Etymograph

English

thou

Thou comes from Middle English thouen ‘to address someone with "thou", i.e. with…’, from þou ‘you (singular)’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *túh₂.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*túh₂1‘you, thou’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þū1‘you (singular), thou’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þū1‘you (singular)’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150þū1‘you, thou’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500þou2as thou‘you (singular)’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500thouen3‘to address someone with "thou", i.e. with familiarity or informality’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1530thou3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Middle English þou
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Middle English thouen
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English thou
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1530, Hickscorner: “Avaunt, caitiff, dost thou thou me! / I am…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*túh₂Wiktionary, Middle English þou‘you, thou’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þūWiktionary, Middle English þou‘you (singular), thou’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þūWiktionary, Middle English þou‘you (singular)’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150þūWiktionary, Middle English þou‘you, thou’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500þouWiktionary, Middle English thouenas thou‘you (singular)’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500thouenWiktionary, English thou‘to address someone with "thou", i.e. with familiarity or informality’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1530thouWiktionary, English thou. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1530, Hickscorner: “Avaunt, caitiff, dost thou thou me! / I am…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *túh₂ ‘you, thou’

thy

Today it means

verb To address (a person) using the pronoun thou, especially as an expression of contempt or familiarity.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “thou”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Middle English þou, Middle English thouen. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *túh₂ / thou

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