Thou

Thou

The word thou ( /ðaʊ/ in most dialects) is a second person singular pronoun in English. It is now largely archaic, having been replaced in almost all contexts by you. It is used in parts of Northern England and by Scots (/ðu/). Thou is the nominative form; the oblique/objective form is thee (functioning as both accusative and dative), and the possessive is thy or thine. When thou is the grammatical subject of a finite verb in the indicative mood, the verb form ends on t, most often with the ending -(e)st (e.g., "thou goest"; "thou dost"), but in some cases just -t (e.g., "thou art"; "thou shalt"). In Middle English, thou was sometimes abbreviated by putting a small "u" over the letter thorn: þͧ.

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Famous quotes containing the word thou:

    “Oh, fear not in a world like this,
    And thou shalt know erelong,
    Know how sublime a thing it is
    To suffer and be strong.”
    —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882)

    “Come, thou shalt go home, and we’ll have flesh for holidays, fish for fasting-days, and moreo’er puddings and flap-jacks, and thou shalt be welcome.”
    —William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

    “Drink not the third glass, which thou canst not tame,
    When once it is within thee.”
    —George Herbert (1593–1633)