▪ I. you, pers. pron., 2nd pers. obj. (nom.), pl. (sing.)
(juː, jə)
Forms: 1–3 eow, (1 ieow, iow, 2 ȝeau, heou, heow, how, ȝehw,) 2–3 eou, ȝeu, ȝew, 2–4 ou, hou, ȝu, 3 iou, æu, ew, heu, eo, oeu, howe, ȝeow, ȝuw, ov, 3–4 ow, owe, ȝiu, 3–5 eu, yu, (6 Sc.) ȝou, 4 iow, ȝue, ȝuu, ȝouȝ, yuu, youu, yhow, 4–5 ȝowe, ȝhow, ȝo, (6–7 Sc.) ȝow, 4–7 yow, 5 ȝoue, ȝewe, ȝhu, yowe, yoow, yw, yo, yewe, Sc. yhu, yhw, 5–6 youe, 6 iow, 7 yew, 4– you, (9 dial. & vulgar yah, yer, also yez).
[OE. éow acc. and dat. (also éowic, Northumb. {iacu}uih, etc.) = OFris. iuwe, iwe, OS. iu, MDu., Du. u, OHG., MHG. iu, eu; deriving from earlier *īuw:—OTeut. *iwwiz. A parallel formation is represented by ON. yðr (MSw. iþer) for *iðwir, ? *iRwiR, Goth. izwis.
Originally the accusative and dative plural of the second personal pronoun: see thou for the declension of the 2nd pers. pron. in OE. and ME. Between 1300 and 1400 it began to be used also for the nominative ye, which it had replaced in general use by about 1600. During the 14th century it also appears as a substitute for the singular obj. thee and nom. thou, being originally used in token of respect in addressing a superior, but later also to an equal, and ultimately generally: cf. thou 1. Thus you is now the general pronoun of the second person, nominative or objective, singular or plural.]
I. As plural, used in addressing a number of persons (or, rhetorically, of things).
1. Objective. a. as direct object of a verb.
| a 900 Cynewulf Elene 551 Eow þeos cwen laþaþ, secgas, to salore. 1155 in Anglia VII. i. 220 God ȝeau ȝehealde. a 1175 Cott. Hom. 233 Unwraste man wat lacede ȝeu? c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 13 Swa þet heo eow tintraȝed and heow i-swenchet. c 1205 Lay. 4556 æuere mare ich æu leouie. Ibid. 5455 Leou wer here ic eow [c 1275 ȝou] abide. c 1250 Kent. Serm. in O.E. Misc. 32 Wat dret yw, folk of litle beliaue? 1389 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 53 To certefyen ȝ{supu} of godes and chateux. a 1400 Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1903) 254, I come to leden ou swiþe. c 1420 Sir Amadace (Camden) lviii, Butte, alle my men, I ȝo cummawunde, To serue him wele to fote and honde. 14.. Northern Passion II. 173 In heuene ich wole ȝo cloþy & fede. 1450 in Exch. Rolls Scot. V. 425 note, Oure will is and we charge yhw that [etc.]. 1482 Cov. Leet Bk. 504 Ryght trusty & wele-beloued, we grete yewe wele. 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 15 To him I ȝow commit baith small and greit. 1607 T. Tomkis Lingua iv. i, I will be Iudicium, the moderator betwixt you, and make you both friends. 1766 Goldsm. Elegy Mad Dog i, Good people all, of every sort, Give ear unto my song; And if you find it wondrous short,—It cannot hold you long. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair lxii, Fair scenes of peace and sunshine..who has ever seen you, that has not a grateful memory of those scenes of friendly repose and beauty? 1859 Geo. Eliot A. Bede ii, The lost!..Sinners!..Ah! dear friends, does that mean you and me? |
b. as indirect object.
| c 897 ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xxvi. 181 (Hatton MS.) Waa ieow weleᵹum. c 1160 Hatton Gosp. Matt. xxv. 45 Soð ic ȝu segge [etc.]. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 49 Nu we sculen heow sceawen hwilc hit is heom for to heren. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 117 Ich wile ȝiu senden þe heuenliche frefringe. c 1205 Lay. 26515 Hit is eo muchel scome þat ȝe wulleð at-sceken. a 1250 Prov. ælfred 29 in O.E. Misc. 104 He ou wolde wyssye wisliche þinges. a 1250 Owl & Night. 115 Hit wes idon eu [Cotton MS. ov] a loþe custe. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 10997 Ȝuf we doþ ou wrong wo ssal ou do riȝt? a 1300 Cursor M. 139 Sythen sal i tell yow [v.rr. ȝaw, ȝou] Of iacob and of esau. c 1320 Cast. Love 567 Ȝe habbeþ i-herd, as Ich ow tolde, For-whi God þe world maken wolde. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 3560 Here haf I shewed yhow, on Inglys, Som syns þat Saynt Austyn specifys. c 1400 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) iv. v. 61, I graunte you leue, seyth what yow semyth eueryche in his parte. 1481 Caxton Godfrey vi. 25, I shal shew yow one exampel. 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 29, I will ȝow giue Eternall lyfe. 1638 Brome Antipodes iv. vi, Ile give you halfe a dozen At the next Ale-house, to set all right. 1722 De Foe Plague (1840) 129, I tell you, that we have not made use of the barn. 1859 Kingsley Good News of God xiii, I preach to you a Spirit..who has given you all the life you have. |
c. As object of a preposition.
| c 975 Rushw. Gosp. Matt. xii. 28 Cuðlice becymeþ in eow godes rice. a 1175 Cott. Hom. 225 Betwuxe me and eow. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 149 Þene fule onkume..þa þe douel haueð in ow ibroht of sunne. c 1275 Sinners Beware 272 in O.E. Misc. 81 Loke seyde god nuþe Hwat ich for ou ouþe. c 1290 St. Patrick 612 in S. Eng. Leg. 218 Ȝif ich fram eov wende. c 1300 Harrow. Hell (E.) 141 Helle ȝates, y com ȝou to, Now ich wil þat ȝe vndo. 1382 Wyclif John xviii. 39 It is a custom to ȝou, that I delyuer oon to ȝou in pask. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 1, I witnes bifor God Almiȝ ty, and alle trewe cristunmen and wommen, and ȝowe. c 1460 Towneley Myst. xx. 464 And I in you, and ye in me. 1536 Wriothesley Chron. (Camden) I. 42 Longe to reigne over yow. 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 31 Mark weill..How Christis croce, is for ȝow meit. 1609 B. Jonson Epicœne v. iii, That it be not strange to you, I will tell you. 1722 De Foe Plague (1840) 130 The danger is as great from you to us, as from us to you. 1821 Scott Kenilw. i, Here's an unbelieving Pagan for you, gentlemen! 1896 Mrs. Forrester Harlow's Ideal etc. 46 You have killed me between you. |
d. As refl. pron. (acc. or dat.) Yourselves. arch. See also youself s.v. self A. 2–4.
| c 897 ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xv. 93 (Hatton MS.) Habbað ᵹe sealt on ieow, & sibbe habbað betweoh iow [Cott. MS. eow]. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 73 Wascheð ou and wonieð clene. c 1200 Ormin 5273 Þatt iss min bodeword, tatt ȝe Ȝuw lufenn swa bitwenenn Rihht alls icc hafe lufedd ȝuw. c 1205 Lay. 7473 Ȝarewieð eow [c 1275 Greiþeh ow] to fihte. Ibid. 26447 Cnihtes fareð eou aȝæin. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 1403 Ne drede ȝe ow nawiht. c 1350 Will. Palerne 106 Haldes ow stille. 1375 Barbour Bruce i. 92 Haid ȝe wmbethocht ȝow enkrely, Quhat perell to ȝow mycht apper. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 3689 Demys ȝow na better in ȝour doyng Þan othir of þe same leuyng. c 1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) iv. 103, I will nocht brek my brane, Suppois ȝe sowld mischeif ȝow. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. i. i. 1 Hence: home you idle Creatures, get you home. 1611 Bible Isa. i. 16 Wash yee [mod. edd. you], make you cleane. 1881 W. S. Gilbert Patience 1, Now tell us, we pray you, Why thus you array you. |
2. a. Nominative, replacing ye (sense 1).
In early use sometimes app. for emphasis, as opposed to ye unemphatic; but often beside ye as a mere alternative.
| 13.. Cursor M. 23160 (Gött.) Vnto mi blis haf ȝue na right. c 1400 Destr. Troy 7600 And, as yo [sc. æneas and Hector] counsell in the cas, I comaund be done. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 8 b, What ye rede, se you practise it in lyfe and dede. 1582 N.T. (Rhem.) Matt. v. 47 And if you salute your brethren only, what do you more? 1605 Shakes. Macb. i. iii. 47 Mac. Speake if you can: what are you? 1611 Bible Ruth i. 11 Turne againe, my daughters; Why will you goe with mee? 1637 Sc. Bk. Com. Prayer, Publ. Bapt. Exhort., Friends, you heare in this Gospel the words of our Saviour Christ. 1652 Benlowes Theoph. vi. lxxiii, Pure, scientifick and illustrious Spirits You'are. 1722 De Foe Plague (1840) 129 And do you assure us that you are all sound men? 1868 Helps Realmah xiii, I declare you are all very unkind to me. |
b. As vocative, chiefly in apposition with a n. following.
| 1569 Preston Cambyses (c 1584) F 3, Farwell you Ladies of the Court. 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, i. iii. 158 Heare me, you wrangling Pyrates, that fall out, In sharing that which you haue pill'd from me. 1658 Cokaine Trappolin v. v, You Lords of Florence, wise Machavil, and You Lord Barbarino, will you never come Out of this frenzie? 1799 Sheridan Pizarro ii. ii, And you, my daughters,..away to the appointed place of safety. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 37 You sirs, I said, what are you conspiring about? 1885 Tennyson Fleet i, You, you, if you shall fail to understand, What England is,..On you will come the curse of all the land. |
3. In apposition with a n., a numeral, all, both, in nominative or objective case.
| c 1205 Lay. 5453, & ȝif ȝe þis nulleð, alle ich ȝeow [c 1275 ȝou] aquelle. c 1320 Sir Tristr. 2184 Loke now on aday And blod lat ȝou þre. 1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 65, I haue founde ȝou folk faiþful of speche. 1470–85 Malory Arthur x. lv. 506 Is þ{supt} the rule of yow arraunt knyghtes for to make a knyght to Iuste will he or nyll. 1549 Coverdale Erasm. Par. Phil. i. 8, I longe after you all, from the very hart rote in Iesus Christ. a 1596 Sir T. More i. i. 120 If you men durst not vndertake it, before God, we women would. 1610 Shakes. Temp. iii. iii. 69 You three From Milan did supplant good Prospero. c 1720 De Foe Mem. Cavalier iv. (1840) 61 You English gentlemen..are too forward in the wars. 1837 Dickens Pickw. xlvi, If you law-gentlemen do these things on speculation. 1884 ‘Edna Lyall’ We Two xxi, You don't know how I love you all. |
II. As singular, used in addressing one person (or thing); orig. as a mark of respect, later gen.
4. Objective, replacing the earlier thee. a. as direct object of a verb.
| 13.. Bonaventura's Medit. 314 My wurschypful fadyr,..Here my bone..For sorowe my soule haþ ȝow soȝt. c 1350 Will. Palerne 634 Madame,..nis it no sekenes bote þat so sore ȝouȝ eiles, I schal þurth craft þat ich kan keuer ȝou i hope. c 1440 York Myst. xxx. 58, I beseke you my souerayne, assente to my sawes. c 1470 Gol. & Gaw. 147 To mak you lord of your avne, me think it grete skill. 1585 Jas. I Ess. Poesie Pref. (Arb.) 55, I will also wish zow (docile Reidar) that or ze cummer zow with reiding thir reulis [etc.]. 1587 in Cath. Rec. Soc. Publ. V. 138, I committ youe to the tuition of Jesu. 1650 in Verney Mem. (1907) I. 465 If yew love your selfe, and those that love yew. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones xii. iv, Your religion..serves you only for an excuse for your faults. 1837 Dickens Pickw. ii, It will afford me the greatest pleasure to know you, sir. 1857 Chamb. Jrnl. 8 Aug. 83/1 When I say mammon, I don't mean idle dukes or greedy merchant-princes; my small adulterating shopkeeper I mean you! |
b. as indirect object. (See also 7.)
| a 1352 Minot Poems (ed. Hall) vi. 23 No bowes now thar ȝow bende; Of blis ȝe er all bare. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints v. (Johannes) 643 Myn lord,..Þis ringe, þat I yu present now, Me gafe a pilgram to gyf ȝow,..And bad I suld gyf it ȝov til, & thange ȝou of ȝore gud vyl. 1471 Marg. Paston in P. Lett. III. 24, I can yw thanke for ywyr lettyr that ye sente me. c 1520 Skelton Magnyf. 2355 Nowe must I make you a lectuary softe. 1567 Satir. Poems Reform. iii. 64 My Lord, ane taikin I ȝow plycht. 1646 Hamilton Papers (Camden) 114 The drawing of that whereof the copy is sent yow. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones vii. viii, Let me tell you that. 1826 Scott Woodst. xviii, ‘Hold, woman, hold!’ said Alice Lee; ‘the dog will not do you harm.’ |
c. as object of a preposition.
| a 1352 Minot Poems (ed. Hall) vi. 28 Oure men sall with ȝow mote. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xl. (Ninian) 1123 Lord,..of þat land ȝet brocht haf I a man to ȝou as presonere. c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 2417 Me thouȝt þat assemely lady come me to..& badde þat y chulde heyȝe & to ȝow go. a 1455 Marg. of Anjou Let. to Abbot of St. Osy (Camden) 124 Unto you that bene a member of chirche. 1482 in Engl. Hist. Rev. XXV. 122 This owre ordinance made for yowe Thomas Raile nowe keper of þ⊇ said Brethernes locutorie. 15.. Adam Bel 47 in Ritson Anc. Pop. Poetry 7 Thys place hath ben besette for you, Thys half yere and more. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 296 This goldne aple..I preparit and decoret vnto ȝow my Souerane. 1607 T. Tomkis Lingua iv. i, Mendatio you offer mee great wrong to hold me, in good-faith I shall fall out with you. 1780 Mirror No. 97 ‘Quantity of syllables,’ exclaimed the Captain, ‘there is a modern education for you!’ 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xx, I bought her, and I'll give her to you. |
d. As refl. pron. (acc. or dat.). Yourself. arch.
| c 1400 Anturs Arth. 100 Thus he comforthede þe qwene..‘At this gaste,’ quod Sir Gaweayne, ‘greue ȝowe no more.’ c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 3470 Seynt Ede..sayde: syre kyng, drede ȝow nomore! c 1500 Three Kings' Sons 29 Y thought that ye wolde kepe you nere aboute hym. ? a 1550 Freiris Berwik 512 in Dunbar's Poems (1893) 302 And neir the dur ȝe hyd ȝow prevely. 1585 [see a]. 1610 Shakes. Temp. iii. i. 18 Pray set it downe, and rest you.. Pray now rest your selfe. 1712 [see get v. 28 c]. 1884 W. S. Gilbert Princ. Ida iii, Coward! get you hence. |
5. a. Nominative, replacing thou.
Always const. with pl. verb, exc. in the collocation you was, prevalent in 17th and 18th c., for which see be v. 6 ¶.
For phr. such as you bet, you know, you see, see the verbs.
| 14.. Guy W. (Cambr. MS.) 4192 ‘Syr Gye,’ he seyde,..‘To morowe schall yow weddyd bee.’ 1489 Barbour's Bruce vi. 657 (Edin. MS.) Bot the gret part to ȝow tuk ȝe, That slew iiij off the fyve ȝow ane. 1555 Eden Decades (Arb.) 380 Ouer the sayde byght, yow shall se a great gappe in the mountayne. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. i. i. 53 You swore to that Berowne, and to the rest. a 1596 Sir T. More i. ii. 194 Well, Maister Moore, you are a merie man. 1648 Hamilton Papers (Camden) 236 Yow shall, if yow finde it necessary, goe from Holland to France, and deliver to the Queen's Maj{supt}{supi}⊇ this our letter. 1740 Richardson Pamela I. 163 Well, Jacob, what do you stare at? Pray mind what you're upon. 1821 Clare Vill. Minstrel I. 34 If yah set any store by one yah will! 1833 Tennyson Death of Old Year ii, Old year, you must not go;..Old year, you shall not go. |
b. As vocative, chiefly in apposition with a n. following; in reproach or contempt often repeated after the n. (cf. thou 1 b).
| c 1500 Melusine 182 My lord and you my lady, yf ye vouchsaf it were tyme that we went thrugh the world at our auenture. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. iii. ii. 288 Fie, fie, you counterfeit, you puppet, you. 1606 Chapman Gentl. Usher iii. i, You asse you, d'ee call my Lord horse? 1667 Dryden & Dk. Newcastle Sir M. Mar-all v. iii, You old Sot you, to be caught so sillily! 1768 Goldsm. Good-n. Man ii, And you have but too well succeeded, you little hussy, you! 1840 Thackeray Catherine ix, You young hangdog, you! 1849 H. W. Herbert Frank Forester II. 179 Walk a few yards ahead of me, and look out you for all that cross you! 1852 E. Burne-Jones Let. 24 Jan. in Mem. (1904) I. 63 You scamp not to write before. 1919 B. Capes Skel. Key xxi. 273 ‘I love you for trying, you dear,’ he said. |
c. Phr. you and your ―: a contemptuous, impatient, or good-natured dismissal of the thing or person mentioned. colloq.
| 1607 Shakes. Cor. iv. vi. 97 You haue made good worke, You and your Apron men. 1837 H. Martineau Society in America III. iii. i. 80 An old acquintance of Noah's..said.., ‘Go, get along, you and your old ark! I don't believe we are going to have much of a shower.’ 1899 Kipling Stalky 177 ‘I was born there... It was called after my uncle.’ ‘Shut up—you and your uncle!’ 1943 J. B. Priestley Daylight on Saturday xxii. 172 I've told 'im... ‘You an' your Teds!’ I told 'im. 1955 E. Blishen Roaring Boys i. 27 ‘Progressing!’ He relished it. ‘You and your long words!’ 1980 P. G. Winslow Counsellor Heart xiv. 171 Ah, you and your Colonel. Worms' meat, he is now. |
d. you and who else?: see who pron. 4 a; you and yours: see yours poss. pron. 2 b.
III. Special uses.
6. Denoting any hearer or reader; hence as an indef. pers. pron.: One, any one.
| 1577 Googe Heresbach's Husb. ii. (1586) 87 You shall sometime have one branch more gallant than his fellowes. 1614 T. Tomkis Albumazar i. iii, With this [perspicill] Ile read a leafe of that small Iliade..as plainly Twelue long miles off, as you see Pauls from Highgate. 1625 Bacon Ess., Atheism (Arb.) 333 Nay more, you shall haue Atheists striue to get Disciples, as it fareth with other Sects. 1707 Lond. Gaz. No. 4351/3 One Red Buoy to the Eastward of you, as you pass this Chanel. 1726 Swift Gulliver ii. i, A child..began a squall that you might have heard from London Bridge to Chelsea. 1865 Ruskin Sesame i. §30 You can talk a mob into anything. 1870 Good Words 133/2 The slope [is] so rapid that you can scarcely find footing when once off the beaten road. |
7. Used with no definite meaning as indirect object (‘ethical dative’). Cf. me 2 c. arch.
| 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. i. ii. 84, I will roare you as gently as any Sucking Doue; I will roare and 'twere any Nightingale. 1602 ― Ham. v. i. 183 If he be not rotten before he die.., he will last you some eight yeare, or nine yeare. A Tanner will last you nine yeare. 1624 Bedell Lett. xii. 162 Vnto him..I doe..commend you: and rest you, Your very louing brother. 1874 Geo. Eliot Coll. Breakf. P. 388 Anti-social force that sweeps you down The world in one cascade of molecules. |
† 8. As possessive = your. Obs. or dial. rare.
| 1642 D. Rogers Naaman 272 You rather will quarrel with God for not fulfilling you wills. Ibid. 290 You make benefit thereof for you owne behoofe and content. 1888 Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. |
9. Qualified by a preceding adj.
| c 1600 Shakes. Sonn. lxxxvi. 2 Bound for the prize of (all to precious) you. 1895 Mrs. Forrester Too Late Repented viii, ‘Oh’, muttered Ethel..‘poor you, poor you!’ 1904 F. Whishaw Tiger of Muscovy xi. 95 How should poor little you deal with a maiden who dares to call the Tsar a bear? |
10. As n. a. The word as used in addressing a person or persons.
| c 1645 Howell Lett. iv. xix. (1890) 596 The Courtiers began to magnify him, and treat him in the plural number by You, and by degrees to deify him by transcending Titles. 1669 Penn (title) No Cross, No Crown: or Several Sober Reasons against Hat-Honour, Titular Respects, You to a Single Person,..with Testimonies of the most famous Persons in defence of the poor despised Quakers. |
b. The person (or such a person as the one) addressed; the personality of the one addressed.
| 1700 Dryden Fables Poet. Ded. 138 Or Heav'n..So lik'd the Frame, he would not work anew, To save the Charges of another You. 1724–5 Swift Receipt to restore Stella's Youth 38 If your flesh and blood be new, You'll be no more the former you. 1729 Law Serious C. xix. 361, I don't mean that you have not bodies.., but that all that deserves to be called you, is nothing else but spirit. 1911 Marett Anthropol. viii. 231 Though the language may seem to imply a ‘you’, he would mean, I believe, to impute to the flint just as much, or as little, of personality as we should mean to do when using similar language. 1964 ‘E. Lathen’ Accounting for Murder xv. 142 We run tests... Then, once we had really found the real you, we..would try to find a place that provided a challenge to your best creative talents. 1974 Spartanburg (S. Carolina) Herald 25 Apr. a–5 (Advt.), Vicaltein can be your ticket to a newer, slimmer you. 1978 J. Grenfell Stately as Galleon 38 Learn..to dance the natural nature way. Let the music through, find the inner you. 1981 Sci. Amer. July 14/3 For every quantum-mechanical branch point in your life..you have split into two or more you's riding along parallel but disconnected branches of one gigantic universal wave function. |
11. As adj.: expressive of or suited to your taste, personality, etc.
| 1918 R. Fry Let. 12 Mar. (1972) II. 425 I've read your Lucretius... I feel sure it's both immensely him and also very much you. 1936 U. Orange Begin Again xi. 247 ‘I think it's lovely,’ said Jane unkindly, ‘So you, somehow.’ 1960 N. Marsh False Scent viii. 232 The boudoir..had been created by Bertie... ‘Almost indecently you, darling!’ Bertie had told Miss Bellamy. 1981 M. Spark Loitering with Intent ii. 44, I thought your piece was very much you. |
12. Phrasal combinations: you-be-damned a., addicted to saying ‘you be damned!’; contemptuously overbearing; hence you-be-damnedness; you-know-what, † you-wot-what n., used instead of the name of something which it is needless or undesirable to specify; also as v.; you-know-who, -whom, a deliberately unnamed person whose identity is apparent to the hearer.
| 1545 R. Ascham Toxoph. ii. (Arb.) 145 As though they were doyng you wotte what. 1605 Camden Rem. (1623) 29 κακάω, to you know what. 1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield II. ix. 143, I danced last night with Lady G―, and could I forget you know whom, I might be perhaps successful. 1796 M. Edgeworth Parent's Assistant (ed. 2) i. 174 Do nothing in this till we have consulted you know who about whether it's right or wrong. a 1845 Hood Tale of Trumpet xxvi, And down you go, in you know what. 1857 Commerc. Trav. Mag. II. 240 First give me, Marguerite, just a little drop of you know what. I'm quite husky. 1885 Society in London ix. 204 What I principally like about your Lord Hartington is his you-be-damnedness. 1891 Kipling Light that Failed vi, He is such an aggressive, cocksure, you-be-damned fellow. 1912 C. Mackenzie Carnival xiii. 167, I don't think I'm jealous of you know who. 1936 O. Nash Primrose Path 198 Be my gazelle, my wishing well..But never my you-know-what. 1937 M. Allingham Dancers in Mourning xiii. 179 Not a word to Mrs. You Know Who. 1956 L. McIntosh Oxford Folly 37 She's madly gay, but hard as nails when it comes to you know what. 1975 Verbatim Dec. 1/2 John O'Donnell expressed his delight that ‘we're going to arm German panzer divisions for you-know-what’. 1976 New Yorker 26 Apr. 99/1 She gives me a pain in my you-know-what. 1978 J. Irving World according to Garp xviii. 390 Old You-Know-Who—the Under Toad, that's who, Helen thought. 1981 Q. Crisp How to become Virgin vi. 81 Since neither I nor Mr. Hurt..flashed you-know-what before the cameras..we might both by modern standards be considered old-fashioned. |
Hence you v. trans., to address (a person) by the pronoun you (instead of thou); intr. with it, to use the pronoun you repeatedly. (Cf. thou v.)
| 1564 W. Bullein Dial. agst. Pest. (1573) 1 He [sc. a beggar] thowes not God, but you[s] hym. 1675 H. More in R. Ward Life (1710) 341 No Man will You God, but use the Pronoun Thou to him. 1676 Bunyan Strait Gate 55 I say unto you. Had not the Lord Jesus designed by these words, to shew what an overthrow will one day be made among professors, he needed not to have you'ed it at this rate. 1848 A. B. Evans Leicestersh. Wds. 109 Says I, ‘Do yeaow mane to bully me?.. Yeaow come here to bully me? So I yeaowed him out o' the field. |
[III.] [8.] For ‘† Obs. or dial. rare’ read: Now dial. (chiefly W. Indies) and Black English.
| 1877 H. G. Murray in Cassidy & Le Page Dict. Jamaican Eng. (1967) 174/1 Man you mout pretty! It dis faber a tun tomattis. 1967 E. Brathwaite Rights of Passage iv. 69 You crops start to die. 1984 A. F. Loewenstein This Place 1 Beat that mark of Cain off you head. |
▪ II. you
obs. f. ewe n.1
| 1523–4 Churchw. Acc., Croscombe (Som. Rec. Soc.) 37 The whych you scheppes beth delyvered unto Hew Morganne. |
▪ III. you
graphic variant of þou, thou.