Etymology

merrythought

M3E1R1R1Y4T1H4O1U1G2H4T1

Today it means: The wishbone or furcula. Full definition →

English thought ← Middle English thought ← Old English þōht
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The story

  1. Middle Englishmery
  2. Englishmerry
  3. Proto-Indo-European*teng-
  4. Proto-Germanic*þankijaną
  5. Proto-Germanic*þanhtaz
  6. Proto-West Germanic*þą̄ht
  7. Old Englishþōht
  8. Middle Englishthought
  9. Englishthought
  10. English todaymerrythought

From merry + thought, traditionally explained with reference to the pleasant thoughts imagined when the bone is ritually broken.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.