Middle English word thei comes from Proto-Indo-European *-h₂, Proto-Indo-European *-r, Proto-Indo-European *-no, Proto-Germanic - r, and later Proto-Germanic *þar ((demonstrative) there, in that place.)
| Dictionary entry | Language | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| *-h₂ | Proto-Indo-European (ine-pro) | Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups or sets of things. |
| *-r | Proto-Indo-European (ine-pro) | |
| *-no | Proto-Indo-European (ine-pro) | |
| - r | Proto-Germanic (gem-pro) | |
| *tód | Proto-Indo-European (ine-pro) | |
| *þōz | Proto-Germanic (gem-pro) | |
| *tar- | Proto-Indo-European (ine-pro) | |
| *þar | Proto-Germanic (gem-pro) | (demonstrative) there, in that place. |
| þær | Old Norse (non) | They, them (third-person nominative and accusative plural feminine personal pronoun). Those (nominative and accusative plural feminine demonstrative pronoun). |
| thei | Middle English (enm) | They. |