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, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology 1
From Middle English ye, ȝe, from Old English ġē (“ye”), the nominative case of the second-person plural personal pronoun, from Proto-West Germanic *jiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *jīz, a North-West variant of Proto-Germanic *jūz (“ye”), from Proto-Indo-European *yūs, *yū́ (“ye”), plural of *túh₂. Cognate with Scots ye (“ye”), Saterland Frisian jie, Dutch gij, ge, jij, je (“ye”), Low German ji, jie (“ye”), German ihr (“ye”), Danish and Swedish I (“ye”), Icelandic ér (“ye”). See also you.
Pronunciation
Pronoun
ye (personal pronoun)
- (archaic outside Northern England, Cornwall, Ireland, Newfoundland) You (the people being addressed).
1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. , part II (books IV–VI), London: [Richard Field] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC, stanza 17, page 512:My liefe (ſayd ſhe) ye know, that long ygo, / Whileſt ye in durance dwelt, ye to me gaue / A little mayde, the which ye chylded tho ; / The ſame againe if now ye liſt to haue, / The ſame is yonder Lady, whom high God did ſaue.
1671, Elisha Coles, chapter 6, in ΧΡΙΣΤΟΛΟΓΙΑ: Or, a Metrical Paraphraſe on the Hiſtory of Our Lord and Saviour Jeſus Chriſt : Dedicated to His Univerſal Church:Queſtion me then no more; whate'er ye want, / Ask in my Name, and God ſhall ſurely grant. / You've asked nothing yet for Jesus sake : / Ask and receive, and of my joyes partake.
1995, Elizabeth II, “Legal Notice 247 of 1996”, in Hong Kong Government Gazette, page B1096:Know Ye that We have declared and by these Presents do declare our Will and Pleasure as follows— […]
- (archaic) You (the singular person being addressed).
1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick, chapter 23:Know ye now, Bulkington? Glimpses do ye seem to see of that mortally intolerable truth; that all deep, earnest thinking is but the intrepid effort of the soul to keep the open independence of her sea; [...]
Usage notes
Ye was originally used only for the nominative case (as the subject), and only for the second-person plural. Later, ye was used as a subject or an object, either singular or plural, which is the way that you is used today. In modern Hiberno-English usage, ye is used as a subject or an object in the plural, to contrast with you (singular).
Synonyms
Derived terms
References
- Newcastle 1970s, Scott Dobson and Dick Irwin,
Etymology 2
From Middle English þe. Early press typographies lacked the letter þ (“thorn”), for which the letter y was substituted due to their resemblance in blackletter hand (etymological y was for a while distinguished by a dot, ẏ). Short form yͤ continued long after the digraph th had replaced þ elsewhere.
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- Traditionally pronounced the same as the, but now often pronounced with the ordinary sound of ⟨y⟩: IPA(key): /jiː/
Article
ye
- (archaic, definite) The.
1611, The Holy Bible, (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, 1 Timothy 1:17, column 2:Now vnto yͤ king eternal, immortall, inuiſible, the onely wiſe God, be honour and glory for euer ⁊ euer. Amen.
- 1647, The old deluder, Satan, Act. (cited in American Public School Law, K. Alexander, M. Alexander, 1995)
- It being one cheife proiect of ye ould deluder, Satan, to keepe men from the knowledge of Scriptures, as in formr times by keeping ym in an unknowne tongue, so in these lattr times by perswading from ye use of tongues, yt so at least ye true sence & meaning of ye originall might be clouded by false glosses of saint seeming deceivers, yt learning may not be buried in ye church and commonwealth, the Lord assisting or endeavors,—
- Ye Olde Medicine Shoppe (pseudoarchaic)
Derived terms
Etymology 3
Shortened from yes or yeah.
Interjection
ye
- (slang) Yes, yeah.
Etymology 4
From Russian е (je).
Noun
ye (plural yes)
- The Cyrillic letter Е, е, featured in various Slavic and Turkic languages.
Translations
Anagrams
Asturian
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Verb
ye
- third-person singular present indicative of ser
Azerbaijani
Verb
ye
- second-person singular imperative positive degree of yemək
Bambara
Etymology 1
Postposition
ye
- at, towards
- for
N ye nin kɛ Madu ye- I did this for Madou
- with
N bɛ n ko ni safunɛ ye- I wash myself with soap
Etymology 2
Verb
ye (auxiliary)
- (verbal auxiliary for transitive verbs) marks an action which is accomplished
Ne ye moto san- I bought a motorbike
Etymology 3
Verb
ye
- (transitive) to see
Ne m'a ye fɔlɔ- I haven't seen him yet
Derived terms
Catawba
Noun
ye
- man (adult male human), men
- person, people
- Native American Indian(s)
Usage notes
- Catawba nouns do not inflect for number.
- Many of Catawba's names for tribes incorporate this word, e.g. yę iswa (“the Catawba”, literally “people of the river”), yę manterą (“the Cherokee”, literally “people born in/on the land”).
- The vowel of this word is generally nasalized; this is reflected in different ways or not at all in different transcriptions: ye, yę, yen. Sometimes, an initial i, also nasalized, is found: inyen / įyę.
References
- 1858, Oscar M. Lieber, Vocabulary of the Catawba Language
- 1900, Albert S. Gatschet, Grammatic Sketch of the Catawba Language (published in the American Anthropologist)
- 1942, Frank G. Speck and C. E. Shaeffer, Catawba Kinship and Social Organization
- 1945, Frank T. Siebert, Jr., Linguistic Classification of Catawba (published in the International Journal of American Linguistics)
Fula
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.).
Particle
ye
- so, therefore
- truly
- not at all
References
Haitian Creole
Etymology
From French est (“is”), third person singular of the indicative present of être (“to be”).
Pronunciation
Verb
ye
- Form of se used at the end of a phrase, after the predicate and the subject, in that order; to be.
- Kimoun ou ye? (“Who are you?”, literally “Who you are?”)
Ido
Etymology
From Esperanto je.
Pronunciation
Preposition
ye
- to, at, by (preposition used when no other fits the meaning)
Lu kaptis la kavalo per lazo ye la kolo.- He/she captured the horse by a lasso to the neck.
Ye la angulo di la strado.- At the corner of the street.
Ilu prenis elu ye la tayo.- He took her by the waist.
Noun
ye (plural ye-i)
- The name of the Latin script letter Y/y.
See also
- (Latin script letter names) litero; a, be, ce, che, de, e, fe, ge, he, i, je, ke, le, me, ne, o, pe, que, re, se, she, te, u, ve, we, xe, ye, ze (Category: io:Latin letter names)
Indonesian
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Dutch jee. Doublet of je.
Pronunciation
Noun
yè
- The name of the Latin-script letter Y/y.
Synonyms
See also
- (Latin-script letter names) huruf; a, be, ce, de, e, ef, ge, ha, i, je, ka, el, em, en, o, pe, ki, er, es, te, u, ve, we, eks, ye, zet
Further reading
Japanese
Romanization
ye
- Rōmaji transcription of いぇ
- Rōmaji transcription of イェ
- (obsolete) Rōmaji transcription of 𛀁
- (obsolete) Rōmaji transcription of エ
- (obsolete) Rōmaji transcription of 𛄡 (𛄡)
Mandarin
Romanization
ye
- Nonstandard spelling of yē.
- Nonstandard spelling of yé.
- Nonstandard spelling of yě.
- Nonstandard spelling of yè.
Usage notes
- Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.
Middle English
Etymology 1
From Old English ġē, from Proto-West Germanic *jiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *jūz, from Proto-Indo-European *yū́ (with the nominative ending added). Compare the second-person dual pronoun ȝit.
Alternative forms
- yee, ȝe, ȝee, yeȝ, yhe, ȝhe, ge, iye, yie, ȝie, gie, hye, hie, ȝeo, geo
Pronunciation
Pronoun
ye (accusative yow, genitive youres, youren, possessive determiner your)
- Second-person plural pronoun: ye, you (plural).
c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.), published c. 1410, Matheu 16:15, page 9r, column 1; republished as Wycliffe's translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:iheſus ſeide to hem / but whom ſeyn ȝe me to be .·?- Jesus said to them, "But who do you say I am?"
- (formal) second-person singular pronoun: you (singular).
a. 1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “Book II”, in Troilus and Criseyde, lines 22–28:Ȝe knowe ek that in fourme of ſpeche is chaunge / With-inne a thousand ȝeer, and wordes tho /That hadden pris now wonder nyce and ſtraunge /Us thenketh hem, and ȝet thei ſpake hem so / And ſpedde as wel in loue as men now do / Ek forto wynnen loue in ſondry ages / In ſondry londes, ſondry ben vſages […]- You also know that the form of language is in flux; / within a thousand years, words / that had currency; really weird and bizarre / they seem to us now, but they still spoke them / and accomplished as much in love as men do now. / As for winning love across ages and / across nations, there are lots of usages
Usage notes
The formal singular usage, following the T-V distinction, was used to address one's superiors, elders or others to whom one might wish to show politeness or respect.
Descendants
Verb
ye (present participle yeyn)
- Address a single person by the use of the pronoun ye instead of thou.
- 1511, Promptorium Parvulorum (de Worde), sig. M.iiiᵛ/2
See also
Middle English personal pronouns
|
nominative
|
accusative
|
dative
|
genitive
|
possessive
|
singular
|
1st-person
|
I, ich, ik
|
me |
min mi1 |
min
|
2nd-person
|
þou
|
þe |
þin þi1 |
þin
|
3rd-person
|
m
|
he |
him hine2 |
him |
his |
his hisen
|
f
|
sche, heo |
hire heo
|
hire |
hire hires, hiren
|
n
|
hit |
hit him2 |
his, hit |
—
|
dual3
|
1st-person
|
wit
|
unk
|
unker
|
2nd-person
|
ȝit
|
inc
|
inker
|
plural
|
1st-person
|
we
|
us, ous |
oure |
oure oures, ouren
|
2nd-person4
|
ye
|
yow |
your |
your youres, youren
|
3rd-person
|
inh.
|
he |
hem he2 |
hem |
here |
here heres, heren
|
bor.
|
þei
|
þem, þeim |
þeir |
þeir þeires, þeiren
|
1Used preconsonantally or before h.
2Early or dialectal.
3Dual pronouns are only sporadically found in Early Middle English; after that, they are replaced by plural forms. There are no third-person dual forms in Middle English.
4Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.
References
Etymology 2
From Old English gēa, from Proto-West Germanic *jā, from Proto-Germanic *ja.
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Adverb
ye
- yes, yea
Descendants
References
Etymology 3
Noun
yë (plural yën)
- Alternative form of eie
1387–1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Prologues”, in The Canterbury Tales, ,
→OCLC; republished in [
William Thynne], editor,
The Workes of Geffray Chaucer Newlye Printed, ,
:
[
Richard Grafton for]
Iohn Reynes ,
1542,
→OCLC, lines
9–10:
Etymology 4
Article
ye
- (chiefly Northern) Alternative form of þe (“the”)
Etymology 5
Pronoun
ye
- (chiefly Northern) Alternative form of þe (“thee”)
Norn
Etymology
From Old Norse eigi.
Adverb
ye
- (Orkney) not
Pali
Alternative forms
Alternative forms
- 𑀬𑁂 (Brahmi script)
- ये (Devanagari script)
- যে (Bengali script)
- යෙ (Sinhalese script)
- ယေ (Burmese script)
- เย (Thai script)
- ᨿᩮ (Tai Tham script)
- ເຍ or ເຢ (Lao script)
- យេ (Khmer script)
- 𑄠𑄬 (Chakma script)
Pronoun
ye
- masculine nominative/accusative plural of ya (“who (relative)”)
Scots
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /jiː/, /jɪ/
Pronoun
ye (second person, singular or plural; possessive determiner yer, possessive pronoun yers, singular reflexive yersel, plural reflexive yersel)
- you
See also
Scots personal pronouns
|
personal pronoun |
possessive pronoun |
possessive determiner
|
subjective |
objective |
reflexive
|
first person |
singular
|
A I, ik |
me mei |
masel mysel |
mines |
ma my
|
plural
|
we |
us, we's hus |
oorsels, oorsel wirsels, wirsel |
oors wirs |
oor wir
|
second person |
singular |
standard (formal)
|
ye you, yow |
ye you, yow |
yersel yoursel |
yers yours |
yer your
|
Insular (informal)
|
thoo |
thee |
thysel, theesel |
thines |
thy, thee, thees
|
plural
|
ye, yese you, youse |
ye, yese you, youse theer |
yesels yoursels |
yers yours |
yer your
|
third person |
singular |
masculine
|
he, e |
him, im |
himsel, hissel |
his, is |
his, is
|
feminine
|
she |
her, er |
hersel |
hers |
her, er
|
neuter
|
it hit |
it hit |
itsel hitsel |
its hits |
its hits
|
genderless, nonspecific (formal)
|
ane |
ane |
– |
– |
ane's
|
plural
|
thay |
thaim |
thaimsel, thaimsels |
thairs |
thair
|
Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): (everywhere but Argentina and Uruguay) /ˈʝe/
- IPA(key): (Buenos Aires and environs) /ˈʃe/
- IPA(key): (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay) /ˈʒe/
- Rhymes: -e
- Syllabification: ye
Noun
ye f (plural yes)
- The name of the Latin-script letter Y.
- Synonym: i griega
Usage notes
- "Ye" was recommended by the Real Academia Española as a simpler name for the more common i griega (literally “Greek i”). Adoption of it has been slow.
Further reading
Tagalog
Etymology
From Spanish ye, the Spanish name of the letter Y/y.
Pronunciation
Noun
ye (Baybayin spelling ᜌᜒ) (historical)
- The name of the Latin-script letter Y/y, in the Abecedario.
- Synonyms: (in the Filipino alphabet) way, (in the Abakada alphabet) ya
Turkish
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Noun
ye
- The name of the Latin-script letter Y.
See also
- (Latin-script letter names) harf; a, be, ce, çe, de, e, fe, ge, yumuşak ge, he, ı, i, je, ke, le, me, ne, o, ö, pe, re, se, şe, te, u, ü, ve, ye, ze
Etymology 2
Borrowed from Persian یه (ye).
Noun
ye
- Last letter of the Arabic alphabet: ي
Etymology 3
Verb
ye
- second-person singular imperative of yemek
Uzbek
Verb
ye
- imperative of yemoq
Volapük
Conjunction
ye
- however
Ye'kwana
Pronunciation
Noun
ye
- (Caura River dialect) Alternative form of iye (“wood, tree”)
Yola
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle English ye, from Old English ġē, from Proto-West Germanic *jiʀ.
Pronoun
ye
- you
1867, “THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 1, page 94:Ye be welcome, hearthilee welcome, mee joees,- You are welcome, heartily welcome, my joys,
1867, “THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 1, page 94:Ye be welcome, hearthillee, ivery oan.- You are heartily welcome, every one.
1867, “THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 3, page 94:Maade a nicest coolecannan that e'er ye did zee.- Made the nicest coolecannan that ever you did see.
1867, “VERSES IN ANSWER TO THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 3, page 100:At ye mye ne'er be wooveless ta vill a lear jock an cooan.- That you may never be unprovided to fill an empty jack and can.
Derived terms
Etymology 2
Contraction
ye
- Alternative form of yie (“to give”)
Etymology 3
Article
ye
- Alternative form of a (“the”)
1867, “CASTEALE CUDDE'S LAMENTATION”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 1, page 102:Ye nyporès aul, come hark to mee,- Ye neighbours all, come hark to me,
1867, “Prologue”, in CONGRATULATORY ADDRESS IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 114:Ye soumissive Spakeen o'ouz Dwelleres o' Baronie Forthe, Weisforthe.- The humble Address of the Inhabitants of the Barony of Forth, Wexford.
1867, CONGRATULATORY ADDRESS IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 114, lines 6-7:wi vengem o' core t'gie oure zense o' ye gradès whilke be ee-dighte wi yer name;- to pour forth from the strength of our hearts, our sense of the qualities which characterise your name,
1927, “THE FORTH MAN'S GRACE AFTER A SCANTY DINNER”, in THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD, page 137, line 2:When ye Lord plaase, He ma mend this,
1927, “THE FORTH MAN'S GRACE AFTER A SCANTY DINNER”, in THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD, page 137, line 4:God save ye Kinge, hev awaa ye platter."
Etymology 4
Determiner
ye
- Pronunciation spelling of yer (“your”).
1927, “ZONG OF TWI MAARKEET MOANS”, in THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD, page 129, line 14:Thou liest valse co secun that thou an ye thick,- You lie false, said the second, that you and your kid,
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, pages 80, 94 & 114
- ^ Kathleen A. Browne (1927) The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland Sixth Series, Vol.17 No.2, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, page 129
Yoruba
Etymology 1
Pronunciation
Noun
yè
- (Idanre, Ondo) mother
- Synonyms: ìyá, màmá, mọ́mì, yèyé, iye, èyé, ùyá, abiyamọ
- (Idanre, Ondo) a term of endearment or respect for an older woman or female relative
- Synonyms: mà, àǹtí, ìyá, màmá, mọ́mì, yèyé, iye, èyé
- A jọ̀ọ́, yè i ― Please, auntie
Usage notes
- (term of endearment): usually used with mi (“third-person singular possessive pronoun”).
- (both senses): follow greetings and pleasantries.
Etymology 2
Pronunciation
Verb
yé
- (transitive) to understand
- Ṣó yé yín? ― Do you understand?
- Kò yé mi ― I don't understand
Etymology 3
Pronunciation
Verb
yé
- to stop; to cease
- Yé ṣe bẹ́ẹ̀! ― Stop doing that!
Etymology 4
Pronunciation
Verb
yè
- (intransitive) to survive
- Ògún yè, mo yè ― Ogun survives, I survive
Etymology 5
Pronunciation
Verb
yé
- (transitive) to lay (eggs)
- Adìẹ mi ti yé ẹyin ― My hen's laid eggs
Zulu
Pronoun
-ye
- Combining stem of yena.