YOUS

Proper noun

Yous

plural of You

Etymology

Pronoun

yous

(dialectal, chiefly, AU, NZ, South Africa, New York City, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Boston, New England, Northeastern United States, Chicago, Cincinnati, Liverpool, Cape Breton, Ireland, Scotland, Michigan, Teesside) You (plural). [from 19th c.]

(dialectal) You (singular).

Usage notes

Yous(e) as a plural is found mainly in (Northern) England, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, northern Nova Scotia, parts of Ontario in Canada and parts of the northeastern United States (especially areas like Boston where there was historically Irish immigration) and in Mexican-American communities in the southwest. It also occurs in Scouse.

Both yourselves and, rarely, yousselves (or youseselves, coordinate with the spelling youse) are found as reflexive forms.

Yous(e) as a singular is found in Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Cincinnati and scattered throughout working class Italian-American communities in the Rust Belt.

Both yourself and, rarely, yousself (or youseself, coordinate with the spelling youse) are found as reflexive forms.

Synonyms

see the list of other second-person pronouns in you

Determiner

yous

(dialect) The group spoken or written to.

Noun

yous

plural of you

Verb

yous

Third-person singular simple present indicative form of you

Source: Wiktionary


YOU

You, pron. [Possess. Your or Yours (; dat. & obj. You.] Etym: [OE. you, eou, eow, dat. & acc., AS. eĂłw, used as dat. & acc. of ge, g, ye; akin to OFries. iu, io, D. u, G. euch, OHG. iu, dat., iuwih, acc., Icel. y, dat. & acc., Goth. izwis; of uncertain origin. sq. root189. Cf. Your.]

Definition: The pronoun of the second person, in the nominative, dative, and objective case, indicating the person or persons addressed. See the Note under Ye. Ye go to Canterbury; God you speed. Chaucer. Good sir, I do in friendship counsel you To leave this place. Shak. In vain you tell your parting lover You wish fair winds may waft him over. Prior.

Note: Though you is properly a plural, it is in all ordinary discourse used also in addressing a single person, yet properly always with a plural verb. "Are you he that hangs the verses on the trees, wherein Rosalind is so admired " Shak. You and your are sometimes used indefinitely, like we, they, one, to express persons not specified. "The looks at a distance like a new-plowed land; but as you come near it, you see nothing but a long heap of heavy, disjointed clods." Addison. "Your medalist and critic are much nearer related than the world imagine." Addison. "It is always pleasant to be forced to do what you wish to do, but what, until pressed, you dare not attempt." Hook. You is often used reflexively for yourself of yourselves. "Your highness shall repose you at the tower." Shak.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

23 January 2025

LEFT

(adjective) being or located on or directed toward the side of the body to the west when facing north; “my left hand”; “left center field”; “the left bank of a river is bank on your left side when you are facing downstream”


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

Coffee starts as a yellow berry, changes into a red berry, and then is picked by hand to harvest. The red berry is de-shelled through a water soaking process and what’s left inside is the green coffee bean. This bean then dries in the sun for 3-5 days, where it is then packed and ready for sale.

coffee icon