thou
1
[ th ou ]
/ ðaʊ /
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
Words nearby thou
Definition for thou (2 of 2)
thou
2
[ thou ]
/ θaʊ /
noun, plural thous, (as after a numeral) thou. Slang.
one thousand dollars, pounds, etc.
Origin of thou
2
First recorded in 1865–70; by shortening
Example sentences from the Web for thou
British Dictionary definitions for thou (1 of 2)
thou
1
/ (ðaʊ) /
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
British Dictionary definitions for thou (2 of 2)
thou
2
/ (θaʊ) /
noun plural thous or thou
one thousandth of an inch. 1 thou is equal to 0.0254 millimetre
informal short for thousand