Thou (?), pron. [Sing.:
nom. Thou; poss. Thy (?) or
Thine (?); obj. Thee (?).
Pl.: nom. You (?);
poss. Your (?) or Yours (?);
obj. You.] [OE. thou, þu, AS.
ðū, ðu; akin to OS. & OFries. thu, G.,
Dan. & Sw. du, Icel. þū, Goth. þu,
Russ. tui, Ir. & Gael. tu, W. ti, L. tu, Gr.
sy`, Dor. ty`, Skr. tvam.
√185. Cf. Thee, Thine, Te Deum.] The
second personal pronoun, in the singular number, denoting the person
addressed; thyself; the pronoun which is used in addressing persons in the
solemn or poetical style.
Art thou he that should come?
Matt.
xi. 3.
☞ "In Old English, generally, thou is the language of a lord
to a servant, of an equal to an equal, and expresses also companionship,
love, permission, defiance, scorn, threatening: whilst ye is the
language of a servant to a lord, and of compliment, and further expresses
honor, submission, or entreaty." Skeat.
☞ Thou is now sometimes used by the Friends, or Quakers, in
familiar discourse, though most of them corruptly say thee instead
of thou.
Thou, v. t. To address as thou,
esp. to do so in order to treat with insolent familiarity or
contempt.
If thou thouest him some thrice, it shall not be
amiss.
Shak.Thou, v. i. To use the words thou
and thee in discourse after the manner of the Friends.
[R.]