Thou
History: From Middle English thou, tho, thogh, thoue, thouȝ, thow, thowe, tou, towe, thu, thue, thugh, tu, you (Northern England), ðhu, þeou, þeu, þou (the latter three early Southwest England), from Old English þū, from Proto-West Germanic *þū, from Proto-Germanic *þū (“you (singular), thou”), from Proto-Indo-European *túh₂ (“you, thou”). cognates and usage evolution The English word is cognate with Saterland Frisian du (“thou”), West Frisian do (“thou”), dialectal Dutch du, dou, douw (“thou”), Limburgish doe (“thou”), Low German du (“thou”), dialectal German dau (“thou”), German du (“thou”), Danish du (“thou”), Swedish du (“thou”), Norwegian Nynorsk du (“thou”), Faroese tú (“thou”), Icelandic þú (“thou”), Gothic 𐌸𐌿 (þu, “thou”), Latin tu, Ancient Greek σύ (sú) (Doric Ancient Greek τύ (tú), Greek εσύ (esý)), Irish tú, Lithuanian tu, Old Church Slavonic тꙑ (ty), Welsh ti, Armenian դու (du), Albanian ti, Persian تو (to), Gujarati તું (tũ), Hindi तू (tū). The informality of thou and its replacement by ye in formal situations date only to the 14th century and come from French influence, since French (as many European languages, but not Old English) uses the second-person plural (vous) instead of the second-person singular (tu) as a mark of politeness or respect.
Origin: pron
Definition: 1. Nominative singular of ye (“you”).
Art-ı Artificial Mind Analysis
BETAOrigin and History
Thou is a pronoun of Old English origin, derived from the Proto‑Germanic *þu*, which itself comes from the Proto‑Indo‑European root *tu* meaning “you.” In Early Middle English it appeared as thou, thee, or thy depending on case. The word survived the Great Vowel Shift in form but not in function: it was relegated to the singular second‑person nominative, while ye (from *ewe*) took on the plural role. By Early Modern English, thou fell out of everyday use in most dialects, replaced by the more formal you, yet it persisted in certain literary and religious contexts, especially within the King James Bible (1611) where it is used to address both singular and plural subjects with varying degrees of intimacy or authority.
Depth of Meaning
Beyond its grammatical role, thou carries a rich tapestry of affective nuance. In contemporary perception it evokes an archaic, almost lyrical tone that can signal reverence, intimacy, or solemnity. When a speaker addresses someone as thou, it often feels like a direct, personal appeal—an acknowledgment of the individual's distinct personhood. In religious texts it can denote divine address or prophetic warning; in poetry it may suggest an elevated, almost mythic register. The word also carries a subtle tension: while it is singular, its usage in plural contexts (as in the KJV “thou shalt”) can create a sense of collective unity or communal command. Thus, thou is not merely a pronoun; it is a linguistic vessel that carries history, reverence, and a sense of the otherworldly.
Usage Example
“Thou art the very substance of my heart’s desire.” – William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 1, Scene 4.
This was produced by an artificial mind: capricious, and not entirely serious.
Most-read poems featuring this word
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The Crack-Up F. Scott Fitzgerald360 reads
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This is it? Bülent Somay108 reads
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The Raven Edgar Allan Poe104 reads
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Wake Up, Sir! Jonathan Ames98 reads
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The Face of Garbo Roland Barthes94 reads
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The Waste Land Thomas Stearns Eliot93 reads
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Childe Roland To The Dark Tower Came Robert Browning89 reads
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Sone 151 William Shakespeare85 reads
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Rabbi Ben Ezra Robert Browning78 reads
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İstanbul Michel Butor74 reads