your

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English your, early also ȝiure and ȝeuwer,^[2] inherited from Old English ēower, the genitive of gē (“ye”), the source of ye.^{[3][4][5][6][7]} Old English used ēower both as the genitive, "of you", and as a possessive adjective, with the feminine ēowru.^[4][8] It comes from Proto-Germanic *izweraz,^[9] built on the same Germanic base as you,^[7][5][10] and is related to Old Frisian iuwer, Old Saxon iuwar, Dutch uw, Old High German iuwēr, German euer, Old Norse yðvarr and Gothic 𐌹𐌶𐍅𐌰𐍂 (izwar).^{[7][8][11][5]}

Earliest recorded meaning

In Old English, the genitive "of you", as in the Lindisfarne Gospels, and the possessive "belonging to you", addressed to more than one person, from King Alfred's translation of Gregory's Pastoral Care.^[8] Barnhart dates Old English ēower to about 725, in Beowulf.^[7]

Semantic evolution

At first your was used only in speaking to more than one person.^[8] From before 1325 it was also used to a single person in place of thy, at first as a mark of respect or formality,^[8] and Johnson (1755) still wrote that it was properly plural and used of one person only "ceremoniously and customarily".^[12] Its use in titles such as your Majesty and your Grace dates from the 14th century,^[5] with the OED's first example in a Scots text of 1400.^[8] From 1418 it qualified a word for the writer, as in your servant at the end of a letter.^[8] From 1550 it could also point to someone or something familiar or typical, often slightingly, a use Weekley found especially in the 16th and 17th centuries.^[8][13] Since 1593 it has also meant "anyone's, one's".^[8] The genitive use, "of you", died out about 1500.^[8][14] The forms yours and yourself are recorded from before 1325, in the Cursor Mundi, and yourselves from 1523.^[7] Dialects had many spoken forms, among them yer, yir, yor and yur.^[15]

Timeline

• c. 725 – Old English ēower, in Beowulf.^[7]
• before 1325 – with singular reference, in place of thy.^[8]
• 14th century – in titles of honour such as your Majesty.^[5][8]
• 1418 – of the writer, at the end of a letter.^[8]
• c. 1500 – last use as the genitive "of you".^[8]
• 1550 – of something familiar or typical.^[8]
• 1593 – belonging to anyone; one's.^[8]

Meanings

Determiner

1. Belonging to or connected with the person or people spoken to: Is this your umbrella?^[16][10][8]
2. Done, felt or experienced by you: Thank you for your patience.^[10][8]
3. Belonging to anyone; one's: The station is on your right as you cross the bridge.^[16][8]
4. (informal) Used of a typical example of a kind: your average commuter.^[16][8]
5. In titles of address such as Your Honour and Your Majesty.^[8][5]

Related words

• you
• ye
• yours
• yourself
• yourselves
• you're

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
10. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
11. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
12. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
13. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
14. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
15. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
16. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins