entry
thou
/ðaʊ/Archaic singular second-person subject pronoun
From Proto-Indo-European tu (second-person singular pronoun).
from Proto-Indo-European *túh₂ (“you, thou”).
from Old English þū
from Old English þū
from Middle English thou, tho, thogh, thoue, thouȝ, thow, thowe, tou, towe, thu, thue, thugh, tu, you (Northern...
Word Ancestry
from Proto-Indo-European *túh₂ (“you, thou”).
from Old English þū
from Old English þū
from Middle English thou, tho, thogh, thoue, thouȝ, thow, thowe, tou, towe, thu, thue, thugh, tu, you (Northern...
Long before English acquired the socially convenient all-purpose “you,” it had a sharply singular thou, inherited from the tiny pronoun *túh. That same ancient speck of language appears in Latin tu, Spanish tú, French tu, German du, and Welsh ti—an astonishing family resemblance scattered across Europe. In English, “you” began as a plural form used for respect toward superiors, and by about 1450 thou could sound insulting when aimed at an inferior, though parents, lovers, Quakers, and religious writers kept it alive. The grammar became wonderfully visible: thou art, thou hast, and thou dost, with the verb wearing its little -(e)st badge. Today “thou” may sound like a stained-glass window speaking, but it is really an ancient linguistic fingerprint: one small word that still connects an English speaker to Latin tu and Sanskrit-era pronouns.
The Story
Long before English acquired the socially convenient all-purpose “you,” it had a sharply singular thou, inherited from the tiny pronoun *túh. That same ancient speck of language appears in Latin tu, Spanish tú, French tu, German du, and Welsh ti—an astonishing family resemblance scattered across Europe. In English, “you” began as a plural form used for respect toward superiors, and by about 1450 thou could sound insulting when aimed at an inferior, though parents, lovers, Quakers, and religious writers kept it alive. The grammar became wonderfully visible: thou art, thou hast, and thou dost, with the verb wearing its little -(e)st badge. Today “thou” may sound like a stained-glass window speaking, but it is really an ancient linguistic fingerprint: one small word that still connects an English speaker to Latin tu and Sanskrit-era pronouns.
Modern Usage
A humorous archaic way to address someone, especially in mock-religious speech
Notable References
- Urban Dictionary entries describing mock-holy usage and Northern English dialect use
Kin & Kindred
From 'tu'·second-person singular pronoun
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia
Wiktionary