Where does “thou” come from?
Thou comes from Middle English thou, from Middle English yow, from Proto-Germanic sa, from Proto-Indo-European só, ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European túh₂.
thou (English): Nominative singular of ye; To address using the...
Definitions
- Nominative singular of ye; To address using the...
Ancestry of “thou”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | thousand | A numerical value equal to 1,000 = 10 × 100 = 10 |
| 2 | Middle English | thousend | — |
| 3 | Old English | þūsend | thousand |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | þūsundi | thousand |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | þūsundī | a thousand |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | tuHsont- | thousand |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | tewh₂- | to swell; to crowd; to be strong |
Words derived from “thou”