Etymology

thought

T1H4O1U1G2H4T1

Today it means: A representation created in the mind without the use of one's faculties of vision, sound, smell, touch, or taste; an instance of thinking. Full definition →

Middle English thought ← Old English þōht ← Proto-West Germanic *þą̄ht
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*teng-
  2. Proto-Germanic*þankijaną
  3. Proto-Germanic*þanhtaz
  4. Proto-West Germanic*þą̄ht
  5. Old Englishþōht
  6. Middle Englishthought
  7. English todaythought

From Middle English thought, ithoȝt, from Old English þōht, ġeþōht, from Proto-West Germanic *þą̄ht, from Proto-Germanic *þanhtaz, *gaþanhtą (“thought”), from Proto-Indo-European *teng- (“to think”). Cognate with Scots thocht (“thought”), Saterland Frisian Toacht (“thought”), West Frisian dacht (“attention, regard, thought”), Dutch gedachte (“thought”), German Andacht (“reverence, devotion, prayer”), Icelandic þóttur (“thought”). Related to thank, think.

Words from the same roots

Proto-Indo-European*teng- all →

thinkthanksthankdunktincture

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.