thou
1[ thou ]
/ ðaʊ /
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pronoun, singular, nominative thou;possessive thy or thine;objective thee;plural, nominative you or ye;possessive your or yours;objective you or ye.
verb (used with object)
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)
to use “thou” in discourse: There are still Quakers who thou as a matter of custom.
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Question 1 of 7
Let’s start with some etymology: What are the origins of the typographical word “bracket”?
First appeared around 1750, and is related to the French word “braguette” for the name of codpiece armor.
First appeared in 1610, based on the French word “baguette” for the long loaf of bread.
First appeared in 1555, and is related to the French word “raquette” for a netted bat.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT Origin of thou
1First 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
Words nearby thou
thot, Thoth, Thotmes I, Thotmes II, Thotmes III, thou, though, thought, thought disorder, thought experiment, thoughtful
Definition for thou (2 of 2)
thou2
[ thou ]
/ θaʊ /
noun, plural thous, (as after a numeral) thou.Slang.
one thousand dollars, pounds, etc.
Origin of thou
2First recorded in 1865–70; by shortening
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for thou
British Dictionary definitions for thou (1 of 2)
thou1
/ (ðaʊ) /
pronoun (subjective)
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 for thou
Old English thū; related to Old Saxon thū, Old High German du, Old Norse thū, Latin tū, Doric Greek tu
British Dictionary definitions for thou (2 of 2)
thou2
/ (θaʊ) /
noun plural thous or thou
one thousandth of an inch. 1 thou is equal to 0.0254 millimetre
informal short for thousand
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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