24. "Thou" and "You"

Question 1

When was the distinction between “you” and “thou” developed?

Answer 1

By the Elizabethan period.

Question 2

What was “thou” used for? When did it start dropping out of use? Why? What was it used for later?

Answer 2

It may be: informal, a marker of inferiority.
It starts dropping out after the 17th century, since people preferred using “you”. “Thou” was preserved in Bible for informality, to refer to animals, abstract objects, or for the expression of a close relationship with God.

Question 3

What can you say about “you”? When did it get popular?

Answer 3

“you” expresses formality, or may be a marker of a high social status. People started preferring it in the 17th century as “thou” started dropping out of use.