ye

I

[[t]yi[/t]]

pron.

1) fun Archaic (except in ecclesiastical prose) or Brit. Dial

a) (used nominatively as the

plural of thou I)

O ye of little faith; ye brooks and hills[/ex]

b) (used nominatively for the second person singular, esp. in polite address):

Do ye not know me?[/ex]

c) (used objectively in the second person singular or plural):

I have something to tell ye[/ex]

2) fun (used with mock seriousness in an invocation, mild oath, or the like):

Ye gods and little fishes![/ex]

•

Etymology: bef. 900; ME; OE gē II

ye

[[t]ði[/t]] spelling pron. [[t]yi[/t]] archaic

the I

•

usage: The word ye, as in Ye Olde Booke Shoppe, is simply an archaic spelling of the definite article the. The use of the letter Y was a printer's adaptation of the eth, ð, the character in the Old English alphabet representing the th- sounds (th) and (t) in Modern English; Y was the closest symbol in the Roman alphabet. Originally, the form would have been rendered as yⁿ or ye. The pronunciation (yē) today is a spelling pronunciation.