ye

{{11}}ye (article) old or quaintly archaic way of writing THE (Cf. the), in which the -y- is a 16c. graphic alteration of þ, an O.E. character (generally called "thorn," originally a Germanic rune; see TH- (Cf. th-)) that represented the "hard" -th- sound at the beginning of the. Early printers, whose types were founded on the continent, did not have a þ, so they substituted y as the letter that looked most like it. But in such usages it was not pronounced "y." Ye for the (and yt for that) continued in manuscripts through 18c. Revived 19c. as a deliberate antiquarianism; the Ye Olde _____ construction was being mocked by 1896.

{{12}}ye (pron.) O.E. ge, nominative plural of 2nd person pronoun þu (see THOU (Cf. thou)); cognate with O.Fris. ji, O.S. gi, M.Du. ghi, Du. gij. Altered, by influence of WE (Cf. we), from an earlier form that was similar to Goth. jus "you (pl.)" (see YOU (Cf. you)). Cognate with Lith. jus, Skt. yuyam, Avestan yuzem, Gk. hymeis. The -r- in O.N. er, Ger. ihr probably is from influence of the 1st person plural pronouns (O.N. ver, Ger. wir).