ye 1
/yee/ , pron.
1. Archaic ( except in some elevated or ecclesiastical prose ), Literary, or Brit. Dial.
a. (used nominatively as the plural of thou , esp. in rhetorical, didactic, or poetic contexts, in addressing a group of persons or things): O ye of little faith; ye brooks and hills.
b. (used nominatively for the second person singular, esp. in polite address): Do ye not know me?
c. (used objectively in the second person singular or plural): I have something to tell ye. Arise, the enemy is upon ye!
2. (used with mock seriousness in an invocation, mild oath, or the like): Ye gods and little fishes!
[ bef. 900; ME; OE ge; c. D gij, G ihr, ON er, Goth jus ]
ye 2
/dhee/ ; spelling pron. /yee/ , definite article. Archaic.
the 1 .
Usage . The word YE 2 , as in Ye Olde Booke Shoppe, is simply an archaic spelling of the definite article the. The use of the letter Y was a printer's adaptation of the thorn, þ, the character in the Old English alphabet representing the th- sounds /th/ and /dh/ in Modern English; Y was the closest symbol in the Roman alphabet. Originally, the form would have been rendered as y e . The pronunciation /yee/ today is a spelling pronunciation.