thou

¹ American  

[thou] / ðaʊ /

pronoun

SINGULAR

thou

POSSESSIVE

thy, thine

OBJECTIVE

thee

PLURAL

you, ye

POSSESSIVE

your, yours

OBJECTIVE

you, ye

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 byQuakers ) a familiar form of address of the second person singular.

   Thou needn’t apologize.

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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 American  

[thou] / θaʊ /

noun

Slang.

PLURAL

thous

PLURAL

thou

1. one thousand dollars, pounds, etc.

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thou ¹ British  

/ 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

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thou ² British  

/ 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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Etymology

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

Example Sentences

He offered words of wisdom for Thanksgiving: “Always do thy duty, which is best, leave unto the Lord the rest.”

From Los Angeles Times

“Words cannot express what your music has meant to me. Thank you for everything, and fare thee well, indeed.”

From Los Angeles Times

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus declares of judgment as prison, “Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Faulting language used by some liberals as “holier than thou,” Obama argued that Democrats could remain true to their principles while respecting those with whom they disagreed.

From Los Angeles Times

While it reads similarly to past statements on loving thy neighbor and concern about keeping families together, the first point this time notably focused on “obeying the law.”

From Los Angeles Times