- Ye Olde
Ye Olde is a stock prefix, used often anachronistically in the case of
theme pubs , to indicate things ofmedieval extraction, things which are English, or, as in popular caricature (especially in theUnited States ) the two are synonymous, both indicating, perhaps, aDeep England ,half-timbered feel. The constructionYe Olde English Pubbe is the usual example, a standard bar name akin to The Red Lion.The use of the term "Ye" to represent a pseudo-
Early Modern English form of the word "the" is, in fact, incorrect. This mistaken attribution is due to the medieval usage of the letter thorn (þ ) the predecessor to the moderndigraph "th". Thorn (þ ) is a letter which is today only in common use in Icelandic. The word "The" was thus written "Þe". Medieval Printing presses didn't contain the letter "thorn", so the y was substituted due to its similarity in some medieval scripts (especially later ones). [Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2008. Merriam-Webster Online. 10 September 2008 http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ye]ee also
*
Olde English District
*Merry England
*England, England External links
* [http://www.rootsweb.com/~genepool/sayings.htm Ye Olde English Sayings]
* [http://www.englandinn.com/ Ye Olde England Inn, a mock-Tudor hotel complete with references to Dickens and warm beer.]
* Oxford Dictionary's FAQ: [http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutspelling/ye Why is 'ye' used instead of 'the' in antique English?]References
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