Where does “thou” come from?

thou (Scots) comes from Middle English þou, from Old English þū, from Proto-West Germanic þū, from Proto-Germanic *þū, from Proto-Indo-European túh₂ — you, thou.

thou (Scots): thou, you 2nd person singular subject pronoun, informal

Definitions

  1. thou, you 2nd person singular subject pronoun, informal

Ancestry of “thou”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishþouthou second-person singular pronoun; you
2Old Englishþūyou, thou (nominative singular)
3Proto-West Germanicþūyou
4Proto-Germanic*þū—
5Proto-Indo-Europeantúh₂you, thou
Every word from Proto-Indo-European túh₂ →Every word from Proto-Germanic *þū →Every word from Proto-West Germanic þū →