Clarifying the Familiar

I was reading over the Latin prayers and their English translations last week.

I noticed something... odd. Something that had not occurred to me previously.

tu, te, tui, --- similar to du, dich, dein in German

which is... hold yer breath... the familiar way to address a person.

Hmm, I wondered.

For my impression *was* that Thee, Thou, Thine were FORMAL addresses from antiquity.

Not so, sayeth the oracle called wikipedia, in an article posted by Project Gutenberg.

+You was originally a formal form used when addressing strangers or to show deference, with the singular being thou when talking to friends or family. (This usage echoed German usage of "Sie" for polite conversation, and "du" for informal, friendly conversation.) You gradually came to be generalized to the singular in all circumstances.

+Ye was the plural form used to address groups. The original nominative form was ye, whilst you was the objective (accusative and dative) form, but with time ye came to represent any plural form. Today the absence of a plural ye has led to slang expressions such as you guys or youse (both are considered colloquial).

+Early Modern English works use these archaic meanings. For example the King James Bible uses ye when referring to groups, you to display politeness or deference, and thou to represent a close personal relationship (such as with God).

Great to know I will never stop learning.