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Miguel Victorino
What are the meanings of the following words: thy, thee and thou?
I have read these words in some poems but I couldn't find their meanings in any dictionary.
Could you please help me? :)
Dec 29, 2018 1:17 AM
Answers · 7
2
they are old fashioned ways of saying 'you' and 'your'
December 29, 2018
1
In old-fashioned English, "thee," "thou," and "thy" were used for the second person singular familiar form. In modern English, they have been lost and "you" and "your" are used for everything.
In a famous 1611 English translation of the Bible, the King James version, Psalm 23 contains the words "I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me." ("porque tú estarás conmigo. Tu vara y tu cayado me infundirán aliento.") In a modern translation: "I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."
Because we no longer have a distinction between the familiar and formal forms of address, familiarity and formality are indicated in other ways. My friends call me "Dan," in very formal circumstances I'm called "Mr. Smith," but either way I am called "you." In the 1600s, family and close friends would have addressed me as "thou" or "thee" rather than "you."
December 29, 2018
1
Some Spanish dictionaries include these words.
Gran Diccionario Oxford
thee | AmE ði, BrE ðiː |
pronoun
(archaic) te; (after prepositions) ti
thy | AmE ðaɪ, BrE ðʌɪ |
adjective
(archaic) tu
▸ Thy will be done
hágase tu voluntad
thou | AmE ðaʊ, BrE ðaʊ |
pronoun
(archaic or literary) tú; (Religion) vos (archaic)
December 29, 2018
1
You need a standard dictionary, not a student dictionary of common words and not a pocket dictionary of common words.
New Oxford American Dictionary
thy | ðaɪ | (also thine before a vowel)
possessive determiner
archaic or dialect form of your: honor thy father and thy mother.
thee | ði |
pronoun [second person singular]
archaic or dialect form of you, as the singular object of a verb or preposition: we beseech thee O lord. Compare with thou1.
thou | ðaʊ |
pronoun [second person singular]
archaic or dialect form of you, as the singular subject of a verb: thou art fair, O my beloved. Compare with thee.
December 29, 2018
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Miguel Victorino
Language Skills
English, French, Spanish
Learning Language
English, French
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