ye

1 of 2

pronoun

ˈyē 

: you sense 1

—used originally only as a plural pronoun of the second person in the subjective case and now used especially in ecclesiastical or literary language and in various English dialects

ye

2 of 2

definite article

(ˌ)yē 

yə;

 originally same as  1the

archaic

: the

Ye Olde Gifte Shoppe

Word History

Etymology

Pronoun

Middle English, from Old English gē; akin to Old High German ir you — more at you

Definite article

alteration of Middle English þe the, from Old English þē; from the use of the letter y by printers and scribes of late Middle English to represent þ (th) of earlier manuscripts

First Known Use

Pronoun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Definite Article

1551, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

ye

1 of 2 pronoun

(ˈ)yē 

: you sense 1

ye

2 of 2 definite article

yē 

yə,

 or like the 

archaic

: the

Ye Olde Gifte Shoppe

Etymology

Pronoun

Old English gē "you"

Definite article

an altered form of Old English þē "the"; because the handwritten forms of þ and y in old manuscripts looked much alike, early printers used y when the obsolete þ was not available