thee

• pron. 你（古英语thou的宾格）
• n. (Thee)人名；(德)特厄

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英文词源

thee (pron.)

Old English þe (accusative and dative singular of þu "thou"), from Proto-Germanic *theke (cognates: Old Frisian thi, Middle Dutch di, Old High German dih, German dich, Old Norse þik, Norwegian deg, Gothic þuk), from PIE *tege-, accusative of root *tu-, second person singular pronoun (see thou). The verb meaning "to use the pronoun 'thee' to someone" is recorded from 1662, in connection with the rise of Quakerism.

In Middle English, people began to use plural forms in all cases, at first as a sign of respect to superiors, then as a courtesy to equals. By the 1600s, the singular forms had come to represent familiarity and lack of status, and fell from use except in the case of a few dialects, notably in the north of England. People in Lancashire north of the Rossendale Forest and Yorkshire formerly were noted for use of the singular second person pronouns tha (nom.) and thee (acc.). For religious reasons (Christian equality of persons, but also justified as grammatically correct), the Quakers also retained the familiar forms.

Thou and Thee was a sore cut to proud flesh and them that sought self-honour, who, though they would say it to God and Christ, could not endure to have it said to themselves. So that we were often beaten and abused, and sometimes in danger of our lives, for using those words to some proud men, who would say, "What! you ill-bred clown, do you Thou me?" as though Christian breeding consisted in saying You to one; which is contrary to all their grammar and teaching books, by which they instructed their youth. [George Fox's journal, 1661]

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While the Quakers originally adopted "thee" and "thou" on account of their grammatical correctness, they soon fell into the careless habit of using "thee," the objective, instead of "thou," the nominative. Common illustrations are: "How does thee do?" or "Will thee," etc. [George Fox Tucker, "A Quaker Home," Boston, 1891]

双语例句

1. He would sign off each week with the catch-phrase, "I'llsee thee!"

每周结束节目时他都会说那句经典的话，“下周见！”。

来自柯林斯例句

2. I miss thee, beloved father.

亲爱的父亲，孩儿想念您。

来自柯林斯例句

3. We beseech thee, O Lord.

主啊，我们恳求您。

来自《权威词典》

4. Trust thyself only, and another shall not betray thee.

只有信任你自己, 别人才不会出卖你.

来自《简明英汉词典》

5. The cake was done to a fare - thee - well.

饼烤得好极了.

来自《现代英汉综合大词典》