thee

thee — pronoun

1. an old pronoun that served as the object form of 'thou' in older English — equiv

1.pronounB2
Definition

an old pronoun that served as the object form of 'thou' in older English — equivalent to the modern word 'you' when directed at a single individual. It appears today in historical novels, the King James Bible, traditional prayers, poetry, and some English dialects.

Example

Asher read the poem aloud: 'I can no longer hide my love for thee.'

thee as object of preposition 'for'

The old prayer began, 'We beseech thee, O Lord, to hear our humble plea.'

archaic religious register: beseech + thee

Common collocations
  • I beseech thee
  • I thank thee
  • to thee
  • with thee
  • for thee
  • I love thee
  • I see thee
  • I give thee
  • the Lord bless thee
Synonyms
  • you

    modern equivalent; neutral register, works everywhere 'thee' would except intentionally archaic contexts

  • ye

    archaic plural or formal 'you' (subject form); 'ye' covers both subject and some object uses but is even rarer than 'thee'

Grammar Patterns

thee as direct object (I see thee)

thee after preposition (to thee / with thee / for thee)

thee as indirect object (I give thee this ring)

Usage Note

THEE is never used as a subject — that role belongs to 'thou' (e.g. 'thou art kind', NOT 'thee art kind'). It is also never used with modern third-person verb forms: 'I see thee', not 'I sees thee'. In modern English, 'thee' appears almost exclusively in historical novels, religious liturgy, poetry, and some northern English dialects (especially Yorkshire and Lancashire). Learners should recognise it when reading older texts but avoid using it in everyday speech unless the context is deliberately archaic.

Common Mistakes

I give this to thou.
I give this to thee.
'thou' is the subject form; after a preposition, use 'thee'.
Thee is my friend.
Thou art my friend.
'thee' cannot be the subject of a sentence; use 'thou' instead.
I love thee very much.' (as modern usage)
Reserve 'thee' for literary, religious, or historical contexts. In everyday English, use 'you'.

Word family

  • thou
    pronounB2
  • thy
    determinerB2
  • thine
    determinerB2
  • thyself
    pronounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: pronoun/1

THEE, THOU, YE, and YOU form a system of second-person pronouns in Early Modern English that no longer exists today. THOU was the subject form for one person ('Thou art my friend'), and THEE was the corresponding object form ('I see thee'). YE was used as the subject form for more than one person or as a formal singular ('Ye are the light of the world'), while YOU originally was the object plural but gradually replaced all other forms. By the 18th century, YOU had become the standard for both singular and plural, subject and object, while THOU and THEE survived only in religious language (the King James Bible), poetry, and certain rural English dialects. Learners today encounter THEE and THOU mostly when reading Shakespeare, the Bible, or historical fiction — for example, in the well-known line 'Wherefore art thou Romeo?' the subject is THOU, not THEE, because it means 'Why are you Romeo?'

thee ↗thou ↗yeyou ↗

Common collocations

Phrases

  • I beseech thee
  • I thank thee
  • the Lord bless thee and keep thee
  • I give thee my word

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishProto-GermanicEnglish

Thee comes from Old English 'þē', which was the object (accusative and dative) form of 'þū' (thou). It traces back to Proto-Germanic '*þek' and is related to Old Norse 'þik', Old High German 'dih' (modern German 'dich'), and Dutch 'dij'. The word has been part of English continuously since before the 8th century, though it gradually fell out of everyday use between the 16th and 18th centuries as 'you' took over both subject and object roles. Today it survives as a deliberate archaism in literature, religion, and traditional dialects.