informal.
    short for thousand

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Word History and Origins

Origin of thou1

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English thū; cognate with German, Middle Dutch du, Old Norse thū, Gothic thu, Old Irish tú, Welsh, Cornish ti, Latin tū, Doric Greek tý, Lithuanian tù, Old Church Slavonic ty; akin to Sanskrit tvam; (verb) late Middle English thowen, derivative of the pronoun

Origin of thou2

First recorded in 1865–70; by shortening

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Word History and Origins

Origin of thou1

Old English thū; related to Old Saxon thū, Old High German du, Old Norse thū, Latin tū, Doric Greek tu

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Example Sentences

In the Old Testament, God tells King David that he cannot build the temple because “Thou has been a man of war and has shed blood.”

From Time

What we would like to do to eliminate or reduce poverty is pass a law that says, “Thou shalt not be poor” or “We shall not have poor families.”

In an arms races to prove they are holier than thou, rabbis add more and more prohibitions and prerequisites.

Three times,” he says angrily, “thou shalt betray me ere the cock crows.

Officials say thou-sands of International school boys may have crossed paths with William Vahey.

Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee.

Honour the physician for the need thou hast of him: for the most High hath created him.

Solely over one man therein thou hast quite absolute control.

For it is better that thy children should ask of thee, than that thou look toward the hands of thy children.

In the time when thou shalt end the days of thy life, and in the time of thy decease, distribute thy inheritance.

Forget it not: for there is no returning, and thou shalt do him no good, and shalt hurt thyself.

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