thou
THOW
/ðaʊ/
The second person singular pronoun used as the subject of a verb; the archaic form of 'you'.
Historically, 'thou' was the informal, singular version of 'you' (similar to 'tu' in French or Spanish), while 'you' was formal or plural. Today, it feels more formal or sacred because of its survival in the King James Bible.
The story behind the word. Derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *tu-, which is the ancestor of the informal 'you' in almost every European language. It was the standard singular pronoun until the 17th century when 'you' began to take over.
Word relationships
- you: 'You' is the modern standard for both singular and plural, formal and informal.
Commonly confused with
- thee: 'Thou' is the subject (Thou lovest me), while 'thee' is the object (I love thee).
Word family
- thee (pronoun): Object form of thou.
- thy (determiner): Possessive form of thou.
Collocations
- thou art
- thou shalt
- thou hast
Idioms & expressions
- holier-than-thou
Example sentences
- "Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate." A famous line from Shakespeare's Sonnet 18.
Memory hook
Thou rhymes with 'now'—it's how people used to talk to each other 'now' and then. Thou is the subject (the 'doer').
When not to use
Avoid in all modern professional or casual settings unless you are writing historical fiction or religious liturgy.
Fun facts
- Quakers continued to use 'thou' long after it became archaic to emphasize social equality.
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