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:
“If thou and nature can so gently part,
The stroke of death is as a lover’s pinch,
Which hurts, and is desired.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“O Grub Street! how do I bemoan thee,
Whose graceless children scorn to own thee!
... Yet thou hast greater cause to be
Ashamed of them, than they of thee.”
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)
“I know thou’rt full of love and honesty,
And weigh’st thy words before thou giv’st them breath.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)