Etymology

paper-thin

Today it means: Very thin, such as the quality of paper. Full definition →

English thin ← Middle English thinne /thenne /thünne ← Old English þynne
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The story

  1. Ancient Greekπάπυρος (pápuros)
  2. Latinpapȳrus
  3. Old Catalanpaper
  4. Anglo-Normanpaper
  5. Middle Englishpaper
  6. Englishpaper
  7. Proto-West Germanic*þunnī
  8. Old Englishþynne
  9. Middle Englishthinne /thenne /thünne
  10. Englishthin
  11. English todaypaper-thin

From paper + thin.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.