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definitions

you

[yoo; unstressed yoo, yuh]

pronoun, possessive your or yours, objective you, plural you.

noun, plural yous.

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.
the nature or character of the person addressed: Try to discover the hidden you.

Origin of you

before 900; Middle English; Old English ēow (dative, accusative of gē ye1); cognate with Old Frisian ju, Old Saxon iu, Dutch u, Old High German iu, eu
Can be confusedewe yew you (see usage note at the current entry)

Usage note

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
[th ou]

pronoun, singular, nominative thou; possessive thy or thine; objective thee; plural, nominative you or ye; possessive your or yours; objective you or ye.

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.

verb (used with object)

to address as “thou.”

verb (used without object)

to use “thou” in discourse.

Origin of thou

1
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, OCS ty; akin to Sanskrit tvam; (v.) late Middle English thowen, derivative of the pronoun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for you

you

pronoun (subjective or objective)

refers to the person addressed or to more than one person including the person or persons addressed but not including the speakeryou know better; the culprit is among you
Also: one refers to an unspecified person or people in generalyou can't tell the boys from the girls
mainly US a dialect word for yourself or yourselvesyou should get you a wife now See yourself

noun

informal the personality of the person being addressed or something that expresses itthat hat isn't really you
you know what or you know who a thing or person that the speaker cannot or does not want to specify

Word Origin for you

Old English ēow, dative and accusative of gē ye 1; related to Old Saxon eu, Old High German iu, Gothic izwis

xref

See me 1

thou

1

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

thou

2

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 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for you

Old English eow, dative and accusative plural of þu (see thou), objective case of ge, "ye" (see ye), from West Germanic *iuwiz (cf. Old Norse yor, Old Saxon iu, Old Frisian iuwe, Middle Dutch, Dutch u, Old High German iu, iuwih, German euch), from PIE *ju.

Pronunciation of you and the nominative form ye gradually merged from 14c.; the distinction between them passed out of general usage by 1600. Widespread use of French in England after 12c. gave English you the same association as French vous, and it began to drive out singular nominative 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. Through 13c. English also retained a dual pronoun ink "you two; your two selves; each other."

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.

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with you

you

In addition to the idioms beginning with you

  • you better believe it
  • you bet your ass
  • you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink
  • you can say that again
  • you can't take it with you
  • you can't win
  • you can't win 'em all
  • you could cut it with a knife
  • you don't say
  • you get what you pay for
  • you just don't get it
  • you know
  • you know something?
  • you name it
  • you never can tell
  • young at heart
  • you said it
  • you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours

also see:

  • all right for you
  • as you please
  • before you can say Jack Robinson
  • before you know it
  • between you and me
  • bite the hand that feeds you
  • do you read me
  • for shame (on you)
  • fuck you
  • good for (you)
  • how does that grab you
  • how do you do
  • if you can't beat them, join them
  • I'll be seeing you
  • I told you so
  • look before you leap
  • my heart bleeds for you
  • no matter how you slice it
  • not if you paid me
  • now you're talking
  • pay as you go
  • practice what you preach
  • quit while you're ahead
  • same to you
  • says who (you)
  • screw you
  • that's ___ for you
  • what do you know
  • what do you take me for
  • what have you
  • what of it (what's it to you)
  • what's eating you
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.