ye

English has two words spelled ye: the old plural pronoun you, and an old written form of the, as in Ye Olde Shoppe.^[1][2][3]

ye¹ you (plural)

Pronunciation

• IPA: /jiː/^[4]

Etymology

The pronoun is inherited from Old English ġē, the nominative plural of þū (see thou),^[1][5][2] altered by the influence of wē (“we”) from an earlier form like Gothic 𐌾𐌿𐍃 (jus, “you (plural)”).^[1][5] It is cognate with Old Saxon gi, Dutch gij, German ihr, Lithuanian jūs and Sanskrit यूयम् (yūyám), from PIE Proto-Indo-European *yu- (“you (plural)”).^[1][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The plural of thou: in Old English from about 725, in Beowulf, in Barnhart;^[1] MWH says it is first recorded in Aldred's interlinear gloss of the Lindisfarne Gospels, about 950.^[6][7]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English ye was also used to address one person, as a mark of respect to a superior, a parent or God, or out of politeness (from 1297).^[7][5] In Old and early Middle English ye was the subject form and you the object form; the two were confused from early modern English, and the King James Bible (1611) kept the distinction carefully.^[5][6] Ye has since been replaced by you except in archaic, poetic and dialect use, as in I tell ye.^[8][4]

Timeline

• c. 725 – Old English ġē.^[1]
• c. 950 – in the Lindisfarne gloss.^[6][7]
• 1297 – used to one person.^[7]
• 1611 – ye and you kept apart in the King James Bible.^[5]

Modern meaning

Pronoun

1. (archaic or dialect) You, addressing two or more people: ye are the salt of the earth.
2. (dialect) You, addressing one person.

ye² the

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ðiː/, popularly /jiː/^[1]

Etymology

The article is a way of writing the, with y standing for the Old English letter thorn (þ),^[1][5][2][3] which in late Middle English handwriting came to look almost the same as y.^[5][9] The first printers in English, using continental type that had no þ, set y in its place.^[5][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Before 1568, in Ascham's The Scholemaster (“Ye great ones in ye Court”).^[1]

Semantic evolution

It was never meant to be pronounced with a y sound.^[1][5][3] Ye and yt, for the and that, continued in handwriting into the 18th century.^[5][3] The spelling was revived in the 19th century as deliberate antiquarianism; the Ye Olde … Shoppe construction is attested by 1872 and was mocked by 1896.^[5]

Timeline

• before 1568 – ye for the, in Ascham.^[1]
• 1872 – Ye Olde … Shoppe.^[5]

Modern meaning

Article

1. (pseudo-archaic) The, used in quaintly old-fashioned names such as Ye Olde Tea Shoppe.

Related words

• you
• thou
• your
• thorn

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
2. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Book of Word Histories, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press