thwack

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*teh₂g-“to grasp with the hand; to touch”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*þakwōną“to pat; to tap; to touch”
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*þakkōn
4. Old English · inherited fromþaccian“to beat; to pat; to touch softly, stroke; to strike gently, clap, tap”
5. Middle English · inherited fromthakken
6. Middle English · inherited fromtwakken
7. English todaythwack

The verb is probably: * partly onomatopoeic, from the sound of something being beaten (compare whack); and * partly derived from Late Middle English twakken, twake (“to hit (someone) with something; to pat; to stroke”), probably from Middle English thakken, thakke (“to dab; to pat; to stroke”) [and other forms] (whence thack (obsolete except Britain, dialectal)), from Old English þaccian (“to beat; to pat; to touch softly, stroke; to strike gently, clap, tap”), from Proto-West Germanic *þakkōn, from Proto-Germanic *þakwōną (“to pat; to tap; to touch”), from Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g- (“to grasp with the hand; to touch”). Doublet of tangent. The noun and interjection are derived from the verb. Cognates * Latin tangō (“touch”) * Old Dutch þakolōn (“to stroke”) * Old Norse þykkr (“a blow, thump, thwack”) (Icelandic þjaka, þjökka (“to beat, thump, thwack”); Norwegian tjåka (“to strike, beat”))

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• 16th–17th c. To crowd or pack (a place or thing) with people, objects, etc.