GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

last match results

Found 3 definitions

1.       
   thou , pron. [Sing.: nom. Thou; poss. Thy  or Thine ; obj. Thee . Pl.: nom. You ; poss. Your  or Yours ; obj. You.] [OE. thou, þu, AS. ðū, ðu; akin to OS. & OFries. thu, G., Dan. & Sw. du, Icel. þū, Goth. þu, Russ. tui, Ir. & Gael. tu, W. ti, L. tu, Gr. σύ, Dor. τύ, Skr. tvam.  √185.  Cf. Thee, Thine, Te Deum.] The second personal pronoun, in the singular number, denoting the person addressed; thyself; the pronoun which is used in addressing persons in the solemn or poetical style.
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   Art thou he that should come?
   Matt. xi. 3.
   
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   ☞ “In Old English, generally, thou is the language of a lord to a servant, of an equal to an equal, and expresses also companionship, love, permission, defiance, scorn, threatening: whilst ye is the language of a servant to a lord, and of compliment, and further expresses honor, submission, or entreaty.”
   Skeat.
   
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   ☞ Thou is now sometimes used by the Friends, or Quakers, in familiar discourse, though most of them corruptly say thee instead of thou.
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2.       
   Thou, v. t. To address as thou, esp. to do so in order to treat with insolent familiarity or contempt.
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   If thou thouest him some thrice, it shall not be amiss.
   Shak.
   
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3.       
   Thou, v. i. To use the words thou and thee in discourse after the manner of the Friends. [R.]
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