you - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From Middle English you, yow, ȝow (object case of ye), from Old English ēow (“you”, dative case of ġē), from Proto-West Germanic *iwwi (“you”, dative case of *jiʀ), from Proto-Germanic *iwwiz (“you”, dative case of *jīz), the Western form of Proto-Germanic *izwiz (“you”, dative case of *jūz), from Proto-Indo-European *yúHs (“you”, plural).

Cognate with Scots you (“you”), Saterland Frisian jou (“you”), West Frisian jo (“you”), Low German jo, joe and oe (“you”), Dutch jou and u (“you”), German euch (“you”), Middle High German eu, iu (“you”, object pronoun), Latin vōs (“you”), Avestan 𐬬𐬋 (vō, “you”), Ashkun yë̃ (“you”), Kamkata-viri šo (“you”), Sanskrit यूयम् (yūyám, “you”).

See usage notes. Ye, you and your are cognate with Dutch jij/je, jou, jouw; Low German ji, jo/ju, jug and German ihr, euch and euer respectively. Ye is also cognate with Danish I and archaic Swedish I.

Following a word ending in an alveolar obstruent (/t/, /d/, /s/, or /z/), the words may coalesce and palatalize, resulting in postalveolar /tʃ/, /dʒ/, /ʃ/, and /ʒ/, respectively. This is occasionally represented in writing, for example gotcha (from got you) or whatcha doin' (more formally what are you doing?).

you (second person, singular or plural, nominative or objective, possessive determiner your, possessive pronoun yours, singular reflexive yourself, plural reflexive yourselves)

  1. (object pronoun) The people spoken, or written to, as an object. [from 9th c.]
    Both of you should get ready now.
    I'll look up you and your sister.
  2. (reflexive pronoun, now US colloquial) (To) yourselves, (to) yourself. [from 9th c.]
  3. (object pronoun) The person spoken to or written to, as an object. (Replacing thee; originally as a mark of respect.) [from 13th c.]
    • c. 1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book VIII:
      I charge you, as ye woll have my love, that ye warne your kynnesmen that ye woll beare that day the slyve of golde uppon your helmet.
  4. (subject pronoun) The people spoken to or written to, as a subject. (Replacing ye.) [from 14th c.]
    You are all supposed to do as I tell you.
  5. (subject pronoun) The person spoken to or written to, as a subject. (Originally as a mark of respect.) [from 15th c.]
  6. (subject pronoun, colloquial) A person's favorite sports team.
    I get that you're from Southeast Michigan, but I'm still surprised that you're a Detroit Lions fan. You have been on the receiving end of losing seasons for a while now.
  7. (indefinite personal pronoun) Anyone, one; an unspecified individual or group of individuals (as subject or object). [from 16th c.]
    • 1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], chapter II, in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], volume II, London: […] [Macdonald and Son] for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, published 1 January 1818, →OCLC, page 18:
      The ascent is precipitous, but the path is cut into continual and short windings, which enable you to surmount the perpendicularity of the mountain.
    • 2001 May 5, Polly Vernon, The Guardian:
      You can't choose your family, your lovers are difficult and volatile, but, oh, you can choose your friends - so doesn't it make much more sense to live and holiday with them instead?
  8. (indefinite personal pronoun) A dummy pronoun used in certain constructions, usually with verbs of receiving (such as get or find) or sensing (such as see or hear), typically stating the existence or typicality of something.
    You get a lot of rude people in London.
    It was one of those small-town dive bars you often read about.
    • 1973, Soldiers:
      You find a lot of 'life' in the city but much of it is an act people are putting on.
    • 2018 October 4, Javier Marías, Berta Isla, Penguin UK, →ISBN:
      You get some terrible bullies in Spanish villages too , and they'll doubtless grow up to be complete oafs.
    • 2018 January 16, Rick Wolff, Secrets of Sports Psychology Revealed: Proven Techniques to Elevate Your Performance, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:
      You often hear about athletes having the jitters before a game, or having butterflies in their stomach.

you

  1. The individual or group spoken or written to.
    Have you gentlemen come to see the lady who fell backwards off a bus?
  2. Used before epithets, describing the person being addressed, for emphasis.
    You idiot!
    • 2015, Judi Curtin, Only Eva, The O'Brien Press, →ISBN:
      'You genius!' I shouted in Aretta's ear. 'You absolute genius! Why didn't you tell us you were so good?'
  3. (nonstandard) Your.
    • 1899 August, E[lizabeth] Stuart Phelps [Ward], “Loveliness: A Story”, in The Atlantic Monthly‎[1], volume LXXXIV, number DII, Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 March 2026, page 228, column 2:
      Tell me about ’e barber who shaved you hair so close,—was he kind to you?
    • 2002 [1997], Pablo Urbanyi, translated by Hugh Hazelton, “Entry 21: The Longest Day of the Year Begins”, in Sunset, Fredericton, N.B.: Broken Jaw Press, →ISBN, page 72:
      “No. I need a ride into Buenos Aires. You remember what we arranged?” “You wife’s a-gonna give a-birt?” “That’s right. Are you free?”
    • 2014 September 5, Arthur Hamilton, “Margaret Rose McAllister”, in Jonathan’s Journey, [Bloomington, Ind.]: Xlibris, →ISBN:
      “You oyster gravy, Massa Sam,” said Ella, ladling a couple of spoonfuls over the rice.

you (third-person singular simple present yous, present participle youing, simple past and past participle youed)

  1. (transitive) To address (a person) using the pronoun you (in the past, especially to use you rather than thou, when you was considered more formal).
    • 1930, Barrington Hall, Modern Conversation, Brewer & Warren, page 239:
      Youing consists in relating everything in the conversation to the person you wish to flatter, and introducing the word “you” into your speech as often as possible.
    • 1992, Barbara Anderson, Portrait of the Artist’s Wife, Victoria University Press, page 272:
      Now even Princess Anne had dropped it. Sarah had heard her youing away on television the other night just like the inhabitants of her mother’s dominions beyond the seas.
    • 2004, Ellen Miller, “Practicing”, in Brooklyn Noir, Akashic Books:
      But even having my very own personal pronoun was risky, because it’s pretty tough to keep stopped-hope stopped up when you are getting all youed up, when someone you really like keeps promising you scary, fun, exciting stuff—and even tougher for the[_sic_] of that moment to remain securely devoid of hope, to make smart, self-denying decisions with Dad _you_ing me—the long ooo of it broad and extended, like a hand.

you (plural yous)

  1. The name of the Latin script letter U/u.
    • 1969, Michael Feld, The Sabbatical Year, London: Alan Ross Ltd, page 301:
      ‘Eff. You. En,’ said Mr Banstead. ‘Fun! […]’
    • 2004, Will Rogers, The Stonking Steps, page 170:
      It said, in a whispering, buzzing voice, "Gee-you-ess-ess-ay-dash-em-ee-ar-ar-wye-dash-em-eye-en-gee-oh-dash-pee-eye-pee-dash-pee-ee-ar-ar-wye-dash-pee-eye-en-gee-oh."
  1. ^ The British Friend (November 1st, 1861), notes: "In 1659, Thomas Ellwood, Milton's friend and scoretary, thus expresses himself—“ The corrupt and unsound form of speaking in the plural number to a single person, you to one instead of thou, contrary to the pure, plain, and simple language ..."

From English you.

you

  1. thou, thee, 2nd person singular subject and object personal pronoun

Cameroon Pidgin personal pronouns

| | singular | plural | | | ---------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Subject personal pronouns | | | | 1st person | I | we, wu | | 2nd person | you | wuna | | 3rd person | i | dey | | Object and topic personal pronouns | | | | 1st person | me | we | | 2nd person | you | wuna | | 3rd person | yi, -am | dem, -am |

you

  1. Rōmaji transcription of よう

you

  1. water

Inherited from Late Latin eo, from Classical Latin egō̆.

you

  1. I

Leonese personal pronouns

| | nominative | disjunctive | dative | accusative | | | | ------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------ | --------------------------- | | first person | singular | you | min1 | me | | | plural | masculine | nosoutros | nos | | | | feminine | nosoutras | | | | | | second person | singular | familiar | tu | ti1 | te | | formal3 | vusté | | | | | | plural | familiar | masculine2 | vosoutros | vos | | | feminine | vosoutras | | | | | | formal3 | vustedes | | | | | | third person | singular4 | masculine2 | él | ye | lu | | feminine | eilla | la | | | | | plural | masculine2 | eillos | yes | los | | | feminine | eillas | las | | | | | reflexive | — | sí1 | — | | |

  1. Not used with cun; cunmiéu, cuntiéu, and cunsiéu are used instead, respectively
  2. Masculine Leonese pronouns can be used when the gender of the subject is unknown or when the subject is plural and of mixed gender.
  3. Treated as if it were third-person for purposes of conjugation and reflexivity.
  4. A neuter form eillu exists too.

From English you.

you

  1. (informal) second-person pronoun.
    You dah makan?
    Have you eaten yet?

you (you5 / you0, Zhuyin ˙ㄧㄡ)

  1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 喲 / 哟

you

  1. nonstandard spelling of yōu
  2. nonstandard spelling of yóu
  3. nonstandard spelling of yǒu
  4. nonstandard spelling of yòu

you

  1. alternative form of yow

you

  1. (Northern, Northeast Midland) alternative form of þou

Inherited from Late Latin eo, inherited from Classical Latin egō̆.

you

  1. I (the first-person singular pronoun)
    • 2008, “Ai que cochino!!! (ver. II)”, in Picä Tumilho (band) (music), Faíçca: Ua stória d'amor i laboura:
      I you cun muita fuorça spetei bien la faca
      And I strongly skewered [with] the knife.

you 0 (stative)

  1. to be big
  2. to be old

you

  1. water

Borrowed from Bargam yuw and Waskia yu.[1]

you

  1. water
  1. ^ Loanwords in Takia, in Loanwords in the World's Languages: A Comparative Handbook (edited by Martin Haspelmath, Uri Tadmor), page 761

you

  1. fire