Re: How and why did English lose "thou"

Grimble Crumble <grimblecrumble870@gmail.com> wrote or quoted:

                 how come "thou" was lost?

  According to "You und thou: Studien zur Anrede im Englischen"
  (1963) - Thomas Finkenstaedt, the reason "thou" dropped out
  of English had a lot to do with what was going on in the 1600s:

  - There was a big argument with the Quakers about using "thou."
    A lot of folks quit saying it so people would not think they
    were Quakers.

  - John Locke, the philosopher, started talking about tolerance
    and equality. Because of that, people started thinking everyone
    should get the same respect, and using "thou" for just one
    person started to feel kind of patronizing.

  - Marriage started to look different, and Puritan ideas were
    not as big a deal anymore. So, people stopped using "thou"
    with their spouses.