Ye Olde facts
While investigating facts about Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese and Ye Olde Bell Spa, I found out little known, but curios details like:
"the" was originally written as "þe" in old english. It was eventually abbreviated to "þͤ". Since "þ" looked similar to "y" in old english blackletter script, they were both mixed up. So, in old english, "Ye olde" was simply pronounced "The olde."
how old is ye olde trip to jerusalem?
About the letter Thorn in English that made the Th sound, and how when you see a sign that says “Ye Old Tavern” the Y in Ye is actually shorthand for Thorn so all of those signs actually say “THE Old Tavern”
What is ye olde?
In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across. Here are 26 of the best facts about Ye Olde Bell and Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem I managed to collect.
what does ye olde mean?
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"ye", as in "ye olde whatever", is pronounced 'the'. It comes from typesetters using y instead of the Old English letter þ which is a th sound.
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The 'ye' in Ye Old Curiosity Shoppe is pronounced "the", and that 'y' was formerly used as a way to write 'th'.
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"ye olde" is pronounced as "the old." The y in ye represents the thorn, an Old English letter that is pronounced as "th."
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English used to have a letter for "th", called thorn. That letter was shorthanded to y, therefore "ye olde shoppe"
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"Ye" (as in Ye Olde Shoppe) is pronounced "The"
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Early printing presses used the letter "y" for the Middle English letter thorn (þ). "Ye" (definitive article), as in "ye olde"(pronounced "the old"), became commonplace, which contributed to the transition of "ye"(noun) to "thou" to avoid confusion, which eventually lead to "thou" to "you".
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The English had a perfectly good letter called thorn (þ) for the th sound in most English words. However the germans didn't use that sound and they invented printing. They replaced it with Y so "thou" became "You" (and "ye oldee tea shoppe" was pronounced "the old tea shop"
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The "ye" in phrases like "Ye Olde Shoppe" is pronounced "the." The "y" the a stand-in for an Old English letter called a thorn, pronounced "th."
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The "Ye" in "Ye Olde" is from Middle English and the "Y" is actually a scribal misinterpretation of a now defunct letter called "thorn"(Þ þ) that made a "th" sound. So, Ye Olde should actually be pronounced, more appropriately, "The Olde."
What is true about ye olde?
You can easily fact check it by examining the linked well-known sources.
Ye" in Early English as in "Ye Olde Shoppe" is actually meant to be pronounced like "The"
"ye olde" is still pronounced as "the olde" - source
PETA is requesting a bar in Britain change its name from "Ye olde fighting cock" to "Ye olde clever cock" to better portray chickens as the "intelligent, sensitive and social animals they are" - source
A pub called "Ye Olde Fighting Cocks" in St. Albans, England. It claims to be established in 793 AD, but its oldest license dating back to the 17th century. It is recognized as the oldest pub in the UK by Guinness World Records
Johnny Appleseed was a ye olde timey land flipper : If you wanted to make a land claim, you needed an orchard. The apples were inedible. - source
When is yawning contagious?
The Y in “ye olde” is actually a stand in for the letter thorn (þ). Because of this, the proper way to pronounce ye olde is actually “the old”
The oldest pub in England is called 'Ye Olde Fighting Cocks'
The “y” in “ye” (ex: “ye old”) is properly pronounced “th.” The letter “thorn” (Þ, þ) was originally in “ye old,” or “þe old,” but was replaced with “y” due to the advent of the printing press.
About Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese inn, a pub in London that dates back to the 16th Century and is still running. It was a favourite of Mark Twain and Charles Dickens.
Names like "Ye Olde Inn" were actually pronounced "The Olde Inn". French typesets lacked a letter for "Th" leading to the substitution of "Y".
