thee

Formsthees, theeing, theed

1. 1
   you (object)pronounarchaic

   Objective and reflexive form of 'thou,' used as the object of a verb or preposition in archaic or literary English.

   He swore he would never abandon thee, whatever might come.

   Prince Henry: Did I ever call for thee to pay thy part? Falstaff: No; I'll give thee thy due, thou hast paid all there.

   1598, William Shakespeare, Henry IV part 1

   UsageThe subject form is thou: thou art, but I love thee, with thee.

   Note

   Old English þē began as a dative and later pushed out the old accusative þec, so one form came to serve every object role. It can also point back to the person addressed, as in Milton's "Take to thee from among the Cherubim" in Paradise Lost. Charles Wesley's 1742 hymn capitalizes it as Thee when the one addressed is God. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • Old English þē was originally dative and subsequently replaced accusative þec, producing a common object form. en.wiktionary.org
   • John Milton's Paradise Lost contains the exact quotation; God addresses Michael, and thee refers back to Michael. gutenberg.org
   • Charles Wesley wrote the hymn known as Come, O thou Traveller unknown, first published in the collection dated 1742. en.wikipedia.org
   • The hymn is transmitted with capitalized Thee addressing the divine Saviour. en.wikisource.org
2. 2
   the (spelling)articlenonstandard

   Alternative spelling of the: a deliberate, stylized respelling of the article, found chiefly in band names and playful titles.

   My cousin's garage band renamed itself Thee Velvet Lanterns to give it a retro sixties feel.

   The diner hung a hand-painted banner promising Thee Best Burgers in Town, a joke the owner never tired of.

   Note

   A deliberate modern respelling, not a relic. It is best known from band and group names, from Thee Midniters in the 1960s to Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth. Grammatically nothing changes, and it does every job the does. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • The article spelling thee is a deliberate respelling of the, distinct from the inherited pronoun. en.wiktionary.org
   • Thee Midniters was a band using this name in the 1960s. en.wikipedia.org
   • Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth is the name of a group or organization. en.wikipedia.org
3. 3
   pronounarchaic

   Used in place of 'thou' as the subject 'you' when addressing one person, in archaic or dialectal speech.

   "What does thee want, father?" said Rachel.

   1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin

   "He says he's our man, Bildad," said Peleg, "he wants to ship." "Dost thee?" said Bildad, in a hollow tone

   1851, Herman Melville, “The Ship”

   Note

   Here the old object form has moved into the subject slot, and the verb after it wavers. Melville's Bildad asks "Dost thee?" in Moby-Dick, keeping the verb thou would take. Harriet Beecher Stowe's "What does thee want" switches to the ordinary third-person verb. For conventional archaic English, the subject is thou, and thee belongs to the object form. Source

   Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 7 facts

   • The historically objective form thee also occurs as a subject, with varying verb agreement. en.wiktionary.org
   • Herman Melville wrote Moby-Dick. gutenberg.org
   • Bildad asks the exact question “Dost thee?” in Moby-Dick. gutenberg.org
   • Dost is the verb form conventionally used with thou. en.wikipedia.org
   • The words “What does thee want” occur in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s writing, spoken by Rachel in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. gutenberg.org
   • Does is the ordinary third-person singular verb form. en.wiktionary.org
   • Conventionally, thou is the subject form and thee the object form. en.wikipedia.org

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