As a determiner thy
is that belongs to thee; the possessive form of thou.
As a conjunction thy
is because.
As a pronoun yours is
that which belongs to you (singular); the possessive second-person singular pronoun used without a following noun.
thy
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) . More at thou.
Determiner
(archaic) That belongs to thee; the possessive form of thou .
(archaic, or, literary) your (informal); that belongs to you (singular).
See also
* thee
* thine
* thou
* thyself
* your
Etymology 2
(etyl) (term) "because, forwhy", shortened form of , instrumental case of . More at the, that.
Conjunction
(-)
(obsolete) because.
See also
* forthy
* why
* forwhy
Statistics
*
yours
Pronoun
That which belongs to you (singular); the possessive second-person singular pronoun used without a following noun.
:
That which belongs to you (plural); the possessive second-person plural pronoun used without a following noun.
*
*:“Heavens!” exclaimed Nina, “the blue-stocking and the fogy!—and yours are'' pale blue, Eileen!—you’re about as self-conscious as Drina—slumping there with your hair tumbling ''à la Mérode! Oh, it's very picturesque, of course, but a straight spine and good grooming is better.”
:
Usage notes
* In British English the adverb almost invariably follows the word yours'' at the end of a letter; in most dialects of American English it usually precedes it. As a general rule, ''sincerely'' is only employed if the name of the recipient is already known to the writer; a letter begun with ''Dear Sir'' or ''Dear Madam'' finishes with ''faithfully''. ''Yours'' on its own and ''yours ever are less formal than the other forms.
Derived terms
* up yours
* what's yours
* you'll get yours
* yours truly
* you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours
References
