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Webster 1913 Edition

You

You

(ū)
,
p
ron.
[
Poss
ess.
Your
(ūr)
or
Yours
(ūrz)
;
dat.
&
obj.
You
.]
[OE.
you
,
eou
,
eow
, dat. & acc., AS.
eów
, used as dat. & acc. of
ge
,
gē
, ye; akin to OFries.
iu
,
io
, D.
u
, G.
euch
, OHG.
iu
, dat.,
iuwih
, acc., Icel.
yðr
, dat. & acc., Goth.
izwis
; of uncertain origin. √189. Cf.
Your
.]
The pronoun of the second person, in the nominative, dative, and objective case, indicating the person or persons addressed. See the Note under
Ye
.
Ye go to Canterbury; God
you
speed.
Chaucer.
Good sir, I do in friendship counsel
you

To leave this place.
Shakespeare
In vain
you
tell your parting lover
You
wish fair winds may waft him over.
Prior.
☞ Though you is properly a plural, it is in all ordinary discourse used also in addressing a single person, yet properly always with a plural verb. “Are you he that hangs the verses on the trees, wherein Rosalind is so admired ?”
Shak.
You and your are sometimes used indefinitely, like we, they, one, to express persons not specified. “The looks at a distance like a new-plowed land; but as you come near it, you see nothing but a long heap of heavy, disjointed clods.”
Addison.
“Your medalist and critic are much nearer related than the world imagine.”
Addison.
“It is always pleasant to be forced to do what you wish to do, but what, until pressed, you dare not attempt.”
Hook.
You is often used reflexively for yourself of yourselves. “Your highness shall repose you at the tower.”
Shak.

Webster 1828 Edition

You

YOU

, pron. Yu. [You has been considered as in the plural only, and is so treated in the Saxon grammar. But from the Belgic dialect, it appears to be in the singular as well as the plural, and our universal popular usage, in applying it to a single person with a verb in the singular number, is correct. Yourself is in the singular number.]
1.
The pronoun of the second person, in the nominative or objective case. In familiar language, it is applied to an individual, as thou is in the solemn style. In the plural, it is used in the solemn style in the objective case.
In vain you tell your parting lover, you wish fair winds may waft him over.
He that despiseth you, despiseth me. Luke 10.
2.
You is used, like on in French, for any one. This at a distance looks like a rock; but as you approach it, you see a little cabin.

Definition 2024

You

You

See also: you, yóu, yòu, yōu, yǒu, ȝou, and þou

English

Pronoun

You

  1. Alternative letter-case form of you often used when referring to God or another important figure who is understood from context.

you

you

See also: You, yóu, yòu, yōu, yǒu, ȝou, and þou

English

Alternative forms

  • ye (plural form, archaic or dialectal)
  • ya, yah, yer, yeh, y', yo, yu, yuh (informal or eye dialect)
  • -cha (informal, after /t/)
  • -ja (informal, after /d/)
  • u (informal, internet)
  • yoo (eye dialect)
  • yew (became obsolete as English spelling became more standardised, then was ‘recoined’ as a nonstandard variant for (chiefly humorous) use in informal situations and on the internet)
  • youe, yow, yowe (obsolete)

Pronoun

you ‎(second person, singular or plural, nominative or objective, possessive determiner your, possessive pronoun yours, singular reflexive yourself, plural reflexive yourselves)

  1. (object pronoun) The people spoken, or written to, as an object. [from 9th c.]
    • 1611, Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. Genesis XLII:
      And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies [...].
  2. (reflexive, now US colloquial) (To) yourselves, (to) yourself. [from 9th c.]
    • c. 1591, William Shakespeare, Richard III:
      If I may counsaile you, some day or two / Your Highnesse shall repose you at the Tower [...].
    • 1611, Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. Genesis XIX:
      And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city.
    • 1970, Donald Harington, Lightning Bug:
      ‘Pull you up a chair,’ she offered.
    • 1975, Joseph Nazel, Death for Hire:
      You'd better get you a gun and kill him before he kills you or somebody.
  3. (object pronoun) The person spoken to or written to, as an object. (Replacing thee; originally as a mark of respect.) [from 13th c.]
    • c. 1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book VIII:
      I charge you, as ye woll have my love, that ye warne your kynnesmen that ye woll beare that day the slyve of golde uppon your helmet.
  4. (subject pronoun) The people spoken to or written to, as a subject. (Replacing ye.) [from 14th c.]
    Both of you should get ready now.
    You are all supposed to do as I tell you.
  5. (subject pronoun) The person spoken to or written to, as a subject. (Originally as a mark of respect.) [from 15th c.]
    • c. 1395, Geoffrey Chaucer, "The Clerk's Tale", Canterbury Tales, Ellesmere manuscript (c. 1410):
      certes lord / so wel vs liketh yow / And al youre werk / and euere han doon / þat we / Ne koude nat vs self deuysen how / We myghte lyuen / in moore felicitee [...].
    • 1814, Jane Austen, Mansfield Park:
      You are right, Fanny, to protest against such an office, but you need not be afraid.
  6. (indefinite personal pronoun) Anyone, one; an unspecified individual or group of individuals (as subject or object). [from 16th c.]
    • 2001, Polly Vernon, The Guardian, 5 May 2001:
      You can't choose your family, your lovers are difficult and volatile, but, oh, you can choose your friends - so doesn't it make much more sense to live and holiday with them instead?

Usage notes

  • Originally, you was specifically plural (indicating multiple people), and specifically objective (serving as the direct or indirect object of a verb, or object of a preposition; like present-day us, as opposed to we). The corresponding subjective pronoun was ye, and their corresponding singular pronouns were thee and thou, respectively. (Thus you was to ye, thee, and thou as us is to we, me, and I, respectively.)
  • In some forms of English, you and ye have doubled as plural forms and as polite singular forms, used in addressing superiors and (in some forms) equals, with thee and thou being the non-polite singular forms. Such alternation, insofar as it still exists, is now only dialectal: in present-day English, thee and thou are all but nonexistent.
  • Although you no longer distinguishes singular from plural, various forms of English have marked plural forms, such as you guys, y'all, or youse (though not all of these are completely equivalent or considered Standard English).
  • The pronoun you is usually omitted in imperative sentences, but need not be. In affirmative imperatives, it may be included before the verb (You go right ahead; You stay out of it); in negative imperatives, it may be included either before the don't, or, more commonly, after it (Don't you dare go in there; Don't you start now).
  • See Appendix:English parts of speech for other personal pronouns.

Synonyms

  • (subject pronoun: person spoken/written to):
    thou (singular, archaic)
    ye (singular, archaic)
    yer (UK eye dialect)
    plus the alternative forms listed above
  • (subject pronoun: persons spoken/written to):
    all of you (plural)
    you all (plural, especially Southern US)
    you + number (plural, to the specified number of people)
    ye (plural, archaic outside Northern England, Cornwall, and Ireland)
    yous/youse/youz (plural, dialectal, chiefly Australia, some parts of the US, Ireland, Scotland)
    yiz, alternate form of youse (plural, dialectal, chiefly Philadelphia, Delaware Valley, Southern New Jersey, Scotland)
    y'all, all y'all (Southern US)
    ya'll (AAVE)
    you-uns (yoons, you'uns, y'ins, y'uns, yunz, yuns) (Midwestern US and Appalachia)
    yinz (yens, yins, yeens) (Pennsylvania, especially Pittsburgh, Appalachia)
    you guys/you gals (Australia, New Zealand, some parts of North America)
    you lot (UK)
    allyou (Caribbean)
    yer (UK eye dialect)
  • (object pronoun: person spoken/written to): thee (singular, archaic), ye, to you, to thee, to ye
  • (object pronoun: persons spoken/written to): ye, to you, to ye, to you all
  • (one): one, people, they, them

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Determiner

you

  1. The individual or group spoken or written to.
    Have you gentlemen come to see the lady who fell backwards off a bus?
  2. Used before epithets for emphasis.
    You idiot!

Translations

Verb

you ‎(third-person singular simple present yous, present participle youing, simple past and past participle youed)

  1. (transitive) To address (a person) using the pronoun you, rather than thou, especially historically when you was more formal.

Translations

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: for · as · had · #17: you · not · be · at

Japanese

Romanization

you

  1. rōmaji reading of よう

See also

Karawa

Noun

you

  1. water

References

  • transnewguinea.org, citing D. C. Laycock, Languages of the Lumi Subdistrict (West Sepik District), New Guinea (1968), Oceanic Linguistics, 7 (1): 36-66

Mandarin

Romanization

you

  1. Nonstandard spelling of yōu.
  2. Nonstandard spelling of yóu.
  3. Nonstandard spelling of yǒu.
  4. Nonstandard spelling of yòu.

Usage notes

  • English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old English ēow.

Pronoun

you

  1. you

Descendants

Mirandese

Etymology

From Old Leonese you, from Vulgar Latin *eo, attested from the 6th century in Romance, from Latin ego.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /jow/

Pronoun

you

  1. I (the first-person singular pronoun)
    • 2008, Picä Tumilho (band) (music), “Ai que cochino!!! (ver. II)”, in Faíçca: Ua stória d'amor i laboura:
      I you cun muita fuorça spetei bien la faca
      And I strongly skewered (with) the knife.

Pouye

Noun

you

  1. water

References

  • transnewguinea.org, citing D. C. Laycock, Languages of the Lumi Subdistrict (West Sepik District), New Guinea (1968), Oceanic Linguistics, 7 (1): 36-66

Takia

Noun

you

  1. water

References

  • Malcolm Ross, Andrew Pawley, Meredith Osmond, The Lexicon of Proto-Oceanic: The Culture and Environment (2007, ISBN 1921313196)

Etymology

From Middle English you, yow, ȝow, (object case of ye), from Old English ēow, īow ("you"; dative case of ġē), from *iwwiz ("you"; dative case of *jīz), Western form of Proto-Germanic *izwiz ("you"; dative case of *jūz), from Proto-Indo-European *yūs ‎(“you (plural)”), *yū́. Cognate with Saterland Frisian jou ‎(“you”), West Frisian jo ‎(“you”), Low German jo ‎(“you”), Dutch jou and u ‎(“you”), Middle High German eu, iu ‎(“you”, obj. pron.), Latin vōs ‎(“you”), Avestan 𐬬𐬋 ‎(vō, “you”).

See usage notes. Ye, you and your are cognate with Dutch jij/je, jou, jouw; Low German ji, jo/ju, jug and German ihr, euch and euer respectively. Ye is also cognate with archaic Swedish I.

Pronunciation

When a word ending in /t/, /d/, /s/, or /z/ is followed by you, these may coalesce with the /j/, resulting in /tʃ/, /dʒ/, /ʃ/ and /ʒ/, respectively. This is occasionally represented in writing, e.g. gotcha (from got you).

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