thine
- the possessive case of thou1 used as a predicate adjective, after a noun or without a noun.
- the possessive case of thou1 used as an attributive adjective before a noun beginning with a vowel or vowel sound: thine eyes; thine honor.Compare thy.
- that which belongs to thee: Thine is the power and the glory.
Origin of thine
thou1
- 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.
- (used by the Friends) a familiar form of address of the second person singular.
- to address as “thou.”
- to use “thou” in discourse.
Origin of thou1
Examples from the Web for thine
Contemporary Examples
For my sake turn again to life and smile, nerving thy heart and trembling hand to do something to comfort other hearts than thine.
Obama: A Story of ResilienceSeptember 12, 2011
He also liked to say, without a trace of self-consciousness, “To thine own self be true.”
Sometimes Memoirs, Especially by Our Own Kin, Tell Us More Than They IntendLouisa Thomas
June 16, 2011
Historical Examples
It may be his right and duty, but certes it is none of thine.
The White CompanyArthur Conan Doyle
But, oh, these wild words of thine are worse to mine ears than aught which you could say of me.
The White CompanyArthur Conan Doyle
"This plaint is thine, as I learn, brother Ambrose," said he.
The White CompanyArthur Conan Doyle
I thought that mayhap it might be as to who should have this feather-bed of thine.
The White CompanyArthur Conan Doyle
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.
An Explanation of Luther's Small CatechismJoseph Stump
thine
- archaic
- (preceding a vowel)of, belonging to, or associated in some way with you (thou)thine eyes
- (as pronoun)thine is the greatest burden
Word Origin
thou1
- archaic, dialect refers to the person addressed: used mainly in familiar address or to a younger person or inferior
- (usually capital) refers to God when addressed in prayer, etc
Word Origin
thou2
- one thousandth of an inch. 1 thou is equal to 0.0254 millimetre
- informal short for thousand
Word Origin and History for thine
pron.
Old English þin, possessive pronoun (originally genitive of þu "thou"), from Proto-Germanic *thinaz (cf. Old Frisian, Old Saxon thin, Middle Dutch dijn, Old High German din, German dein, Old Norse þin), from PIE *t(w)eino-, suffixed form of second person singular pronomial base *tu-. A brief history of the second person pronoun in English can be found here; see also thou.
thou
pron.
2nd nominative singular personal pronoun, Old English þu, from Proto-Germanic *thu (cf. Old Frisian thu, Middle Dutch and Middle Low German du, Old High German and German du, Old Norse þu, Gothic þu), from PIE *tu-, second person singular pronoun (cf. Latin tu, Irish tu, Welsh ti, Greek su, Lithuanian tu, Old Church Slavonic ty, Sanskrit twa-m).
Superseded in Middle English 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" (mid-15c.).
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 English can be found here.