thee

thee · pronoun, verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*te“second-person singular pronoun”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*þiz“thee”
3. Old English · inherited fromþē“thee”
4. Middle English · inherited fromþe
5. English todaythee

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

thee · verb²

1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*tenk-“to succeed, turn out well”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*þinhaną“to thrive, succeed”
3. Old English · inherited fromþēon“to thrive, prosper, flourish, grow”
4. Middle English · inherited fromtheen“to increase, prosper, flourish”
5. English todaythee

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- (“to succeed, turn out well”). Cognate with Dutch gedijen (“to flourish, thrive, prosper, succeed”), German gedeihen (“to thrive”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌸𐌴𐌹𐌷𐌰𐌽 (gaþeihan, “to increase, thrive”).

thee · noun³

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

thee · article⁴

Respelling of the popularized by Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 8th c. Objective and reflexive case of thou.
• from 12th c. Thou.