ye

ye
ye1
/yee/, pron.
1. Archaic (except in some elevated or ecclesiastical prose), Literary, or Brit. Dial.
a. (used nominatively as the plural of thou, esp. in rhetorical, didactic, or poetic contexts, in addressing a group of persons or things): O ye of little faith; ye brooks and hills.
b. (used nominatively for the second person singular, esp. in polite address): Do ye not know me?
c. (used objectively in the second person singular or plural): I have something to tell ye. Arise, the enemy is upon ye!
2. (used with mock seriousness in an invocation, mild oath, or the like): Ye gods and little fishes!
[bef. 900; ME; OE ge; c. D gij, G ihr, ON er, Goth jus]
ye2
/dhee/; spelling pron. /yee/, definite article. Archaic.
the1.
Usage. The word YE2, 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 thorn, þ, the character in the Old English alphabet representing the th- sounds /th/ and /dh/ in Modern English; Y was the closest symbol in the Roman alphabet. Originally, the form would have been rendered as ye. The pronunciation /yee/ today is a spelling pronunciation.

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Universalium. 2010.

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