# thy

/ˈðaɪ/ (US) · /ðˈaɪ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/thy
Updated: 2026-08-08

## Senses

### 1. your (singular)

determiner · CEFR C2 · Archaic · Literary · Dialect

an old word meaning 'your' when you are speaking to one person.

For teachers: the archaic or dialectal possessive determiner for the second-person singular; functions as the possessive form of 'thou'.

- Honor thy father and thy mother.
- The poet uses 'thy' to create a sense of intimacy and historical weight that the modern 'your' fails to convey.

Usage: Used before words starting with a consonant sound; 'thine' is typically used before vowel sounds.

Teaching tip: This word is almost exclusively found in the King James Bible, Shakespeare, or traditional poetry. Modern learners should recognize it but never use it in contemporary communication.

## Examples

- Honor thy father and thy mother.
- The poet wrote of the sun's rays warming thy face as you wake.
- In the sonnet, the speaker addresses a beloved directly, using thy to establish an intimacy that the more formal 'your' would fail to convey to a contemporary audience.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.