you definition | Dictionary.com

you

[yoo; unstressed yoo, yuh]

pronoun, possessive your or yours, objective you, plural you; noun, plural yous.

–pronoun

1.	the pronoun of the second person singular or plural, used of the person or persons being addressed, in the nominative or objective case: You are the highest bidder. It is you who are to blame. We can't help you. This package came for you. Did she give you the book?

2.	one; anyone; people in general: a tiny animal you can't even see.

3.	(used in apposition with the subject of a sentence, sometimes repeated for emphasis following the subject): You children pay attention. You rascal, you!

4.	Informal. (used in place of the pronoun your before a gerund): There's no sense in you getting upset.

Archaic.

a.	yourself; yourselves: Get you home. Make you ready.

b.	a pl. form of the pronoun ye.

–noun

6.	something or someone closely identified with or resembling the person addressed: Don't buy the bright red shirt—it just isn't you. It was like seeing another you.

7.	the nature or character of the person addressed: Try to discover the hidden you.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE ēow (dat., acc. of gē ye ¹ ); c. OFris ju, OS iu, D u, OHG iu, eu

Usage note:
In American English the pronoun you has been supplemented by additional forms to make clear the distinction between singular and plural. You-all, often pronounced as one syllable, is a widespread spoken form in the South Midland and Southern United States. Its possessive is often you-all's rather than your. You-uns (from you + ones) is a South Midland form most often found in uneducated speech; it is being replaced by you-all. Youse (you + the plural -s ending of nouns), probably of Irish-American origin, is most common in the North, especially in urban centers like Boston, New York, and Chicago. It is rare in educated speech. You guys is a common informal expression among younger speakers; it can include persons of both sexes or even a group of women only. See also me.

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To you

you (yōō)

pron.

Used to refer to the one or ones being addressed: I'll lend you the book. You shouldn't work so hard. See Regional Notes at you-all, you-uns.
Used to refer to an indefinitely specified person; one: You can't win them all.
Nonstandard Used reflexively as the indirect object of a verb: You might want to get you another pair of shoes. See Note at me.

[Middle English, from Old English ēow, dative and accusative of gē, ye, you; see yu- in Indo-European roots.]

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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You

You\ ([=u]), pron. [Possess. Your ([=u]r) or Yours ([=u]rz); dat. & obj. You.] [OE. you, eou, eow, dat. & acc., AS. e['o]w, used as dat. & acc. of ge, g[=e], ye; akin to OFries. iu, io, D. u, G. euch, OHG. iu, dat., iuwih, acc., Icel. y[eth]r, dat. & acc., Goth. izwis; of uncertain origin. [root]189. Cf. Your.] The pronoun of the second person, in the nominative, dative, and objective case, indicating the person or persons addressed. See the Note under Ye.

Ye go to Canterbury; God you speed. --Chaucer.

Good sir, I do in friendship counsel you To leave this place. --Shak.

In vain you tell your parting lover You wish fair winds may waft him over. --Prior.

Note: Though you is properly a plural, it is in all ordinary discourse used also in addressing a single person, yet properly always with a plural verb. "Are you he that hangs the verses on the trees, wherein Rosalind is so admired ?" --Shak. You and your are sometimes used indefinitely, like we, they, one, to express persons not specified. "The looks at a distance like a new-plowed land; but as you come near it, you see nothing but a long heap of heavy, disjointed clods." --Addison. "Your medalist and critic are much nearer related than the world imagine." --Addison. "It is always pleasant to be forced to do what you wish to do, but what, until pressed, you dare not attempt." --Hook. You is often used reflexively for yourself of yourselves. "Your highness shall repose you at the tower." --Shak.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : you

Spanish: tú, vosotros, vosotras, usted, ustedes (sujeto); se, uno (sujeto impersonal); te, ti, os (complemento); la, le, lo, los, las (complemento directo); le, les (complemento indirecto); contigo (with you),

German: du, ihr, Sie, dir, euch, Ihnen, dich, euch, Sie,

Japanese: あなた(たち)は

More Translations »

you

O.E. eow, dat. and acc. pl. of þu (see thou), objective case of ge, "ye" (see ye), from W.Gmc. *iuwiz (cf. O.N. yor, O.S. iu, O.Fris. iuwe, M.Du., Du. u, O.H.G. iu, iuwih, Ger. euch), from PIE *ju. Pronunciation of you and the nom. form ye gradually merged from 14c.; the distinction between them passed out of general usage by 1600. Widespread use of Fr. in England after 12c. gave Eng. you the same association as Fr. vous, and it began to drive out sing. nom. thou, originally as a sign of respect (similar to the "royal we") when addressing superiors, then equals and strangers, and ultimately (by c.1575) becoming the general form of address. For a more thorough discussion of this, go here. Words for "you" in Japanese include anata (formal, used by a wife when addressing her husband), kimi (intimate, used among friends) or the rougher omae (oh-MAI-aye), used when talking down to someone or among male friend showing their manliness. Dial. you-uns, for you-ones, first noted 1810 in Ohio.

"Children learn from the slaves some odd phrases ... as ... will you all do this? for, will one of you do this?" ["Arthur Singleton" (Henry C. Knight), "Letters from the South and West," 1824]

you

In addition to the idioms beginning with you, also see all right for you; as you please; before you can say Jack Robinson; before you know it; between you and me; bite the hand that feeds you; do you read me; for shame (on you); fuck you; good for (you); how does that grab you; how do you do; if you can't beat them, join them; I'll be seeing you; I told you so; look before you leap; my heart bleeds for you; no matter how you slice it; not if you paid me; now you're talking; pay as you go; practice what you preach; quit while you're ahead; same to you; says who (you); screw you; that's ___ for you; what do you know; what do you take me for; what have you; what of it (what's it to you); what's eating you.

you

type of Chinese bronze container for wine that resembled a bucket with a swing handle and a knobbed lid. It was produced during the Shang (18th-12th century BC) and early Zhou (1111-c. 900 BC) periods

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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