THOU

thou. Thou, pron. the second person, the person to whom we speak

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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. Art thou he that should come? Matt. xi. 3. ☞ “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. ☞ Thou is now sometimes used by the Friends, or Quakers, in familiar discourse, though most of them corruptly say thee instead of thou.