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thou

thou

808 9.9
An old form of you used when speaking to one person
  • pronoun
  • /ðaʊ/
  • Archaic
translation icon :
  • "go sell what thou hast and give to the poor... and follow me."
  • thou shalt
  • thou art
  • thou hast

And you've heard the phrase probably of do what thou wilt, do whatever you want.

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Examples

  • Oh no, thou art a goddess amongst men.

  • What, my good Lord, thou canst not say I did it.

  • "I am not well whilst thou art far;

  • Go thou and sin no more.

  • I can tell thee what thou should do there.

  • Blessed art art thou among women.

  • "Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's wife."

  • The first commandment states: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

    Academic text (1999)
  • The third commandment states: "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain."

    Academic text (1999)
  • Go thou and sin no more.

Synonyms

tha
vsthou
  • UK
1 9.9

A dialect form of you used for one person in parts of Northern England and Scotland

is an archaic second-person singular subject form no longer used in modern speech

Idioms

holier-than-thou
  • Offensive
5 8.7

Acting as if morally better than other people

holier-than-thou
  • Offensive
1 8.2

A person who acts as if morally better than other people

Surface Forms

thou subject case

Etymology

Thou is an old word for 'you' used to speak to one person. It comes from Old English þu and is like German du, so it was the usual way to address a single person in older English.