Ye

Part of speech: pronoun

Definitions

1. An archaic plural pronoun meaning you, used as the subject of a sentence ; an old-fashioned spelling standing in for the definite article the
2. A dated second-person plural pronoun for you when addressing several people ; a quaint historical spelling that represents the word the
3. Archaic form of the plural pronoun you, addressing a group ; a pseudo-archaic written form used in place of the definite article

Etymology: The pronoun "ye" is the old plural "you," and its most famous life today is as a fake antique. In Old English the plural subject form was "gē," which became Middle English "ye" and was used for addressing several people, or one person politely, until "you" gradually displaced it in the early modern period. Its relatives across Europe include Dutch "gij," German "ihr," and Icelandic "ér," all descended from the same ancient plural. The more surprising story is that "ye" was never really a separate word in the shop signs where it appears so often. Early printers, lacking a letter for the Old English thorn (þ), substituted "y," which looked similar in blackletter type. So "the" was printed as "ye," and "þe" was written as "ye" in manuscripts well into the 1700s. In the 19th century, Britons deliberately revived this spelling as an antiquarian flourish, which is why shops call themselves "Ye Olde Tea Shoppe," where "ye" should be pronounced "the."

Synonyms: you