General
y'all
What does y'all mean?
A contraction of "you all" used to address two or more people, and occasionally a single person as part of an implied group. The hallmark of Southern speech.
"Y'all come back now, you hear?"
Origin
Contraction of "you all"; earliest "you-all" attested 1816, contracted "y'all" by mid-1800s. Likely a native US development, possibly reinforced by Scots-Irish "ye aw."
Frequently asked questions
What does y'all mean?
Y'all is a contraction of 'you all,' a second-person plural pronoun used to address two or more people, and a hallmark of Southern American speech.
Can y'all be used for one person?
It's mainly plural, but it's occasionally aimed at a single person understood as representing a group.
Where does y'all come from?
It contracts 'you all'; 'you-all' is attested by 1816 and the contracted 'y'all' by the mid-1800s, likely a native US development.
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