▪ I. † thee, n. Obs. rare—1.
[f. thee v.1]
evil thee: Evil speed; bad luck. (Cf. theedom b.)
| 1509 Barclay Shyp of Folys (1570) 25 Downe he commeth with an euill thee. |
▪ II. thee, pers. pron.
(ðiː, ðɪ)
Forms: 1 (acc.) þec (Northumb. ðeh, ðech); 1–6 (dat. and acc.) þe, 3 (te), þeo, 3–4 þi, 4–5 þee, 4–7 the, 4– thee (7 dial. they). For mod. dialect forms see Eng. Dial. Dict.
[(1) Acc. OE. ðec, ðeh, later ðē̆, þē̆ = OFris. thi, OS. thic, thî (MDu. di, MLG. (dik, dek) dî, LG. dî), OHG. dih (MHG., Ger. dich), ON. þik (Norw. deg, de, MSw. þik, tik, tig, thig, MDa. thek, theg, deg, Sw., Da. dig), Goth. þuk:—OTeut. *þek⊇, pre-Teut. *tege: cf. L. tē̆, Gr. σέ, Doric τέ. (2) Dat. (later also acc.) OE. ðē̆, þē̆ = OFris. thi (NFris. di, WFris. dy), OS. thî (MDu., MLG., LG. dî); (dative only) OHG. (MHG., Ger.) dir, ON. þér (Norw. deg (der), MSw. þær, þir, Sw., Da. dig), Goth. þus:—OTeut. *þez, pre-Teut. *tes. The original OE. acc. ðec still remained in Mercian in the 9th c. and in North Anglian (þec, þeh, þech) late in the 10th; in WSax. it ran together early with the dative ðe, þe, and thenceforth (as in LG. and Scand.) the two cases have had the same form, so that the direct and indirect object are only distinguishable by position or by context. On the original endings of the acc. and dat., cf. me. The e was orig. short, but was lengthened under stress.]
1. The objective case of the pronoun thou, representing the OE. accusative and dative.
As to restriction of use see note to thou pers. pron. 1.
a. acc., as direct object of a verb.
| c 825 Lorica Prayer in O.E. Texts 174 Ðonne ᵹehereð he ðec ðorh hiora ðingunge. c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xxvii. §2 Ic asciᵹe ðe..hwi þu swa maniᵹfeald yfel hæfde? c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Mark v. 31 Ðu ᵹesiist ðæt ðreat ðringende ðec. c 1160 Hatton Gosp. ibid., Þas meniᵹeo..þrungen þe. c 1200 Ormin 670 To beldenn & to frofrenn þe Ȝiff he þe seþ forrgloppnedd. a 1225 Ancr. R. 98 Hwo haueð ihurt te, mi deore? c 1375 Cursor M. 5064 (Fairf.), I saghe þe [Cott. yow] neuer be-for þis day. 1382 Wyclif Matt. v. 41 Whoeuere constrayneth thee a thousand pacis, go thou with hym other tweyne. c 1440 Jacob's Well 258 Þe feende schal pursewe þe, & sle þe in soule. 1535 Coverdale 1 Sam. viii. 7 They haue not refused the, but me. 1548–9 (Mar.) Bk. Comm. Prayer, Communion, We praise thee, we blesse thee, we worship thee, we glorifie thee. a 1660 Contemp. Hist. Irel. (Ir. Archæol. Soc.) II. 157 They [= thy] credulitie bringe they [= thee] within distance of his reache. 1784 Cowper Task v. 460 Thee I account still happy. 1842 Tennyson Locksley Hall 30 Dost thou love me, cousin?..I have loved thee long. |
b. dat., as indirect object = to thee; also in dependence on certain impersonal verbs.
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter cxix. 3 Hwet bið sald ðe oððe hwet bið toseted ðe? c 1000 Ags. Gosp. John viii. 53 Hwæt þincð þe þæt þu sy? c 1200 Ormin 210 Hiderr amm icc sennd to þe Þiss blisse þe to kiþenn. a 1225 Ancr. R 12 Ich chulle scheawe þe soðlice hwat is God. a 1300 Cursor M. 4424 Ful iuel es yolden þe [Gött. ye] þi mede. Ibid. 20185, I sai it te [v.r. þe]. 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. cxxix, Gif the ne list on lufe thy vertew set. c 1430 Two Cookery-bks. 6 As þe semyth best. 1584 R. W. Three Ladies Lond. in Hazl. Dodsley VI. 323 What avantageth it thee to win the world, and lose thy soul withal? 1610 Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 248 I haue..Told thee no lyes, made thee no mistakings. 1743 Francis tr. Hor., Odes i. xxxviii. 1, I tell thee, boy, that I detest The grandeur of a Persian feast. 1808 Scott Marm. vi. xiv, And, Douglas, more I tell thee here..I tell thee, thou 'rt defied! 1864 Tennyson North. Farmer, Old Style 68 Git ma my aäle I tell tha. |
c. As object of a preposition.
In OE. acc. or dat.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Luke i. 35 Gaast haliᵹ ofer-cymeð on ðeh [Rushw. ðec.]. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. John iii. 26 Se ðe mid þe [Lind. ðec] wæs. a 1200 Vices & Virtues 35 Ȝif godd wuneð on ðe. c 1275 Passion our Lord 138 in O.E. Misc. 41 Þeyh alle of-schomed beo Ne schal me neuer schomye louered for þeo. 13.. Cursor M. 27483 If þou man gas þin offrand to mak, And þi broþer haf gain þi [v.r. þe] sak. 1470–85 Malory Arthur i. xxiii. 70 Ther maye no knyght ryde this wey but yf he Iuste wyth the. 1535 Coverdale Isa. lx. 2 His glory shal be sene in the. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iv. v. 57 By cruell, cruell thee, quite ouerthrowne. 1656 in Jrnl. Friend's Hist. Soc. (1911) VIII. 20 To..lay before y⊇ Henry Cromwell: who art Commander in Cheife..the ground of my Sufferings. 1667 Milton P.L. iv. 35 To thee I call, But with no friendly voice, and add thy name. 1733 Pope Ess. Man iii. 31 Is it for thee the lark ascends and sings? 1820 Shelley To Skylark 1 Hail to thee, blithe Spirit! Bird thou never wert. |
2. refl.: = thyself. a. acc., as direct object.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. iv. 6 ᵹif sunu godes arð ðu send ðeh [Rushw. þec] ufa hidune. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. ibid., Asend þe þonne nyðer. a 1225 Ancr. R. 104 Holt te i þine chaumbre. a 1300 Cursor M. 529 If þow wil þe vm-think. 13.. Ibid. 26575 Sua þou mate noght wasch þi [v.r. þee] wite. a 1518 Skelton Magnyf. 303 Go shake the, dogge. 1560 Bible (Genev.) Matt. xvi. 23 Get thee behinde me, Satan. 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, i. iii. 143 High thee to Hell..Thou Cacodemon. 1678 Otway Friendship in F. 26 Get thee gone for an Arch-wagg. 1887 S. Cheshire Gloss. 69 Get thee dressed wheil I wesh me. |
b. dat., as indirect object; or as object of a preposition.
| a 1000 Cædmon's Gen. 518 (Gr.) Nim þe þis ofæt on hand. a 1100 Leg. Rood 15 Þu ᵹetuᵹe to þe ealle þa sawla. c 1300 Harrow. Hell (MS.L.) 103 Heouene ant erþe tac to þe. c 1470 Henry Wallace i. 395 Thow sall haiff leiff to fysche, and tak the ma. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado ii. i. 20 Thou wilt neuer get thee a husband, if thou be so shrewd of thy tongue. 1611 Bible 1 Kings xx. 25 Number thee an armie like the armie that thou hast lost. |
c. After some intr. verbs of motion and posture; esp. sit; see sit v. 30.
| 1593 Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, iii. iii. 16 Be thou still like thy selfe And sit thee by our side. 1599 ― Much Ado iii. i. 1 Good Margaret runne thee to the parlour, There shalt thou finde my Cosin [etc.]. 1606 ― Ant. & Cl. iv. vii. 16 Come thee on. 1867 E. Waugh Tufts 252 Sit tho deawn. 1892 Wright Gram. Windhill 120 Kum forəd lad ən sit ðe dān. |
3. Used as nom., instead of thou.
Often so used dialectally, and, in recent times, usually by Quakers, esp. with vb. in 3rd pers. sing.; but thĕ or thă unemphatic often represents both thou and thee. Now rare.
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints vi. (Thomas) 617 Þe venys þat my god wrath wil be with me. c 1470 Henry Wallace ii. 93 Go hens, the Scot, the mekill dewill the speid. a 1590 Marr. Wit & Wisd. (1846) 12 Didest the nere se man before? 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, i. ii. 127 How agrees the Diuell and thee about thy Soule? 1605 ― Lear i. iv. 204 And yet I would not be thee, Nunckle. 1684 Bunyan Pilgr. ii. 83 What canst thee earn a day, quoth he? 1687 W. Hitchcock in Jrnl. Friends' Hist. Soc. IV. 74 If thee canst sell 250 acres of it & y⊇ house. 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xiii, ‘What does thee want, father?’ said Rachel. Ibid. xvii, ‘Friend, thee isn't wanted here’. 1861 E. Waugh Birtle Carter's T. 15 An' mind te tells no lies abeawt th' lad i' thy talk. 1926 Amer. Speech I. 638/1 Even in my boyhood in New England I heard very few Quakers who habitually said thee. 1950 B. Russell Let. 6 Mar. in B. Strachey Remarkable Relations (1980) xxi. 312 What thee says about our marriage is very generous. 1964 Friend 10 Apr. 453/1 Perhaps thee has noticed the comment on this point in our Friends Journal on February 15. 1980 B. Strachey Remarkable Relations xxi. 314 Alys [Russell (1867–1951)] had been the last of the older ones; the last to say Thee and Thy. |
4. As n. a. The person or ‘self’ of the individual addressed. Cf. thou pron. 2 a.
| c 1600 Shakes. Sonn. vi, That's for thy selfe to breed an other thee. 1831 Carlyle Sart. Res. i. ix, A warm movable House, a Body round thy Body, wherein that strange Thee of thine sat snug. 1859 E. Fitzgerald Rubáiyát xxxiv, Then of the Thee in Me who works behind The Veil, I lifted up my hands to find A Lamp amid the Darkness. |
b. The word itself as used in addressing a person; esp. in phr. thee and thou. Also attrib. in thee and thou Quaker.
| 1694 [see thou 2 b]. 1774 J. Adams Diary 7 Sept., This plain Friend and his plain though pretty wife, with her Thees and Thous, had provided us the most costly entertainment. 1847 Longfellow Evang. ii. v. 13 Her ear was pleased with the Thee and Thou of the Quakers. 1894 Hall Caine Manxman 405 When he spoke it was always with the thees and thous and in the high pitch of the preacher. 1896 Peterson Mag. VI. 265/1 Whose head-master was Benjamin Hallowell, a ‘thee’ and ‘thou’ Quaker of the strictest sect. |
▪ III. † thee, v.1 Obs.
(θiː)
Forms: 1 þion, 1–3 þeon, 3–4 þen, þe, 4– 5 then, 4–6 the, 5 thene, theen, 5–6 þee, (6 thye), 4– thee. pa. tense 1 þah, þaᵹ, þæh, 1–2 þeah, 1–3 þeh, 2–3 þeaȝh, 3 þeȝ, þeu, (5 thee); pl. 1 þungon; þiᵹon; þuᵹon. pa. pple. 2–3 þungen; þiȝen; þoȝen, þowen, þowuen, 4 thowen.
[OE. þ{iacu}on, þéon, contr. from *þ{iacu}han (:—*þ{iacu}ohan, *þéohan) = OS. thîhan, thêh—thigun, githigan (Du. gedigen), OHG. (gi)dîhan, dêh—digun, digan (MHG. (ge)dîhen, G. gedeihen), Goth. þeihan—þáih—þaihun—þaihans to thrive:—OTeut. *þiŋχ-, earlier *þeŋχ- (*þaŋχ-, *þuŋg-) of the 3rd ablaut series:—Indo-Eur. root tenk. With the elimination of the nasal before χ the verb came in prim. Germ. to be assimilated to the 1st ablaut series (ī—ai—i—i); but traces of the primitive conjugation survive in the OS. pa. pple. githungan, and the OE. forms þungon, -en. The OE. contracted form þéon began to follow the inflexional type of téon:—*teuhan (tee v.1), whence þéah, þuᵹon, þoᵹen.]
1. intr. To grow; to thrive, prosper (arch. in 16th c. use).
| Beowulf 8 He..weox under wolcnum, weorð-myndum þah. c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xix, Þeah hwa wexe..and þeo on eallum welum. c 1000 ælfric Hom. II. 104 His wæstmas ᵹenihtsumlice þuᵹon. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Luke ii. 52 Se hælend þeah on wisdome and on ylde. a 1050 Liber Scintill. lxxxi. 221 Sume soþlice on æᵹþrum þeoþ. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 161 And hit wacxs and wel þeaȝh. Ibid. 177 Here tuder swiðe wexeð and wel þieð. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2012 Vnder ioseph his welðe ðeȝ. c 1275 Lay. 24272 Þe borh suþþe ne þeh. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 240 Þe child wax & wel iþeȝ [v.rr. thee, ythei]. Ibid. 7086 Þis chyld wax so wel & þeu. c 1300 Beket 149 He fond his sone..Þeoinge [pr. Theonige] fair and manliche. a 1310 in Wright Lyric P. 23 Ȝef he beth thryven ant thowen in theode. 13.. Pol. Rel. & L. Poems 238 Ho þat me louit ssal þe no more. c 1400 Gamelyn 234 Come þou ones in my hond þou shalt neuer the. 1426 Audelay Poems 4 Thai schal have grace to thryve and thene. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 490/1 Theen, or thryvyn, vigeo. 1509 Barclay Shyp of Folys (1874) II. 94 [He] is seldome sen to thye. a 1518 Skelton Magnyf. 862 Abusyon Forsothe I hyght;..That vseth me,—He can not thee. 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 19 Giue ouer to sudgerne, that thinkest to thee. |
b. In imprecations and asseverations.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 5150 ‘Sais þou soth?’ ‘yaa, sa mot i the’. 13.. Sir Beues 2753 A swor, alse he moste þen, He nolde him neiþer hire ne sen. ? a 1366 Chaucer Rom. Rose 1067 Wel yvel mote they thryve and thee, And yvel achyved mote they be. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. v. 228 Ac I swere now, so the ik, þat synne wil I lete. c 1386 Chaucer Can. Yeom. Prol. & T. 376 By cause our firne was nat maad of Beech, That is the cause, and oother noon, so theech. c 1425 Seven Sag. 1548 (P.) Quod the kyng, ‘So mot I the, Astow wylt hyt schal bee. c 1450 Mankind 297 in Macro Plays 12 Gode let hym neuer thene! [rime sene]. 1586 J. Ferne Blaz. Gentrie 22 Full ill mought they both thee. 1598 E. Guilpin Skial. (1878) 19 (Lydia) So mote I thee thou art not faire, A plaine brownetta when thou art at best. ? a 1600 Old Robin of Portingale xiv. in Child Ballads iii. (1885) 241/1 If it be not true,..God let me neuer thye. 17.. in Ritson Songs (1794) II. 132 He that spares, ne'er mote he thee. a 1800 in Edinb. Mag. June (1819) 527/1 But wearie fa' the fairy wicht..May he never thee. |
2. trans. To cause to prosper; to prosper. Obs.
| c 1250 Prayer in Rel. Ant. I. 22 Þe lavird þieh þe in hevirilk place. |
Hence † thowen, þoȝen, þowun ppl. a., thriven; grown up, adult.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 39 Mid-niht ðe bilimpeð to frumberdligges, hanecrau þe bilimpeð þowuene men. Ibid. 41 Ðese herdes..wakieð biforen euen, þanne þe childre wuel þewuen..he þo ful þoȝene turneð to godes bihouþe. Ibid. 127 Alse wat se he was þoȝen on wintre and on wastme. |
▪ IV. thee, v.2
(ðiː)
[f. thee pron.]
To use the pronoun ‘thee’ to a person: see thou v. Also to thee and thou (cf. F. tutoyer). a. trans. b. intr. (or absol.). Hence ˈtheeing vbl. n.
| a. 1662 Tatham Aqua Tri. 6 Though I Thee Thee, and Thou Thee, I am no Quaker. a 1690 G. Fox Jrnl. (1827) I. 103, I was required to Thee and Thou all men and women, without any respect to rich or poor, great or small. a 1739 Jarvis Quix. i. iv. li, With the utmost arrogance he would thee and thou his equals and acquaintance. 1836 T. Hook G. Gurney v, There I saw..two quaker children playing about the place, thee'ing and thou'ing each other, with perfect French familiarity. 1884 A. Doherty N. Barlow 28 Familiarly he ‘thee'd’ and ‘thou'd’ the men, And cheekily they ‘thee'd’ and ‘thou'd’ again. |
| b. 1679 [see thou v. b]. 1696 C. Leslie Snake in Grass p. xv, This was the Bottom upon which the Quakers first set up, to run down all worldly Honour..; to Thee and Thou; to call no Man Master, or Lord, and not to take off their Hats, or Bow to any. 1760 J. Rutty Spir. Diary (ed. 2) 148 At meeting..was seen my insincerity in Theeing, inconsistent with my writing. 1894 Du Maurier Trilby i. (1901) 19/2 There were ladies too en cheveux..some of whom thee'd and thou'd with familiar and friendly affection. |
▪ V. thee
obs. and dial. form of thigh.