thee

See also: Thee, thée, and the'e

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English thee, the, from Old English þē (“thee”, originally dative, but later also accusative), from Proto-Germanic *þiz (“thee”), from Proto-Indo-European *te (“second-person singular pronoun”). Cognate with German Low German di (“thee”), German dir (“thee”, dative pron.), Icelandic þér (“thee”). More at thou.

Pronunciation

  • enPR: thē, IPA(key): /ðiː/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -iː
  • Homophone: the (when stressed)

Pronoun

thee (second-person singular, objective case, nominative thou, reflexive thyself)

  1. (archaic, literary) Objective case of thou.
    • 1598, Shakespeare, Henry IV part 1, 1.2.49-50:
      Prince Henry: Did I ever call for thee to pay thy part?
      Falstaff: No; I'll give thee thy due, thou hast paid all there.
    • 1742, Charles Wesley (music), “Come, O Thou Traveler Unknown”:
      Come, O thou Traveller unknown, / Whom still I hold, but cannot see! / My company before is gone, / And I am left alone with Thee; / With Thee all night I mean to stay, / And wrestle till the break of day.
  2. (Quaker, Amish, Pennsylvania Dutch English, West Country) Thou.
    Thee is a little strange, I think.
Usage notes

When used in place of the nominative thou, thee uses the third-person singular form of verbs (see example above).

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

thee (third-person singular simple present thees, present participle theeing, simple past and past participle theed)

  1. (transitive) To address (somebody) as "thee"; to thou.
See also

Etymology 2

From Middle English theen (“to increase, prosper, flourish”), from Old English þēon (“to thrive, prosper, flourish, grow”), from Proto-Germanic *þinhaną (“to thrive, succeed”), from Proto-Indo-European *tenk-, *tenkh- (“to succeed, turn out well”). Cognate with Dutch gedijen (“to flourish, thrive, prosper, succeed”), German gedeihen (“to thrive”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌸𐌴𐌹𐌷𐌰𐌽 (gaþeihan, “to increase, thrive”).

Pronunciation

  • enPR: thē, IPA(key): /θiː/
  • Rhymes: -iː

Alternative forms

Verb

thee (third-person singular simple present thees, present participle theeing, simple past and past participle theed)

  1. (intransitive, Britain, obsolete) To thrive; prosper.
    • Spenser
      Well mote thee, as well can wish your thought.
Derived terms

Etymology 3

From Pitman zee, which it is related to phonetically and graphically, and the sound it represents.

Noun

thee (plural thees)

  1. The letter ⟨(⟩, which stands for the th sound /ð/ in Pitman shorthand.
  • ith
  • eth, the name of the IPA letter for this sound

Anagrams

Acehnese

Etymology

From Proto-Chamic *thɔw, from Proto-Malayo-Chamic, from Proto-Malayo-Sumbawan, from Proto-Sunda-Sulawesi, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *taqu, from Proto-Austronesian *Caqu.

Verb

thee

  1. to be informed

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowing from Min Nan 茶 (tê) through Malay teh. The "-h-" is a faux-Greek spelling (compare Greek τσάι (tsái)).

Pronunciation

  • Audio(file)
  • Rhymes: -eː
  • IPA(key): /teː/

Noun

Gevuld theeglas
Filled tea glass

thee m (plural theeën, diminutive theetje n)

  1. tea

Derived terms

Anagrams

Middle English

Pronoun

thee

  1. Alternative form of þe.

References

Old Irish

Adjective

thee

  1. Alternative spelling of thé: lenited form of tee (“hot”).

Scots

Etymology

From Old English þēoh, from Proto-Germanic *þeuhą, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tewk-.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /θiː/

Noun

thee (plural thees)

  1. thigh
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