theepron.n.²

Brit.

/ðiː/, U.S.

/ði/

Forms:

α. Old English þæ (rare), Old English ðæ (rare), Old English ðo (transmission error), Old English–early Middle English ðe, Old English–1500s þe, late Old English (early Middle English south-west midlands) þeo, early Middle English þ (perhaps transmission error), early Middle English ðie, Middle English þee, Middle English þhe, Middle English þi (rare), Middle English–1500s the, Middle English– thee, late Middle English þei (northern), late Middle English thie, 1600s they (Irish English); English regional 1800s th' (Northumberland), 1800s theh (Yorkshire), 1800s thie (Derbyshire), 1800s thur (Devon), 1800s– tha, 1800s– the, 1800s– they, 1800s– thi (chiefly northern), 1800s– tho (Lancashire); Scottish pre-1700 1700s the, pre-1700 1700s– thee, pre-1700 1900s– thie, 1800s thei.

β. Old English–Middle English te (chiefly after d, t), late Middle English de; English regional (chiefly northern) 1800s– ta, 1800s– te, 1800s– tee, 1900s– t', 1900s– teh, 1900s– tey; Scottish 1800s die (Shetland), 1800s t’ee, 1800s– dee (Shetland and Orkney), 1900s– de (Orkney).

γ. Chiefly northern, north-east midlands, and Norfolk in later use early Middle English se (perhaps transmission error), early Middle English ze, Middle English ȝe, Middle English ye, Middle English yee, Middle English yhe, Middle English yi.

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.

Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian thī , dī , (enclitic -tī ), (West Frisian dy ), Old Dutch thi (Middle Dutch di ), Old Saxon thī , thi (Middle Low German dī ), all of which occur in both accusative and dative functions; ultimately < the same Indo-European base as thou pron. Old High German, Gothic, and the earliest stages of the North Germanic languages generally show distinct forms in the accusative and dative, showing final -k (after the High German second consonant shift -ch ) in the accusative, and -r in the dative; such forms are also found more sporadically in other West Germanic languages (see below); these forms have parallels among the first-person pronouns, and may have arisen by analogy with the first person forms in Germanic, or may reflect a parallel earlier history. The forms without final consonant (i.e. Old English þē , Old Frisian thī , etc.) are probably developed from these forms (probably originally resulting from loss of -r in the dative forms, subsequently levelled to accusative functions), although it is possible that they may have existed earlier alongside the forms with final consonant as unstressed variants. (For fuller discussion of these questions see E. Seebold Das System der Personalpronomina in den frühgermanischen Sprachen (1984).) Compare similarly forms at me pron.¹ and discussion at that entry.Distinctive forms of the accusative in Old English and other Germanic languages. Old English also had an accusative form þec , ðec , cognate with Old Dutch thich , dich , thig (Middle Dutch dig ), Old Saxon thik (Middle Low German dik , dek ), Old High German dih , tih , thih , (rarely) thi (Middle High German, German dich ), Old Icelandic þik , þig , Norn (Shetland) dogh , doch , Norwegian deg , Old Swedish þik , tik , tigh (Swedish dig ), Old Danish thik (Danish dig ); in Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish these historically accusative forms have been extended also to dative functions; compare also (reflecting an ultimately related form with differing stem vowel) Gothic þuk . In Old English, þec , ðec survived in Anglian (in Mercian also as þæc , ðæc and in Northumbrian also as ðeh , ðech , apparently showing lenition of the final consonant in low stress); in West Saxon the form is attested chiefly in sources influenced by non-West Saxon models (especially verse). Compare:eOE Rubrics & Direct. for Use of Forms of Service (Cambr. Univ. Libr.) in A. B. Kuypers Bk. of Cerne (1902) 3 Ðonne gehereð he ðec ðorh hiora ðingunge.eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iii. x. 186 Þonne cume ic to ðe & þec þonon ham lædo.OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Mark v. 31 Uides turbam comprimentem te : ðu gesiist ðæt ðreat ðringende ðec.OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Luke i. 35 Spiritus sanctus superueniet in te : gaast halig ofercymeð on ðeh [OE Rushw. ðec].OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Matt. iv. 6 Si filius dei es mitte te deorsum : Gif sunu godes arð ðu send ðeh [OE Rushw. þec] ufa hidune.OE Beowulf (2008) 946 Nu ic, Beowulf, þec, secg bet[e]sta, me for sunu wylle freogan on ferhþe. Distinctive forms of the dative in other Germanic languages. A number of Germanic languages also have forms with a (different) final consonant for the dative: Old Dutch thir , Old High German dir , tir , thir , (rarely) di , thi (Middle High German dir , German dir ), Old Icelandic þér , Old Swedish þär (also þä ); compare also (reflecting an ultimately related form with differing stem vowel) Gothic þus . History of forms within English. As with other pronouns, the form history of this word is affected by its frequent position in low stress; compare e.g. regional α. and β. forms reflecting a reduced vowel, such as th' , tha , ta , and see also discussion at thou pron. and n.¹ Unstressed forms of the pronoun can be difficult to distinguish from thou pron. and n.¹, and it is probable that use as subject (see sense A. 3) partly arose by reanalysis of unstressed forms of thou pron. and n.¹ and partly by analogy with ye pron., the 2nd person plural subject pronoun, which shows the same vowel (compare the converse development of you pron.). It has also been suggested that, as an enclitic, in some areas the word merged with ye pron. (compare Forms 2a at that entry). The modern standard pronunciation reflects a form with a stressed vowel, but the voicing of the initial dental fricative has been levelled from unstressed forms; compare the parallel development of thou pron. and fuller discussion at that entry. The β. forms apparently originally developed by assimilation to a final dental or sibilant of the preceding word; compare discussion of β. forms at thou pron. and n.¹ They are attested earliest in Old English mit te , which also shows assimilation of the final consonant of mid prep.¹ (compare quot. eOE at sense A. 1c, and see discussion at mid prep.¹ and adv.¹). With the γ. forms compare γ. forms at thou pron. and n.¹ and discussion at that entry. For the principles of allocation of Middle English and Older Scots quotations to this entry and ye pron. respectively (compare branch A. II. at this entry and branch II. at ye pron.) see discussion at you pron. History of use of forms. See discussion at thou pron. and n.¹ and at you pron., adj., and n.

A. pron. The objective case of the personal pronoun thou (see thou pron.), representing the Old English accusative and dative. Now chiefly regional or archaic: see etymological note at thou pron. and n.¹

I. As object.

a. As direct object of a verb (originally accusative).

ΚΠ

eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) (2009) I. xiv. 445 Ic ascige ðe..hwy þu swa manigfeald yfel hæfde?

OE West Saxon Gospels: Mark (Corpus Cambr.) v. 31 Þu gesyxst þas menigu þe ðringende [c1200 Hatton þe þrungen þe; L. comprimentem te].

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 670 To beldenn. & to frofrenn þe Ȝiff he þe seþ forrgloppnedd.

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 79 Hwa haueð ihurt þe.

a1300 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 66 Þer þe schulen engles grete.

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Matt. v. 41 Who euere constrayneth thee a thousand pacis [MS placis], go thou with hym other tweyne.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 5064 I saghe þe neuer be-for þis day.

c1450 Jacob's Well (1900) 258 Þin enmye, Þe feende, schal pursewe þe, & sle þe in soule.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Sam. viii. 7 They haue not refused the, but me.

1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Svpper of the Lorde f. cxxvi^v But chiefly are we bound to praise thee.

1607 B. Barnes Divils Charter sig. G1^v I coniure thee by these aforesaid names, That thou receaue no phantismatike illusions.

a1660 in J. T. Gilbert Contemp. Hist. Ireland (1880) II. 157 They [= thy] credulitie bringe they [= thee] within distance of his reache.

1700 J. Dryden tr. Homer 1st Bk. Ilias in Fables 198 We bear thee on our Backs, and mount thee on the Throne.

1785 W. Cowper Task v. 460 Thee I account still happy.

1842 Ld. Tennyson Locksley Hall in Poems (new ed.) II. 95 Dost thou love me, cousin?..I have loved thee long.

1881 W. Besant & J. Rice Chaplain of Fleet I. ii. 26 I do not ask thee to enter my service, or to receive wages.

1922 E. R. Eddison Worm Ouroboros iv. 48 These be mysteries whereon but to think may snatch thee into peril.

2004 D. Peace GB84 312/1 I could have thee for theft and trespass.

b. As indirect object (originally dative); ‘to thee’. Also as object of an impersonal verb, or a verb with non-referential it as subject (now only in fare thee well; see fare v.¹ 9b).what is thee: see what pron., adv., int., adj.¹, conj., and n. Phrases 1h.

ΚΠ

eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) cxix. 3 Quid detur tibi aut quid adponatur tibi a lingua dolosa : hwet bið sald ðe oððe hwet bið toseted ðe from tungan faecenre?

OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) viii. 53 Hwæt þincð þe þæt þu sy?

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 5264 Forr ȝiff þu lufesst godd tet birrþ. Wiþþ gode dedess shæwenn.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 210 Hiderr amm icc sennd to þe Þiss blisse þe to kiþenn.

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 12 Ich wile schawi þe..wat is god.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 20185 I sai it te [Fairf. þe].

a1450 in T. Austin Two 15th-cent. Cookery-bks. (1888) 6 As þe semyth best.

c1500 (?a1437) Kingis Quair (1939) cxxix Gif the ne list on lufe thy vertew set.

1584 R. Wilson Three Ladies of London sig. Dii^v What auauntageth it thee to win the world, and lose thy soule withall?

a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) i. ii. 249 I haue..Told thee no lyes, made thee no mistakings.

1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd ii. 376 All these..come to pay Thee homage.

1703 N. Rowe Fair Penitent v. i. 57 The wrongs I ha' done thee.

1743 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Odes (new ed.) I. i. xxxviii. 1 I tell thee, boy, that I detest The grandeur of a Persian feast.

1795 C. Lloyd Poems Var. Subj. 104 I'll be thy guest, and give thee mental health.

1808 W. Scott Marmion vi. xiv. 337 And, Douglas, more I tell thee here,..I tell thee, thou 'rt defied!

1864 J. S. Le Fanu Uncle Silas II. viii. 124 I'll gi' thee another.

1922 E. R. Eddison Worm Ouroboros xxxiii. 434 Thou hast crystals and perspectives can show thee things afar off.

2001 Daily Mail (Nexis) 4 Dec. 35 I'm gooint gi thee a good gooin o'er.

c. As the object of a preposition.

ΚΠ

eOE Let. to Edward the Elder (Sawyer 1445) in F. E. Harmer Sel. Eng. Hist. Docs. 9th & 10th Cent. (1914) 32 Ic wæs æt Cippanhomme mit te.

OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) iii. 26 Se ðe mid þe [OE Lindisf. ðec mið; L. tecum] wæs begeondan Iordane..nu he fullaþ & ealle hig cumaþ to him.

a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 35 (MED) Ðu miht ȝecnawen ȝif godd wuneð on ðe.

a1300 Passion our Lord 138 in R. Morris Old Eng. Misc. (1872) 41 (MED) Ne schal me neuer schomye, louerd, for þeo.

c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 2730 Be þou bonaire, When his houndes comen to þe.

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Isa. xiv. 11 Vnder thee strouwed shal be a moȝte [L. subter te sternetur tinea].

c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) 327 My forwarde wyth þe I festen on þis wyse.

a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 49 There may no knyght ryde thys way but yf he juste with the?

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Isa. lx. A His glory shal be sene in the.

1599 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet iv. iv. 72 By cruell, cruell, thee quite ouerthrowne.

1611 Bible (King James) Psalms lxxiii. 27 They that are farre from thee, shall perish.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 35 To thee I call, But with no friendly voice, and add thy name.

1733 A. Pope Ess. Man iii. 31 Is it for thee the Lark ascends and sings?

1793 R. Burns Let. 20 Feb. (2003) II. 184 I look up to thee.

1820 P. B. Shelley To Skylark in Prometheus Unbound 201 Hail to thee, blithe spirit!

1865 W. S. Banks List Provinc. Words Wakefield 34 Shut t' heck after theh.

1885 R. Bridges Eros & Psyche vi. xxiii. 75 ‘But ere he parted’ said she, ‘he conferred On thee the irrecoverable boon.’

1928 D. H. Lawrence Lady Chatterley's Lover xii. 213 What I get when I'm i'side thee, and what tha gets when I'm i'side thee.

a1954 N. Coward Old Sc. Air in B. Day N. Coward: Compl. Lyrics (1998) 271/3 He'll go his ways Over lochs and braes Wi' nary a thought of thee.

2000 Deseret News (Salt Lake City) (Nexis) 9 Oct. a7 As we are assembled in this great general conference of thy church,..we bow our heads in reverence before thee.

2. reflexive.

a. As direct object, ‘thyself’.

ΚΠ

OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) iv. 6 Asend þe þonne nyðer [L. mitte te deorsum].

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 82 Hald þe inþi cheambre.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iii. 33 Mi Sone, schrif thee now forthi: Hast thou be Malencolien?

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 529 (MED) If þow wil þe vm-think, þow may þam find with litul suink.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 26575 Þou mai noȝt wasshe þee quite.

c1450 tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Lyfe Manhode (Cambr.) (1869) 171 (MED) Ther inne..thou mustest bathe thee for to hele thi woundes.

a1529 J. Skelton Magnyfycence (?1530) sig. Aiiii^v Go shake the dogge.

1560 Bible (Geneva) Matt. xvi. 23 Get thee behinde me, Satan.

1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III i. iii. 143 Hie thee to hell..Thou Cacodemon.

1611 Bible (King James) 1 Kings xvii. 3 Get thee hence, and turne thee Eastward.

1678 T. Otway Friendship in Fashion iii. 26 Get thee gone for an Arch-wagg.

1685 C. Cotton tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. (1869) xix. 68 Shell thee with steel or brass,..Death from the casque will pull thy cautious head.

1706 N. Rowe Ulysses iii. i. 1362 Remember well to plant thee at that Door.

1781 W. Cowper Anti-Thelypthora 189 Guard thee well, expect no feigned attack.

1819 P. B. Shelley Cenci i. iii. 19 Now get thee from my sight.

1864 S. Laycock Lancs. Rhymes 28 Afore we go t'bed that mun wesh thee a bit.

1912 J. Malham-Dembleby Orig. Tales & Ballads Yorks. Dial. 74 Get thi scrawmed intul t' trei.

1920 J. Farnol Geste of Duke Jocelyn 220 Hush thee and listen!

2010 Harper's Bazaar (Nexis) 1 Apr. 217 Silence thee, hip haters.

b. As indirect object, ‘to or for thyself’.

ΚΠ

OE Genesis B 518 Nim þe þis ofæt on hand.

a1225 ( Ælfric's Homily De Initio Creaturae (Vesp. A.xxii) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 225 Wrec þe [OE Royal þe] nu an arc þreo hund fedme lang.

c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) 333 Of uche best þat berez lyf busk þe a cupple.

c1450 (a1400) Chevalere Assigne l. 237 in W. H. French & C. B. Hale Middle Eng. Metrical Romances (1930) 868 (MED) Thenne were þou noȝt ryȝ[t]lye sworne..Whenne þou tokest þe þy crowne.

1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) i. l. 395 Thow sall haiff leiff to fysche and tak the ma.

1553 J. Bradford Serm. Repentaunce sig. Cviij Get thee Gods lawe as a glasse to toote in.

1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing ii. i. 16 Thou wilt neuer get thee a husband, if thou be so shrewd of thy tongue.

1611 Bible (King James) 1 Kings xx. 25 Number thee an armie like the armie that thou hast lost.

1788 ‘Della Crusca’ Ambitious Vengeance iii. ii in Poetry of World I. 159 I much lament, The deep regret, and anguish thou prepar'st thee.

1901 R. Kipling Kim 273/2 Get thee a ticket.

2002 Morning Star (Wilmington, N. Carolina) 22 Oct. d5/1 Go get thee a post-race pedicure.

c. As the object of a preposition.

ΚΠ

OE Homily: Invention of Cross (Auct. F.4.32) in M.-C. Bodden Old Eng. Finding of True Cross 93 Þurh þine þrowunga..þu getuge to þe ealle þa sawla þe ic ær þurh me beswican hæfde.

a1350 (a1250) Harrowing of Hell (Harl.) (1907) 103 (MED) Heouene ant erþe tac to þe; Soules in helle lef þou me.

a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Exod. xx. 4 Thou schalt not make to thee a grauun ymage.

c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme lxviii. 51 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 79 Captyues store thou hast led up with thee Whose gathered spoiles to men thou wilt impart.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xi. 101 Take to thee from among the Cherubim Thy choice of flaming Warriours.

1713 R. Steele in Guardian 12 Aug. 2/2 When thou art converted, thou must take to thee a Scripture-Name.

1767 S. Osborn in S. Hopkins Mem. Sarah Osborn (1799) 350 That grand and awful moment, when thou who hast taken on thee the human nature, shall come in thy glory.

1849 E. Bulwer-Lytton King Arthur (new ed.) II. x. lxxxviii. 154 Choose as thou wilt for thee and for thy band.

1890 Railway Conductor 1 June 388 Thou shalt not take unto thee any pies.

1920 D. H. Lawrence Lost Girl xi. 280 ‘Eh, tha can ta'e th' titty-bottle wi' thee,’ said the labourer.

1976 D. Clowney in Hymns II 14 Clearer still we see Thy hand in Man whom Thou hast made for Thee.

d. Following certain verbs of motion and posture (frequently in the imperative), esp. sit (cf. sit v. 27b).

ΚΠ

eOE Prose Charm: Against Elf-Sickness (Royal 12 D.xvii) in G. Storms Anglo-Saxon Magic (1948) 222 Sting þin seax on þa wyrte. Læt stician þær on, gang þe aweg.

OE St. Euphrosyne (Julius) in W. W. Skeat Ælfric's Lives of Saints (1900) II. 344 Nu wille ic þæt þu sitte þe sylf on þire cytan.]

OE West Saxon Gospels: Mark (Corpus Cambr.) v. 34 Þa cwæð se Hælend: Dohtor þin geleafa þe hale gedyde. Ga þe on sibbe & beo of ðisum hal.

1561 T. Hoby tr. B. Castiglione Courtyer sig. N.iiii^v Whan thou art bed to a mariage, go and sit thee downe in the lowest rowme.

?1593 G. Fletcher Licia 2 Come drinke with me, and sitt thee still and sleepe.

1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing iii. i. 1 Good Margaret runne thee to the parlour, There shalt thou find my cosin.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) iv. viii. 13 Come thee on.

1694 W. Haworth Absolute Election 24 Hast thou any Thought comes into thee of the Love of God?..sit thee down alone, weigh it, examine it, [etc.].

1730 H. Fielding Tom Thumb ii. i. 14 Come, my Fair Consort, sit thee down by me.

1796 Monthly Mag. July 449 Sit thee down upon his knees.

1820 J. Keats Fancy in Lamia & Other Poems 123 Sit thee by the ingle, when The sear faggot blazes bright.

1892 J. Wright Gram. Dial. of Windhill 120 Kum for^əd lad ^ən sit ðe dān.

1922 D. H. Lawrence England my England 138 Aren't goin' ter come in an' sit thee down, Alfred?

1974 W. Foley Child in Forest 216 ‘Thee bist a cough drop sure enough,’ she chortled, ‘come thee on in an' 'ave a cup o'tay.’

2010 Huddersfield Daily Examiner (Nexis) 20 Oct. 32 His wife..looked up at him and said ‘Sit thee dahn, lad, it's tahm tha wor snuffed.’

II. As subject.

3. For the subjective pronoun thou. Cf. me pron.¹ 5.Common as predicate or part of a compound subject, and following conjunctions such as as and than.In later use chiefly English regional (esp. southern and midlands): see Eng. Dial. Dict. (1905) VI. 81/2 and C. Upton et al. Surv. Eng. Dial.: Dict. & Gram. (1994) 486; also in use among Quakers (see etymological note at thou pron. and n.¹) and more generally as an archaism.Some Middle English and regional quots. may exemplify representations of an unstressed form of thou, or reflect merger of such forms with the object forms: see further discussion in etymology section.

ΚΠ

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 72 Wite þe nu ful wel, his eare is eauer towart þe.

c1300 (?c1225) King Horn (Laud) (1901) 732 (MED) Sone bote þe flette [c1300 Cambr. þu flitte], Wit swerd hy wole þe hette.

c1330 (?c1300) Reinbrun (Auch.) in J. Zupitza Guy of Warwick (1891) 649 (MED) No forþer þow ne gon, Boute þe ȝeue me bataile anon.

c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Trin. Cambr. B.15.17) (1975) B. x. l. 132 (MED) Lord, yworshiped be þe.

c1450 (c1370) G. Chaucer A.B.C (Cambr. Ff.5.30) (1878) l. 108 O tresoreere of bountee to mankynde, þee whom god ches to mooder for humblesse.

c1480 (a1400) St. Thomas Apostle 617 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 146 Þe venys þat my god wrath wil be with me.

a1590 Marriage Wit & Wisdom (1846) 12 Didest the nere se man before?

1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 i. ii. 113 Howe agrees the Diuell and thee about thy soule.

1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear iv. 179 And yet I would not bee thee Nuncle.

1687 W. Hitchcock in Jrnl. Friends' Hist. Soc. 4 74 If thee canst sell 250 acres of it & y^e house.

1735 P. Collinson Let. 24 Jan. in J. Bartram Corr. (1992) 4 Thee has nothing more to do than to gather branches or spriggs of the plants..with their Seed Vessels fully formed.

1797 A. M. Bennett Beggar Girl V. ii. 63 Thee hadst been sucking the monkey.

1819 Ld. Byron Mazeppa iv. 101 None Can less have said or more have done Than thee, Mazeppa!

1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin I. xiii. 200 ‘What does thee want, father?’ said Rachel.

1859 ‘G. Eliot’ Adam Bede I. 11 Thee't like thy dog, Gyp.

1861 E. Waugh Birtle Carter's Tale 15 An' mind te tells no lies abeawt th' lad i' thy talk.

1922 D. A. Mackenzie Cromarty Dial. in Rymour Club Misc. III. 76 'Ar are thee gae'an?

1964 Friend 10 Apr. 453/1 Perhaps thee has noticed the comment on this point in our Friends Journal on February 15.

1986 Lakeland Dial. Sept. 31 Is thee an' me marras, than? she ax't.

1999 B. Griffith in Zippy Ann. (2000) No. 1. 89 (caption) Pray Sir, what meanest thee?

B. n.²

1. The person being addressed; the personality, or an aspect of the personality, of the one addressed. Cf. thou n.¹ 2, you n. 2.

ΘΚΠ

the world > people > person > [noun] > other person

elsewhoc1542

customer1590

concreature1592

thee1609

somebody else1648

you1690

the mind > language > speech > conversation > addressing or speaking to > [noun] > one who is addressed

thee1609

thou1693

1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets vi. sig. B2 That's for thy selfe to breed an other thee.

1834 T. Carlyle Sartor Resartus i. ix. 21/1 A warm moveable House, a Body round thy Body, wherein that strange Thee of thine sat snug.

1868 E. FitzGerald tr. Rubáiyát Omar Khayyám (ed. 2) xxxvii. 8 Then of the Thee in Me who works behind The Veil of Universe, I cried to find A Lamp to guide me through the darkness.

1924 L. De Waters Finished Kingdom ii. 92 Or else there is no All-in-All, no Thee, no me, to be.

2010 A. Pinch Thinking about Other People in 19th-cent. Brit. Writing iii. 111 The ‘thee’ who is being addressed and thought about.

2. (An instance of) the word thee. Frequently in collocation with thou (cf. thou n.¹ 1). thee and thou: used to designate a person, esp. a Quaker, who uses the second person pronouns thee and thou instead of you.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > a part of speech > pronoun > [noun] > personal pronoun > specific

thouc1400

yec1400

you1655

thee1657

royal we1821

1657 J. Stalham Reviler Rebuked ii. 292 This language of Thou and Thee when it is given to God, it is given reverently.

1694 W. Penn Brief Acct. Rise Quakers ii. 44 They also used the Plain Language of Thou and Thee to a single Person.

a1720 W. Sewel Hist. Quakers (1795) I. ii. 142 Their nonconformity with the Vulgar Salutation, and their saying Thou and Thee.

1774 J. Adams Diary 7 Sept. (1961) II. 126 This plain Friend, and his plain, tho pretty Wife, with her Thee's and Thou's, had provided us the most Costly Entertainment.

1847 H. W. Longfellow Evangeline ii. v. 13 Her ear was pleased with the Thee and Thou of the Quakers.

1896 Peterson Mag. 6 265/1 Whose head-master was Benjamin Hallowell, a ‘thee’ and ‘thou’ Quaker of the strictest sect.

1926 Amer. Speech 1 638/1 Even in my boyhood in New England I heard very few Quakers who habitually said thee.

2004 Providence (Rhode Island) Jrnl. (Nexis) 16 Dec. l25 It's Shakespeare without the thees and thous.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2012; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

† theev.¹

/θiː/

Forms: Old English þion, Old English–Middle English þeon, Middle English þen, þe, Middle English–Middle English then, Middle English–1500s the, Middle English thene, theen, Middle English–1500s þee, (1500s thye), Middle English– thee. past tense Old English þah, þag, þæh, Old English–Middle English þeah, Old English–Middle English þeh, Middle English þeaȝh, Middle English þeȝ, þeu, (Middle English thee); plural Old English þungon; þigon; þugon. past participle Middle English þungen; þiȝen; þoȝen, þowen, þowuen, Middle English thowen.

Etymology: Old English þíon , þéon , contracted < *þíhan ( < *þíohan , *þéohan ) = Old Saxon thîhan , thêh —thigun , githigan (Dutch gedigen ), Old High German (gi)dîhan , dêh —digun , digan (Middle High German (ge)dîhen , German gedeihen ), Gothic þeihan —þáih —þaihun —þaihans to thrive < Old Germanic *þiŋ χ-, earlier *þeŋ χ- (*þaŋ χ-, *þuŋg- ) of the 3rd ablaut series < Indo-European root tenk . With the elimination of the nasal before χ the verb came in prim. German to be assimilated to the 1st ablaut series (ī —ai —i —i ); but traces of the primitive conjugation survive in the Old Saxon past participle githungan , and the Old English forms þungon , -en . The Old English contracted form þéon began to follow the inflectional type of téon , < *teuhan (tee v.¹), whence þéah, þugon, þogen.

Obsolete.

a. intransitive. To grow; to thrive, prosper (archaic in 16th cent. use).

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > prosperity > prosper or flourish [verb (intransitive)]

theec888

i-thee971

bloomc1175

flower?c1225

soundfula1300

fructifya1325

timea1325

to bear the bloom1330

flourisha1340

prosperc1350

thrive?a1366

blossom1377

cheve1377

burgeona1382

likec1400

upthrivec1440

avail1523

fadge1573

to bear a great, high or lofty sail1587

blow1610

to be (also stand) in state1638

fatten1638

sagaciate1832

to be going strong1855

c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. xix Þeah hwa wexe..and þeo on eallum welum.

OE Beowulf 8 He..weox under wolcnum weorðmyndum þah.

c1000 Ælfric Homilies II. 104 His wæstmas genihtsumlice þugon.

c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) ii. 52 Se hælend þeah on wisdome and on ylde.

a1050 Liber Scintill. lxxxi. 221 Sume soþlice on ægþrum þeoþ.

c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 161 And hit wacxs and wel þeaȝh.

c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 177 Here tuder swiðe wexeð and wel þieð.

c1275 Laȝamon Brut 24272 Þe borh suþþe ne þeh.

1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 240 Þe child wax & wel iþeȝ [v.rr. thee, ythei].

1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 7086 Þis chyld wax so wel & þeu.

c1300 Beket 149 He fond his sone..Þeoinge [pr. Theonige] fair and manliche.

13.. Pol. Rel. & L. Poems 238 Ho þat me louit ssal þe no more.

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2012 Vnder ioseph his welðe ðeg.

a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 30 Ȝef he beþ þryuen ant þowen in þeode.

c1400 Gamelyn 234 Come þou ones in my hond þou shalt neuer the.

c1426 J. Audelay Poems (1931) 4 Þat schal haue grace to þryue and þene.

c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 490/1 Theen, or thryvyn, vigeo.

1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) f. clxvi^v [He] is seldome sen to thye.

a1529 J. Skelton Magnyfycence (?1530) sig. Ciii Abusyon, forsothe I hyght..that vseth me He can not thee.

1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) f. 8 Geeue ouer to sudgerne, that thinkest to thee.

b. In imprecations and asseverations.

ΚΠ

?a1366 Romaunt Rose 1067 Wel yvel mote they thryve and thee, And yvel achyved mote they be.

1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. v. 228 Ac I swere now, so the ik, þat synne wil I lete.

c1386 G. Chaucer Canon's Yeoman's Prol. & Tale 376 By cause our firne was nat maad of Beech, That is the cause, and oother noon, so theech.

a1400 Sir Beues 2753 A swor, alse he moste þen, He nolde him neiþer hire ne sen.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 5150 ‘Sais þou soth?’ ‘yaa, sa mot i the’.

c1425 Seven Sag. 1548 (P.) Quod the kyng, ‘So mot I the, Astow wylt hyt schal bee.’

c1450 Mankind 297 in Macro Plays 12 Gode let hym neuer thene! [rhyme sene].

1586 J. Ferne Blazon of Gentrie 22 Full ill mought they both thee.

1598 E. Guilpin Skialetheia sig. B3 So mote I thee thou art not faire, A plaine brownetta when thou art at best.

?a1600 Old Robin of Portingale xiv, in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads (1885) II. iii. 241/1 If it be not true,..God let me neuer thye.

17.. in Ritson Songs (1794) II. 132 He that spares, ne'er mote he thee.

a1800 in Edinb. Mag. June (1819) 527/1 But wearie fa' the fairy wicht..May he never thee.

2. transitive. To cause to prosper; to prosper. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > promotion or help forward > promote or help forward (a person, plan, etc.) [verb (transitive)]

furtherc888

fremeOE

filsenc1175

fosterc1175

speeda1240

theec1250

advancec1300

upraisea1340

increasec1380

forthbearc1400

exploit?a1439

aid1502

to set forward(s)1530

farther1570

facilite1585

to set forthward1588

forward1598

facilitate1599

accommodate1611

succeed1613

bespeed1615

to set (a person) on (also upon) his (also her, etc.) legs1632

subserve1645

push1758

support1779

leg up1817

c1250 Prayer in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) I. 22 Þe lavird þieh þe in hevirilk place.

Derivatives

† thowen adj. (also þoȝen, þowun) Obsolete thriven; grown up, adult.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > source or principle of life > age > maturity > [adjective]

oldlyOE

rankOE

ripedOE

thowenc1200

waxena1325

ripea1393

thrivena1400

provect1531

big1552

mellowed1575

adulted1645

full agea1658

adult1742

ripeful?1836

unyouthful1859

untender1879

maturish1885

c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 39 Mid-niht ðe bilimpeð to frumberdligges, hanecrau þe bilimpeð þowuene men.

c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 41 Ðese herdes..wakieð biforen euen, þanne þe childre wuel þewuen..he þo ful þoȝene turneð to godes bihouþe.

c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 127 Alse wat se he was þoȝen on wintre and on wastme.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online June 2021).

单词	thee
释义	† theen.¹ Etymology: < thee v.¹ Obsolete. rare. evil thee: Evil speed; bad luck. (Cf. theedom n. b.) ΘΚΠ the mind > language > malediction > [noun] cursea1050 malisonc1300 woea1425 evil thee1509 thunderbolt1559 vae1559 thunder-crack1577 ban1590 wish1597 anathema1603 imprecation1603 execration1605 thunder-clap1610 deprecationa1661 effulminationa1670 Maranatha1769 winze1786 cuss1829 sailor's blessing1876 blessing1878 sailor's farewell1937 1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) f. xxxvii Downe he comys with an euyll thee. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online June 2021). theepron.n.² Brit. /ðiː/, U.S. /ði/ Forms: α. Old English þæ (rare), Old English ðæ (rare), Old English ðo (transmission error), Old English–early Middle English ðe, Old English–1500s þe, late Old English (early Middle English south-west midlands) þeo, early Middle English þ (perhaps transmission error), early Middle English ðie, Middle English þee, Middle English þhe, Middle English þi (rare), Middle English–1500s the, Middle English– thee, late Middle English þei (northern), late Middle English thie, 1600s they (Irish English); English regional 1800s th' (Northumberland), 1800s theh (Yorkshire), 1800s thie (Derbyshire), 1800s thur (Devon), 1800s– tha, 1800s– the, 1800s– they, 1800s– thi (chiefly northern), 1800s– tho (Lancashire); Scottish pre-1700 1700s the, pre-1700 1700s– thee, pre-1700 1900s– thie, 1800s thei. β. Old English–Middle English te (chiefly after d, t), late Middle English de; English regional (chiefly northern) 1800s– ta, 1800s– te, 1800s– tee, 1900s– t', 1900s– teh, 1900s– tey; Scottish 1800s die (Shetland), 1800s t’ee, 1800s– dee (Shetland and Orkney), 1900s– de (Orkney). γ. Chiefly northern, north-east midlands, and Norfolk in later use early Middle English se (perhaps transmission error), early Middle English ze, Middle English ȝe, Middle English ye, Middle English yee, Middle English yhe, Middle English yi. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian thī , dī , (enclitic -tī ), (West Frisian dy ), Old Dutch thi (Middle Dutch di ), Old Saxon thī , thi (Middle Low German dī ), all of which occur in both accusative and dative functions; ultimately < the same Indo-European base as thou pron. Old High German, Gothic, and the earliest stages of the North Germanic languages generally show distinct forms in the accusative and dative, showing final -k (after the High German second consonant shift -ch ) in the accusative, and -r in the dative; such forms are also found more sporadically in other West Germanic languages (see below); these forms have parallels among the first-person pronouns, and may have arisen by analogy with the first person forms in Germanic, or may reflect a parallel earlier history. The forms without final consonant (i.e. Old English þē , Old Frisian thī , etc.) are probably developed from these forms (probably originally resulting from loss of -r in the dative forms, subsequently levelled to accusative functions), although it is possible that they may have existed earlier alongside the forms with final consonant as unstressed variants. (For fuller discussion of these questions see E. Seebold Das System der Personalpronomina in den frühgermanischen Sprachen (1984).) Compare similarly forms at me pron.¹ and discussion at that entry.Distinctive forms of the accusative in Old English and other Germanic languages. Old English also had an accusative form þec , ðec , cognate with Old Dutch thich , dich , thig (Middle Dutch dig ), Old Saxon thik (Middle Low German dik , dek ), Old High German dih , tih , thih , (rarely) thi (Middle High German, German dich ), Old Icelandic þik , þig , Norn (Shetland) dogh , doch , Norwegian deg , Old Swedish þik , tik , tigh (Swedish dig ), Old Danish thik (Danish dig ); in Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish these historically accusative forms have been extended also to dative functions; compare also (reflecting an ultimately related form with differing stem vowel) Gothic þuk . In Old English, þec , ðec survived in Anglian (in Mercian also as þæc , ðæc and in Northumbrian also as ðeh , ðech , apparently showing lenition of the final consonant in low stress); in West Saxon the form is attested chiefly in sources influenced by non-West Saxon models (especially verse). Compare:eOE Rubrics & Direct. for Use of Forms of Service (Cambr. Univ. Libr.) in A. B. Kuypers Bk. of Cerne (1902) 3 Ðonne gehereð he ðec ðorh hiora ðingunge.eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iii. x. 186 Þonne cume ic to ðe & þec þonon ham lædo.OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Mark v. 31 Uides turbam comprimentem te : ðu gesiist ðæt ðreat ðringende ðec.OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Luke i. 35 Spiritus sanctus superueniet in te : gaast halig ofercymeð on ðeh [OE Rushw. ðec].OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Matt. iv. 6 Si filius dei es mitte te deorsum : Gif sunu godes arð ðu send ðeh [OE Rushw. þec] ufa hidune.OE Beowulf (2008) 946 Nu ic, Beowulf, þec, secg bet[e]sta, me for sunu wylle freogan on ferhþe. Distinctive forms of the dative in other Germanic languages. A number of Germanic languages also have forms with a (different) final consonant for the dative: Old Dutch thir , Old High German dir , tir , thir , (rarely) di , thi (Middle High German dir , German dir ), Old Icelandic þér , Old Swedish þär (also þä ); compare also (reflecting an ultimately related form with differing stem vowel) Gothic þus . History of forms within English. As with other pronouns, the form history of this word is affected by its frequent position in low stress; compare e.g. regional α. and β. forms reflecting a reduced vowel, such as th' , tha , ta , and see also discussion at thou pron. and n.¹ Unstressed forms of the pronoun can be difficult to distinguish from thou pron. and n.¹, and it is probable that use as subject (see sense A. 3) partly arose by reanalysis of unstressed forms of thou pron. and n.¹ and partly by analogy with ye pron., the 2nd person plural subject pronoun, which shows the same vowel (compare the converse development of you pron.). It has also been suggested that, as an enclitic, in some areas the word merged with ye pron. (compare Forms 2a at that entry). The modern standard pronunciation reflects a form with a stressed vowel, but the voicing of the initial dental fricative has been levelled from unstressed forms; compare the parallel development of thou pron. and fuller discussion at that entry. The β. forms apparently originally developed by assimilation to a final dental or sibilant of the preceding word; compare discussion of β. forms at thou pron. and n.¹ They are attested earliest in Old English mit te , which also shows assimilation of the final consonant of mid prep.¹ (compare quot. eOE at sense A. 1c, and see discussion at mid prep.¹ and adv.¹). With the γ. forms compare γ. forms at thou pron. and n.¹ and discussion at that entry. For the principles of allocation of Middle English and Older Scots quotations to this entry and ye pron. respectively (compare branch A. II. at this entry and branch II. at ye pron.) see discussion at you pron. History of use of forms. See discussion at thou pron. and n.¹ and at you pron., adj., and n. A. pron. The objective case of the personal pronoun thou (see thou pron.), representing the Old English accusative and dative. Now chiefly regional or archaic: see etymological note at thou pron. and n.¹ I. As object. 1. a. As direct object of a verb (originally accusative). ΚΠ eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) (2009) I. xiv. 445 Ic ascige ðe..hwy þu swa manigfeald yfel hæfde? OE West Saxon Gospels: Mark (Corpus Cambr.) v. 31 Þu gesyxst þas menigu þe ðringende [c1200 Hatton þe þrungen þe; L. comprimentem te]. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 670 To beldenn. & to frofrenn þe Ȝiff he þe seþ forrgloppnedd. ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 79 Hwa haueð ihurt þe. a1300 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 66 Þer þe schulen engles grete. c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Matt. v. 41 Who euere constrayneth thee a thousand pacis [MS placis], go thou with hym other tweyne. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 5064 I saghe þe neuer be-for þis day. c1450 Jacob's Well (1900) 258 Þin enmye, Þe feende, schal pursewe þe, & sle þe in soule. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Sam. viii. 7 They haue not refused the, but me. 1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Svpper of the Lorde f. cxxvi^v But chiefly are we bound to praise thee. 1607 B. Barnes Divils Charter sig. G1^v I coniure thee by these aforesaid names, That thou receaue no phantismatike illusions. a1660 in J. T. Gilbert Contemp. Hist. Ireland (1880) II. 157 They [= thy] credulitie bringe they [= thee] within distance of his reache. 1700 J. Dryden tr. Homer 1st Bk. Ilias in Fables 198 We bear thee on our Backs, and mount thee on the Throne. 1785 W. Cowper Task v. 460 Thee I account still happy. 1842 Ld. Tennyson Locksley Hall in Poems (new ed.) II. 95 Dost thou love me, cousin?..I have loved thee long. 1881 W. Besant & J. Rice Chaplain of Fleet I. ii. 26 I do not ask thee to enter my service, or to receive wages. 1922 E. R. Eddison Worm Ouroboros iv. 48 These be mysteries whereon but to think may snatch thee into peril. 2004 D. Peace GB84 312/1 I could have thee for theft and trespass. b. As indirect object (originally dative); ‘to thee’. Also as object of an impersonal verb, or a verb with non-referential it as subject (now only in fare thee well; see fare v.¹ 9b).what is thee: see what pron., adv., int., adj.¹, conj., and n. Phrases 1h. ΚΠ eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) cxix. 3 Quid detur tibi aut quid adponatur tibi a lingua dolosa : hwet bið sald ðe oððe hwet bið toseted ðe from tungan faecenre? OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) viii. 53 Hwæt þincð þe þæt þu sy? c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 5264 Forr ȝiff þu lufesst godd tet birrþ. Wiþþ gode dedess shæwenn. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 210 Hiderr amm icc sennd to þe Þiss blisse þe to kiþenn. ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 12 Ich wile schawi þe..wat is god. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 20185 I sai it te [Fairf. þe]. a1450 in T. Austin Two 15th-cent. Cookery-bks. (1888) 6 As þe semyth best. c1500 (?a1437) Kingis Quair (1939) cxxix Gif the ne list on lufe thy vertew set. 1584 R. Wilson Three Ladies of London sig. Dii^v What auauntageth it thee to win the world, and lose thy soule withall? a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) i. ii. 249 I haue..Told thee no lyes, made thee no mistakings. 1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd ii. 376 All these..come to pay Thee homage. View more context for this quotation 1703 N. Rowe Fair Penitent v. i. 57 The wrongs I ha' done thee. 1743 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Odes (new ed.) I. i. xxxviii. 1 I tell thee, boy, that I detest The grandeur of a Persian feast. 1795 C. Lloyd Poems Var. Subj. 104 I'll be thy guest, and give thee mental health. 1808 W. Scott Marmion vi. xiv. 337 And, Douglas, more I tell thee here,..I tell thee, thou 'rt defied! 1864 J. S. Le Fanu Uncle Silas II. viii. 124 I'll gi' thee another. 1922 E. R. Eddison Worm Ouroboros xxxiii. 434 Thou hast crystals and perspectives can show thee things afar off. 2001 Daily Mail (Nexis) 4 Dec. 35 I'm gooint gi thee a good gooin o'er. c. As the object of a preposition. ΚΠ eOE Let. to Edward the Elder (Sawyer 1445) in F. E. Harmer Sel. Eng. Hist. Docs. 9th & 10th Cent. (1914) 32 Ic wæs æt Cippanhomme mit te. OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) iii. 26 Se ðe mid þe [OE Lindisf. ðec mið; L. tecum] wæs begeondan Iordane..nu he fullaþ & ealle hig cumaþ to him. a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 35 (MED) Ðu miht ȝecnawen ȝif godd wuneð on ðe. a1300 Passion our Lord 138 in R. Morris Old Eng. Misc. (1872) 41 (MED) Ne schal me neuer schomye, louerd, for þeo. c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 2730 Be þou bonaire, When his houndes comen to þe. a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Isa. xiv. 11 Vnder thee strouwed shal be a moȝte [L. subter te sternetur tinea]. c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) 327 My forwarde wyth þe I festen on þis wyse. a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 49 There may no knyght ryde thys way but yf he juste with the? 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Isa. lx. A His glory shal be sene in the. 1599 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet iv. iv. 72 By cruell, cruell, thee quite ouerthrowne. View more context for this quotation 1611 Bible (King James) Psalms lxxiii. 27 They that are farre from thee, shall perish. View more context for this quotation 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 35 To thee I call, But with no friendly voice, and add thy name. View more context for this quotation 1733 A. Pope Ess. Man iii. 31 Is it for thee the Lark ascends and sings? 1793 R. Burns Let. 20 Feb. (2003) II. 184 I look up to thee. 1820 P. B. Shelley To Skylark in Prometheus Unbound 201 Hail to thee, blithe spirit! 1865 W. S. Banks List Provinc. Words Wakefield 34 Shut t' heck after theh. 1885 R. Bridges Eros & Psyche vi. xxiii. 75 ‘But ere he parted’ said she, ‘he conferred On thee the irrecoverable boon.’ 1928 D. H. Lawrence Lady Chatterley's Lover xii. 213 What I get when I'm i'side thee, and what tha gets when I'm i'side thee. a1954 N. Coward Old Sc. Air in B. Day N. Coward: Compl. Lyrics (1998) 271/3 He'll go his ways Over lochs and braes Wi' nary a thought of thee. 2000 Deseret News (Salt Lake City) (Nexis) 9 Oct. a7 As we are assembled in this great general conference of thy church,..we bow our heads in reverence before thee. 2. reflexive. a. As direct object, ‘thyself’. ΚΠ OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) iv. 6 Asend þe þonne nyðer [L. mitte te deorsum]. ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 82 Hald þe inþi cheambre. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iii. 33 Mi Sone, schrif thee now forthi: Hast thou be Malencolien? a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 529 (MED) If þow wil þe vm-think, þow may þam find with litul suink. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 26575 Þou mai noȝt wasshe þee quite. c1450 tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Lyfe Manhode (Cambr.) (1869) 171 (MED) Ther inne..thou mustest bathe thee for to hele thi woundes. a1529 J. Skelton Magnyfycence (?1530) sig. Aiiii^v Go shake the dogge. 1560 Bible (Geneva) Matt. xvi. 23 Get thee behinde me, Satan. 1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III i. iii. 143 Hie thee to hell..Thou Cacodemon. View more context for this quotation 1611 Bible (King James) 1 Kings xvii. 3 Get thee hence, and turne thee Eastward. View more context for this quotation 1678 T. Otway Friendship in Fashion iii. 26 Get thee gone for an Arch-wagg. 1685 C. Cotton tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. (1869) xix. 68 Shell thee with steel or brass,..Death from the casque will pull thy cautious head. 1706 N. Rowe Ulysses iii. i. 1362 Remember well to plant thee at that Door. 1781 W. Cowper Anti-Thelypthora 189 Guard thee well, expect no feigned attack. 1819 P. B. Shelley Cenci i. iii. 19 Now get thee from my sight. 1864 S. Laycock Lancs. Rhymes 28 Afore we go t'bed that mun wesh thee a bit. 1912 J. Malham-Dembleby Orig. Tales & Ballads Yorks. Dial. 74 Get thi scrawmed intul t' trei. 1920 J. Farnol Geste of Duke Jocelyn 220 Hush thee and listen! 2010 Harper's Bazaar (Nexis) 1 Apr. 217 Silence thee, hip haters. b. As indirect object, ‘to or for thyself’. ΚΠ OE Genesis B 518 Nim þe þis ofæt on hand. a1225 ( Ælfric's Homily De Initio Creaturae (Vesp. A.xxii) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 225 Wrec þe [OE Royal þe] nu an arc þreo hund fedme lang. c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) 333 Of uche best þat berez lyf busk þe a cupple. c1450 (a1400) Chevalere Assigne l. 237 in W. H. French & C. B. Hale Middle Eng. Metrical Romances (1930) 868 (MED) Thenne were þou noȝt ryȝ[t]lye sworne..Whenne þou tokest þe þy crowne. 1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) i. l. 395 Thow sall haiff leiff to fysche and tak the ma. 1553 J. Bradford Serm. Repentaunce sig. Cviij Get thee Gods lawe as a glasse to toote in. 1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing ii. i. 16 Thou wilt neuer get thee a husband, if thou be so shrewd of thy tongue. View more context for this quotation 1611 Bible (King James) 1 Kings xx. 25 Number thee an armie like the armie that thou hast lost. View more context for this quotation 1788 ‘Della Crusca’ Ambitious Vengeance iii. ii in Poetry of World I. 159 I much lament, The deep regret, and anguish thou prepar'st thee. 1901 R. Kipling Kim 273/2 Get thee a ticket. 2002 Morning Star (Wilmington, N. Carolina) 22 Oct. d5/1 Go get thee a post-race pedicure. c. As the object of a preposition. ΚΠ OE Homily: Invention of Cross (Auct. F.4.32) in M.-C. Bodden Old Eng. Finding of True Cross 93 Þurh þine þrowunga..þu getuge to þe ealle þa sawla þe ic ær þurh me beswican hæfde. a1350 (a1250) Harrowing of Hell (Harl.) (1907) 103 (MED) Heouene ant erþe tac to þe; Soules in helle lef þou me. a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Exod. xx. 4 Thou schalt not make to thee a grauun ymage. c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme lxviii. 51 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 79 Captyues store thou hast led up with thee Whose gathered spoiles to men thou wilt impart. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xi. 101 Take to thee from among the Cherubim Thy choice of flaming Warriours. View more context for this quotation 1713 R. Steele in Guardian 12 Aug. 2/2 When thou art converted, thou must take to thee a Scripture-Name. 1767 S. Osborn in S. Hopkins Mem. Sarah Osborn (1799) 350 That grand and awful moment, when thou who hast taken on thee the human nature, shall come in thy glory. 1849 E. Bulwer-Lytton King Arthur (new ed.) II. x. lxxxviii. 154 Choose as thou wilt for thee and for thy band. 1890 Railway Conductor 1 June 388 Thou shalt not take unto thee any pies. 1920 D. H. Lawrence Lost Girl xi. 280 ‘Eh, tha can ta'e th' titty-bottle wi' thee,’ said the labourer. 1976 D. Clowney in Hymns II 14 Clearer still we see Thy hand in Man whom Thou hast made for Thee. d. Following certain verbs of motion and posture (frequently in the imperative), esp. sit (cf. sit v. 27b). ΚΠ eOE Prose Charm: Against Elf-Sickness (Royal 12 D.xvii) in G. Storms Anglo-Saxon Magic (1948) 222 Sting þin seax on þa wyrte. Læt stician þær on, gang þe aweg. OE St. Euphrosyne (Julius) in W. W. Skeat Ælfric's Lives of Saints (1900) II. 344 Nu wille ic þæt þu sitte þe sylf on þire cytan.] OE West Saxon Gospels: Mark (Corpus Cambr.) v. 34 Þa cwæð se Hælend: Dohtor þin geleafa þe hale gedyde. Ga þe on sibbe & beo of ðisum hal. 1561 T. Hoby tr. B. Castiglione Courtyer sig. N.iiii^v Whan thou art bed to a mariage, go and sit thee downe in the lowest rowme. ?1593 G. Fletcher Licia 2 Come drinke with me, and sitt thee still and sleepe. 1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing iii. i. 1 Good Margaret runne thee to the parlour, There shalt thou find my cosin. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) iv. viii. 13 Come thee on. View more context for this quotation 1694 W. Haworth Absolute Election 24 Hast thou any Thought comes into thee of the Love of God?..sit thee down alone, weigh it, examine it, [etc.]. 1730 H. Fielding Tom Thumb ii. i. 14 Come, my Fair Consort, sit thee down by me. 1796 Monthly Mag. July 449 Sit thee down upon his knees. 1820 J. Keats Fancy in Lamia & Other Poems 123 Sit thee by the ingle, when The sear faggot blazes bright. 1892 J. Wright Gram. Dial. of Windhill 120 Kum for^əd lad ^ən sit ðe dān. 1922 D. H. Lawrence England my England 138 Aren't goin' ter come in an' sit thee down, Alfred? 1974 W. Foley Child in Forest 216 ‘Thee bist a cough drop sure enough,’ she chortled, ‘come thee on in an' 'ave a cup o'tay.’ 2010 Huddersfield Daily Examiner (Nexis) 20 Oct. 32 His wife..looked up at him and said ‘Sit thee dahn, lad, it's tahm tha wor snuffed.’ II. As subject. 3. For the subjective pronoun thou. Cf. me pron.¹ 5.Common as predicate or part of a compound subject, and following conjunctions such as as and than.In later use chiefly English regional (esp. southern and midlands): see Eng. Dial. Dict. (1905) VI. 81/2 and C. Upton et al. Surv. Eng. Dial.: Dict. & Gram. (1994) 486; also in use among Quakers (see etymological note at thou pron. and n.¹) and more generally as an archaism.Some Middle English and regional quots. may exemplify representations of an unstressed form of thou, or reflect merger of such forms with the object forms: see further discussion in etymology section. ΚΠ ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 72 Wite þe nu ful wel, his eare is eauer towart þe. c1300 (?c1225) King Horn (Laud) (1901) 732 (MED) Sone bote þe flette [c1300 Cambr. þu flitte], Wit swerd hy wole þe hette. c1330 (?c1300) Reinbrun (Auch.) in J. Zupitza Guy of Warwick (1891) 649 (MED) No forþer þow ne gon, Boute þe ȝeue me bataile anon. c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Trin. Cambr. B.15.17) (1975) B. x. l. 132 (MED) Lord, yworshiped be þe. c1450 (c1370) G. Chaucer A.B.C (Cambr. Ff.5.30) (1878) l. 108 O tresoreere of bountee to mankynde, þee whom god ches to mooder for humblesse. c1480 (a1400) St. Thomas Apostle 617 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 146 Þe venys þat my god wrath wil be with me. a1590 Marriage Wit & Wisdom (1846) 12 Didest the nere se man before? 1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 i. ii. 113 Howe agrees the Diuell and thee about thy soule. View more context for this quotation 1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear iv. 179 And yet I would not bee thee Nuncle. View more context for this quotation 1687 W. Hitchcock in Jrnl. Friends' Hist. Soc. 4 74 If thee canst sell 250 acres of it & y^e house. 1735 P. Collinson Let. 24 Jan. in J. Bartram Corr. (1992) 4 Thee has nothing more to do than to gather branches or spriggs of the plants..with their Seed Vessels fully formed. 1797 A. M. Bennett Beggar Girl V. ii. 63 Thee hadst been sucking the monkey. 1819 Ld. Byron Mazeppa iv. 101 None Can less have said or more have done Than thee, Mazeppa! 1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin I. xiii. 200 ‘What does thee want, father?’ said Rachel. 1859 ‘G. Eliot’ Adam Bede I. 11 Thee't like thy dog, Gyp. 1861 E. Waugh Birtle Carter's Tale 15 An' mind te tells no lies abeawt th' lad i' thy talk. 1922 D. A. Mackenzie Cromarty Dial. in Rymour Club Misc. III. 76 'Ar are thee gae'an? 1964 Friend 10 Apr. 453/1 Perhaps thee has noticed the comment on this point in our Friends Journal on February 15. 1986 Lakeland Dial. Sept. 31 Is thee an' me marras, than? she ax't. 1999 B. Griffith in Zippy Ann. (2000) No. 1. 89 (caption) Pray Sir, what meanest thee? B. n.² 1. The person being addressed; the personality, or an aspect of the personality, of the one addressed. Cf. thou n.¹ 2, you n. 2. ΘΚΠ the world > people > person > [noun] > other person elsewhoc1542 customer1590 concreature1592 thee1609 somebody else1648 you1690 the mind > language > speech > conversation > addressing or speaking to > [noun] > one who is addressed thee1609 thou1693 1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets vi. sig. B2 That's for thy selfe to breed an other thee. 1834 T. Carlyle Sartor Resartus i. ix. 21/1 A warm moveable House, a Body round thy Body, wherein that strange Thee of thine sat snug. 1868 E. FitzGerald tr. Rubáiyát Omar Khayyám (ed. 2) xxxvii. 8 Then of the Thee in Me who works behind The Veil of Universe, I cried to find A Lamp to guide me through the darkness. 1924 L. De Waters Finished Kingdom ii. 92 Or else there is no All-in-All, no Thee, no me, to be. 2010 A. Pinch Thinking about Other People in 19th-cent. Brit. Writing iii. 111 The ‘thee’ who is being addressed and thought about. 2. (An instance of) the word thee. Frequently in collocation with thou (cf. thou n.¹ 1). thee and thou: used to designate a person, esp. a Quaker, who uses the second person pronouns thee and thou instead of you. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > a part of speech > pronoun > [noun] > personal pronoun > specific thouc1400 yec1400 you1655 thee1657 royal we1821 1657 J. Stalham Reviler Rebuked ii. 292 This language of Thou and Thee when it is given to God, it is given reverently. 1694 W. Penn Brief Acct. Rise Quakers ii. 44 They also used the Plain Language of Thou and Thee to a single Person. a1720 W. Sewel Hist. Quakers (1795) I. ii. 142 Their nonconformity with the Vulgar Salutation, and their saying Thou and Thee. 1774 J. Adams Diary 7 Sept. (1961) II. 126 This plain Friend, and his plain, tho pretty Wife, with her Thee's and Thou's, had provided us the most Costly Entertainment. 1847 H. W. Longfellow Evangeline ii. v. 13 Her ear was pleased with the Thee and Thou of the Quakers. 1896 Peterson Mag. 6 265/1 Whose head-master was Benjamin Hallowell, a ‘thee’ and ‘thou’ Quaker of the strictest sect. 1926 Amer. Speech 1 638/1 Even in my boyhood in New England I heard very few Quakers who habitually said thee. 2004 Providence (Rhode Island) Jrnl. (Nexis) 16 Dec. l25 It's Shakespeare without the thees and thous. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2012; most recently modified version published online June 2022). † theev.¹ /θiː/ Forms: Old English þion, Old English–Middle English þeon, Middle English þen, þe, Middle English–Middle English then, Middle English–1500s the, Middle English thene, theen, Middle English–1500s þee, (1500s thye), Middle English– thee. past tense Old English þah, þag, þæh, Old English–Middle English þeah, Old English–Middle English þeh, Middle English þeaȝh, Middle English þeȝ, þeu, (Middle English thee); plural Old English þungon; þigon; þugon. past participle Middle English þungen; þiȝen; þoȝen, þowen, þowuen, Middle English thowen. Etymology: Old English þíon , þéon , contracted < þíhan ( < þíohan , þéohan ) = Old Saxon thîhan* , thêh —thigun , githigan (Dutch gedigen ), Old High German (gi)dîhan , dêh —digun , digan (Middle High German (ge)dîhen , German gedeihen ), Gothic þeihan —þáih —þaihun —þaihans to thrive < Old Germanic þiŋ χ-, earlier þeŋ χ- (þaŋ χ-, þuŋg- ) of the 3rd ablaut series < Indo-European root tenk . With the elimination of the nasal before χ the verb came in prim. German to be assimilated to the 1st ablaut series (ī —ai —i —i ); but traces of the primitive conjugation survive in the Old Saxon past participle githungan , and the Old English forms þungon , -en . The Old English contracted form þéon began to follow the inflectional type of téon , < teuhan (tee v.¹), whence þéah, þugon, þogen. Obsolete. 1. a. intransitive. To grow; to thrive, prosper (archaic* in 16th cent. use). ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > prosperity > prosper or flourish [verb (intransitive)] theec888 i-thee971 bloomc1175 flower?c1225 soundfula1300 fructifya1325 timea1325 to bear the bloom1330 flourisha1340 prosperc1350 thrive?a1366 blossom1377 cheve1377 burgeona1382 likec1400 upthrivec1440 avail1523 fadge1573 to bear a great, high or lofty sail1587 blow1610 to be (also stand) in state1638 fatten1638 sagaciate1832 to be going strong1855 c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. xix Þeah hwa wexe..and þeo on eallum welum. OE Beowulf 8 He..weox under wolcnum weorðmyndum þah. c1000 Ælfric Homilies II. 104 His wæstmas genihtsumlice þugon. c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) ii. 52 Se hælend þeah on wisdome and on ylde. a1050 Liber Scintill. lxxxi. 221 Sume soþlice on ægþrum þeoþ. c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 161 And hit wacxs and wel þeaȝh. c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 177 Here tuder swiðe wexeð and wel þieð. c1275 Laȝamon Brut 24272 Þe borh suþþe ne þeh. 1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 240 Þe child wax & wel iþeȝ [v.rr. thee, ythei]. 1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 7086 Þis chyld wax so wel & þeu. c1300 Beket 149 He fond his sone..Þeoinge [pr. Theonige] fair and manliche. 13.. Pol. Rel. & L. Poems 238 Ho þat me louit ssal þe no more. a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2012 Vnder ioseph his welðe ðeg. a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 30 Ȝef he beþ þryuen ant þowen in þeode. c1400 Gamelyn 234 Come þou ones in my hond þou shalt neuer the. c1426 J. Audelay Poems (1931) 4 Þat schal haue grace to þryue and þene. c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 490/1 Theen, or thryvyn, vigeo. 1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) f. clxvi^v [He] is seldome sen to thye. a1529 J. Skelton Magnyfycence (?1530) sig. Ciii Abusyon, forsothe I hyght..that vseth me He can not thee. 1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) f. 8 Geeue ouer to sudgerne, that thinkest to thee. b. In imprecations and asseverations. ΚΠ ?a1366 Romaunt Rose 1067 Wel yvel mote they thryve and thee, And yvel achyved mote they be. 1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. v. 228 Ac I swere now, so the ik, þat synne wil I lete. c1386 G. Chaucer Canon's Yeoman's Prol. & Tale 376 By cause our firne was nat maad of Beech, That is the cause, and oother noon, so theech. a1400 Sir Beues 2753 A swor, alse he moste þen, He nolde him neiþer hire ne sen. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 5150 ‘Sais þou soth?’ ‘yaa, sa mot i the’. c1425 Seven Sag. 1548 (P.) Quod the kyng, ‘So mot I the, Astow wylt hyt schal bee.’ c1450 Mankind 297 in Macro Plays 12 Gode let hym neuer thene! [rhyme sene]. 1586 J. Ferne Blazon of Gentrie 22 Full ill mought they both thee. 1598 E. Guilpin Skialetheia sig. B3 So mote I thee thou art not faire, A plaine brownetta when thou art at best. ?a1600 Old Robin of Portingale xiv, in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads (1885) II. iii. 241/1 If it be not true,..God let me neuer thye. 17.. in Ritson Songs (1794) II. 132 He that spares, ne'er mote he thee. a1800 in Edinb. Mag. June (1819) 527/1 But wearie fa' the fairy wicht..May he never thee. 2. transitive. To cause to prosper; to prosper. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > promotion or help forward > promote or help forward (a person, plan, etc.) [verb (transitive)] furtherc888 fremeOE filsenc1175 fosterc1175 speeda1240 theec1250 advancec1300 upraisea1340 increasec1380 forthbearc1400 exploit?a1439 aid1502 to set forward(s)1530 farther1570 facilite1585 to set forthward1588 forward1598 facilitate1599 accommodate1611 succeed1613 bespeed1615 to set (a person) on (also upon) his (also her, etc.) legs1632 subserve1645 push1758 support1779 leg up1817 c1250 Prayer in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) I. 22 Þe lavird þieh þe in hevirilk place. Derivatives † thowen adj. (also þoȝen, þowun) Obsolete thriven; grown up, adult. ΘΚΠ the world > life > source or principle of life > age > maturity > [adjective] oldlyOE rankOE ripedOE thowenc1200 waxena1325 ripea1393 thrivena1400 provect1531 big1552 mellowed1575 adulted1645 full agea1658 adult1742 ripeful?1836 unyouthful1859 untender1879 maturish1885 c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 39 Mid-niht ðe bilimpeð to frumberdligges, hanecrau þe bilimpeð þowuene men. c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 41 Ðese herdes..wakieð biforen euen, þanne þe childre wuel þewuen..he þo ful þoȝene turneð to godes bihouþe. c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 127 Alse wat se he was þoȝen on wintre and on wastme. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online June 2021). theev.² Brit. /ðiː/, U.S. /ði/ Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: thee pron. Etymology: < thee pron. Compare earlier thou v. 1. transitive. To address (a person) with the pronoun thee (or its equivalent in another language), esp. (instead of you) as a sign of familiarity or contempt. Frequently in collocation with thou (see thou v.). Cf. you v. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > conversation > addressing or speaking to > speak to or address [verb (transitive)] > in a specific way thoua1425 thowt1440 yeet1440 ye1483 boy1573 uncle1597 goodfellow1628 thee1657 fellow1665 tutoyer1697 honour1726 pa1823 good man1846 old boy1867 tom1897 1657 E. Burrough Wofull Cry 34 Many suffer now cruel things about trivial foolish matters, as for not putting off a Hat or Theeing men. 1662 J. Tatham Aqua Triumphalis 6 Though I Thee Thee, and Thou Thee, I am no Quaker. a1690 G. Fox Jrnl. (1827) I. 103 I was required to Thee and Thou all men and women, without any respect to rich or poor, great or small. a1739 C. Jarvis tr. M. de Cervantes Don Quixote (1742) i. iv. li With the utmost arrogance he would thee and thou his equals and acquaintance. 1794 J. Fenwick tr. C.-F. du P. Dumouriez Mem. Gen. Dumourier II. iv. 73 Lieutaud..wrote a long letter to Dumourier, Thouing and Theeing him throughout. 1836 T. Hook Gilbert Gurney I. v. 239 There I saw..two quaker children playing about the place, thee'ing and thou'ing each other, with perfect French familiarity. 1884 A. Doherty Nathan Barlow 28 Familiarly he ‘thee'd’ and ‘thou'd’ the men, And cheekily they ‘thee'd’ and ‘thou'd’ again. 1922 D. H. Lawrence England my England 261 She thee'd and tha'd her prospective daughter-in-law. 1997 Gazette (Montreal) (Nexis) 22 Feb. i1 It was odd to hear soldiers in nearly modern uniforms..theeing and thouing each other in perfect Elizabethan verse. 2. intransitive. To use the pronoun thee (or its equivalent in another language). Cf. thou v. 2. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > conversation > addressing or speaking to > address someone [verb (intransitive)] > in a specific way thee1679 thou1679 1679 Established Test 23 A..Iesuit takes a Lodging at a Quakers, can thou and thee, and yea and nay, as well as the best of them. 1696 C. Leslie Snake in Grass p. xv This was the Bottom upon which the Quakers first set up, to run down all worldly Honour..; to Thee and Thou; to call no Man Master, or Lord, [etc.]. 1838 Bentley's Misc. 4 297 Who has not heard of..a wet Quaker? who thees and yays, wears no collar to his coat [etc.]. 1894 G. Du Maurier Trilby (1901) i. 19/2 There were ladies too en cheveux..some of whom thee'd and thou'd with familiar and friendly affection. 1994 Times (Nexis) 23 July One moment he is theeing and thouing with her, and the next he is giving her all this formal eloquence. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.¹1509pron.n.²eOEv.¹c888v.²1657
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† theen.1

theepron.n.2

† theev.1

Derivatives

theev.2

† theen.¹

theepron.n.²

† theev.¹

theev.²