thy
- the possessive case of thou (used as an attributive adjective before a noun beginning with a consonant sound): thy table.
Origin of thy
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 thy
Contemporary Examples
Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee.
Thy lost to the big money funneled into the race by conservative super PACs.
Indian or non-Indian,” he said, what counted was that everyone practiced the simple credo of “love thy neighbor.
Confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy liberty in law Not to be confused with self-deport!
Fool: All thy other titles, thou hast given away; that thou wast born with.
Historical Examples
If it were not so, his hand would have written in reply to thy kind epistle.
PhilotheaLydia Maria Child
Why wast thou, so richly gifted of the gods, to be taken from us in thy youth?
PhilotheaLydia Maria Child
“One of thy old doctors in barnacles, I trow,” said Stephen.
The Armourer's PrenticesCharlotte M. Yonge
But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart.
The Conquest of FearBasil King
But the margin has it "of thy servant," which does not agree with the person of the verb.
A Theological-Political Treatise [Part II]Benedict of Spinoza
thy
- (usually preceding a consonant) archaic belonging to or associated in some way with you (thou)thy goodness and mercy Compare thine
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 thy
pron.
possessive pronoun of 2nd person singular, late 12c., reduced form of þin (see thine), originally used before consonants except -h-. In 15c., used before vowels, too.
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.