Word
thine
US/ˈðaɪn/
UK/ðˈaɪn/
Definitions
01yours
pron. an old word meaning 'yours'.
pron. the archaic second-person singular possessive pronoun, used as the equivalent of the modern 'yours'.
“I am mine, and thou art thine.”
“In the final scene of the play, the knight declares that his heart and sword are forever thine.”
Archaic · Literary
Usage
Used as a standalone pronoun without a following noun.
Synonyms
Antonyms
02your (before a vowel)
det. an old word for 'your' used before a word starting with a vowel sound.
det. the archaic second-person singular possessive determiner, used instead of 'thy' before a word beginning with a vowel or a silent 'h'.
“To thine own self be true.”
“The poet wrote, 'Open thine eyes to the morning sun,' using the older form to maintain the meter.”
Archaic · Literary
Usage
Typically precedes a noun starting with a vowel sound (e.g., 'thine eyes', 'thine uncle').
Teaching tip
Learners should recognize this in historical literature but avoid using it in modern speech or writing unless they are intentionally imitating an old style.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English thyn, þyn, from Old English þīn, from Proto-West Germanic þīn, from Proto-Germanic þīnaz. Cognate to German dein, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian din, Faroese tín and Icelandic þinn.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Related words
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/thine