you

you · pronoun

imported

Definitions

pronoun

  1. 1.

    Used to refer to the person or people that the speaker is addressing.

  2. 2.

    Used to refer to any person in general (generic you).

  3. 3.

    Used to refer to oneself together with the person addressed.

  4. 4.

    (With noun) used to address someone emphatically or dismissively.

Related words

See also: I, we, your, yourself

Etymology

From Old English "eow," accusative and dative of "ge" (you, plural). Originally "you" was only the object form (like "me" for "I"), but it gradually replaced "ye" (the subject form) and also took over from "thou/thee" (singular familiar forms), becoming the universal second-person pronoun by the 17th century.