ye

¹

[ yee ]

pronoun

1. Archaic, except in some elevated or ecclesiastical prose Literary, or British Dialect.
   1. (used nominatively as the plural of thou especially in rhetorical, didactic, or poetic contexts, in addressing a group of persons or things):

      O ye of little faith; ye brooks and hills.

   2. (used nominatively for the second person singular, especially in polite address):

      Do ye not know me?

   3. (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!

ye

²

[ thee; spelling pronunciation yee ]

definite article

, Archaic.

1. the ¹.

ye

¹

/ jɪ; jiː /

pronoun

1. archaic.
   refers to more than one person including the person addressed but not including the speaker
2. dialect.
   Alsoeeiː refers to one person addressed

   I tell ye

ye

²

/ jiː; ðiː /

determiner

1. a form of the, used in conjunction with other putative archaic spellings

   ye olde oake

ye

³

the internet domain name for

1. Yemen

Spelling Note

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 (th̸) in Modern English; Y was the closest symbol in the Roman alphabet. Originally, the form would have been rendered as  or ye. The pronunciation [yee] today is a spelling pronunciation.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ye¹

before 900; Middle English; Old English gē; cognate with Dutch gij, German ihr, Old Norse ēr, Gothic jus

Word History and Origins

Origin of ye¹

Old English gē; related to Dutch gij, Old Norse ēr, Gothic jus

Origin of ye²

from a misinterpretation of the as written in some Middle English texts. The runic letter thorn (Þ, representing th ) was incorrectly transcribed as y because of a resemblance in their shapes

Example Sentences

Because we all grew up initially thinking it was “God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen.”

From The Daily Beast

Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

From The Daily Beast

Ye documented the instance in photos, which soon surfaced online.

From The Daily Beast

And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

From The Daily Beast

But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

From The Daily Beast

He set down as the second the golden rule, “Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so to them.”

From Project Gutenberg

By a voice he saith: Hear me, ye divine offspring, and bud forth as the rose planted by the brooks of waters.

From Project Gutenberg

Decide about it, ye that are learned in the ethnographic distinctions of our race—but heaven defend us from the Bourbonnaises!

From Project Gutenberg

"I've brought ye thet Injun I wuz tellin' ye uv," she said, with a wave of her hand toward Alessandro.

From Project Gutenberg

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly of heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

From Project Gutenberg