Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Ye

{

Ye

,

Ye

(thē)
}
,
an old method of printing the article the (AS.
þe
), the “y” being used in place of the Anglo-Saxon thorn (þ). It is sometimes incorrectly pronounced
yē
. See
The
, and
Thorn
,
Noun.
, 4.

Y′ë

(ē′e)
,
Noun.
;
pl.
Yën
(ē′en)
.
An eye.
[Obs.]
From his
yën
ran the water down.
Chaucer.

Ye

(yē)
,
p
ron.
[OE.
ye
,
ȝe
, nom. pl., AS.
ge
,
gī
; cf. OS.
ge
,
gī
, OFries.
gī
,
, D.
gij
, Dan. & Sw.
i
, Icel.
ēr
, OHG.
ir
, G.
ihr
, Goth.
jus
, Lith.
jus
, Gr.
ὑμεῖς
, Skr.
yuyam
. √189.]
The plural of the pronoun of the second person in the nominative case.
Ye
ben to me right welcome heartily.
Chaucer.
But
ye
are washed, but
ye
are sanctified.
1 Cor. vi. 11.
This would cost you your life in case
ye
were a man.
Udall.
☞ In Old English ye was used only as a nominative, and you only as a dative or objective. In the 16th century, however, ye and you became confused and were often used interchangeably, both as nominatives and objectives, and you has now superseded ye except in solemn or poetic use. See
You
, and also the first Note under
Thou
.
Vain pomp and glory of this world, I hate
ye
.
Shakespeare
I come, kind gentlemen, strange news to tell
ye
.
Dryden.

Ye

(yā)
,
adv.
[See
Yea
.]
Yea; yes.
[Obs.]
Chaucer.

Webster 1828 Edition


Ye

YE

, pron. The nominative plural of the second person, of which thou is the singular. But the two words have no radical connection. Ye is now used only in the sacred and solemn style. In common discourse and writing, you is exclusively used.
But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified. 1 Corinthians 6.

Definition 2024


Ye

Ye

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ye"

English

Proper noun

Ye

  1. Anglicized version of the 42nd most common Chinese surname.

Anagrams

ye

ye

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ye" and үе

English

Alternative forms

  • ȝe (obsolete)

Pronunciation

Pronoun

ye (personal pronoun)

  1. (archaic outside Northern England, Cornwall, Ireland) You (the people being addressed).
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.

Derived terms
References
  • Newcastle 1970s, Scott Dobson and Dick Irwin,

Verb

ye (present participle yeyn)

  1. (obsolete) Address a single person by the use of the pronoun ye instead of thou.
    • 1483, Catholicon Anglicum: An English–Latin Wordbook (Monson 168), page 426
      To ȝe, vosare jn plurali numero vos vestrum vel tibi [perh. read vobis].
    • 1511, Promptorium Parvulorum (de Worde), sig. M.iiiᵛ/2
      Yeyn or sey ye with worshyp, viso.
Synonyms
  • (address by the pronoun ye): yeet (obsolete)
Antonyms
  • (address by the pronoun ye): thowt (obsolete)

Etymology 2

From Middle English þe. The letter y is a variant of þ (thorn), a letter which corresponds to modern th, but letter þ did not exist in the first press typographies, so was replaced using either "th" or "y", which resembled it some typefaces. Etymological y was for a time distinguished by a dot, , but the letters were conflated when that was dropped.

Pronunciation

  • Traditionally pronounced the same as the, but now often pronounced with the ordinary sound of <y>: IPA(key): /jiː/

Article

ye

  1. (archaic, definite) the
    • 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 v 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.
Derived terms

Etymology 3

Shortened from yes.

Interjection

ye

  1. (slang) Yes.

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: sort · town · dark · #437: ye · common · subject · can't

Anagrams


Asturian

Verb

ye

  1. third-person singular present indicative of ser

Catawba

Noun

ye

  1. Man (adult male human), men.
  2. Person, people.
  3. 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, , 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)

Haitian Creole

Verb

ye

  1. 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

  • IPA(key): /je/, /jɛ/

Preposition

ye

  1. 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)

  1. The name of the Latin script letter Y/y.

See also


Mandarin

Romanization

ye

  1. Nonstandard spelling of .
  2. Nonstandard spelling of .
  3. Nonstandard spelling of .
  4. Nonstandard spelling of .

Usage notes

  • English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

Middle English

Noun

ye (plural)

  1. eyes
    • Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue, lines 9–10:
      And smale foweles maken melodye, / That slepen al the nyght with open ye.


Novial

Etymology

From Esperanto je.

Preposition

ye

  1. wild card preposition

Scots

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

IPA(key): /ji:/, /jɪ/

Pronoun

ye (second person, singular or plural; possessive determiner yer, possessive pronoun yers, singular reflexive yersel, plural reflexive yersel)

  1. you

Spanish

Noun

ye f (plural yes)

  1. The name of the Latin-script letter Y/y.

Synonyms

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.


Turkish

Etymology 1

Noun

ye

  1. The name of the Latin-script letter Y/y.
See also

Etymology 2

Borrowing from Persian یه (ye).

Noun

ye

  1. Last letter of the Arabic alphabet: ي
    • Previous: و

Verb

ye

  1. second-person singular imperative of yemek
Antonyms

Uzbek

Verb

ye

  1. imperative of yemoq

Volapük

Conjunction

ye

  1. however

Zulu

Pronoun

-ye

  1. Combining stem of yena.

See also