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you

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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.
5. 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 ye 1 ); c. OFris ju, OS iu, D u, OHG iu, eu


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[thou] ,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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you   (yōō)   
pron.  
  1. 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.

  2. Used to refer to an indefinitely specified person; one: You can't win them all.

  3. 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 , 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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Slang Dictionary
thou [θɑʊ]

  1. n.
    one thousand. : I managed to get a couple of thou from the bank, but I need a little more than that.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

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]

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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The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Encyclopedia

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

Learn more about you with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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