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thank

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: þank

English

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WOTD – 28 November 2024

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English thank (“gratitude; expression of gratitude, thanks; attractiveness; commendation, praise; God’s grace; goodwill; merit, reward; mind, thought”),[2] from Old English þanc (“gratitude; expression of gratitude, thanks; favour, grace; mind, thought; pleasure, satisfaction”), from Proto-Germanic *þankaz (“gratitude; expression of gratitude, thanks; mind, thought; remembrance”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *teng- (“to perceive; to think”).[3] Doublet of think and thought.

cognates

Noun

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thank (plural thanks)

  1. (obsolete) singular of thanks (“an expression of appreciation or gratitude; grateful feelings or thoughts; favour, goodwill, graciousness”)
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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From Middle English thanken, thankien (“to express gratitude, give thanks; to congratulate, rejoice with, or wish joy to; to extol, praise; to hold responsible for”),[4] from Old English þancian, þoncian (“to thank”), from Proto-West Germanic *þankōn, from Proto-Germanic *þankōną (“to thank”), from *þankaz (see etymology 1) + *-ōną (suffix forming infinitives of verbs from nouns).[5]

cognates

Verb

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thank (third-person singular simple present thanks, present participle thanking, simple past and past participle thanked)

  1. (transitive)
    1. To express appreciation or gratitude toward (someone or something).
      She thanked him for the lift.
    2. In the future tense in the form one will thank someone to do something, chiefly expressing a command or criticism: to request that (someone) do something.
      I’ll thank you not to smoke in my house!
      • 1844, “Art. IV.—The Public and Private Life of Lord Chancellor Eldon, including His Correspondence, and Selections from the Anecdote Book, Written by Himself. By Horace Twiss, Esq., One of Her Majesty’s Counsel. 3 vols. 8vo. London, 1844. [book review]”, in John Taylor Coleridge, editor, The Quarterly Review, volume LXXIV, number CXLVII, London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 104:
        Our readers would not thank us for going into the badgerings which had for some time annoyed the chancellor on the subject of arrears in his court.
    3. (rare) To express appreciation or gratitude for (something).
    4. (figurative)
      1. To respond to (someone) out of, or as if out of, appreciation or gratitude.
      2. Chiefly followed by for: to credit or hold (someone or something) responsible, especially for something negative; to blame.
        We can thank global warming for this freak weather.
  2. (intransitive, obsolete) To express gratitude.
Derived terms
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Translations
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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked‌: "to express gratitude"

References

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  1. ^ Hedevind, Bertil (1967) The Dialect of Dentdale in the West Riding of Yorkshire‎[1], Uppsala: Appelbergs Boktryckeri AB, § 4.29.1, page 124: “b. /θeŋk/ thank, OE þancian. This form is current in many dialects (EDG §33), though OED gives no e-spellings.”
  2. ^ “thank, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  3. ^ Compare “thank, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, June 2024.
  4. ^ “thanken, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  5. ^ Compare “thank, v.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, June 2024; “thank, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Scots

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Etymology

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From Middle English thanken, from Old English þancian, þoncian (“to thank, give thanks”).

Verb

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thank (third-person singular simple present thanks, present participle thankin, simple past thankit, past participle thankit)

  1. to thank
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