What does thy mean?
Thy is an archaic and poetic English possessive determiner used to mean “your” when addressing one person. It normally appears before a noun, as in “thy brother,” and is the possessive counterpart of the archaic pronoun thou. Although it is no longer part of ordinary standard English, thy remains familiar through Shakespeare, the King James Bible, hymns, prayers, formal invocations, and deliberately archaic literary style. Its use can sound intimate or solemn because it recalls Middle English and earlier traditions, but context determines the effect: it may mark reverence, affection, authority, ceremony, or a heightened, old-fashioned register. Thy can also address the reader or a single named person in verse and devotional prose. The related archaic form thine can stand alone as a possessive pronoun, while thy belongs specifically before its noun. Modern speakers normally use your for both functions, so encountering thy usually indicates an older text or an intentional literary register rather than everyday usage. Its survival makes it useful for understanding canonical English and for adding a recognizable archaic cadence to carefully styled writing.
possessive determiner (pronominal adjective)Thy is an archaic or poetic possessive determiner meaning “belonging to you,” used when addressing one person. It normally precedes the noun it modifies, as in “thy promise.”
- An archaic or poetic possessive determiner meaning “belonging to you,” especially when addressing one person.
"May thy journey be guarded by good fortune."
"Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth."
"Thy silence before the magistrate spoke more wisely than any defense."
Thy is the ancient companion of thou: together they preserve one of English’s oldest ways of addressing a single person.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does thy come from?
Thy comes from Old English þīn, the genitive singular form of þū, meaning “thou” or “you.” It continued in Middle English as thy and survives mainly in archaic, religious, and poetic usage. It belongs to the same Old English second-person pronoun system as thou, thee, and thine.
How thy is actually used
Thy is not used in ordinary modern standard English. It survives chiefly in older literature, the King James Bible, hymns, prayers, formal or elevated verse, and deliberately archaic writing. It is singular, addressing one person, and normally precedes a noun.
Easily confused with thy
Thy normally comes before a noun, as in “thy faith,” whereas thine is the related possessive pronoun that normally stands alone.
Thy means “your” when addressing one person, while a thigh is the part of the leg between the hip and the knee.