Thorndike

T1H4O1R1N1D2I1K5E1

proper noun

A surname from Old English.

OriginOld English þorn →
Less commonScrabble 17
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Meanings

proper nounThorndike (countable and uncountable, plural Thorndikes)

plural Thorndikes · alternative Thorndyke

  1. countableuncountableA surname from Old English.
  2. countableuncountableA town in Waldo County, Maine, United States.
  3. countableuncountableA village in the city of Palmer, Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States.

Origin

  1. Old Englishþorn“thornbush”
  2. EnglishThorndike

Topographic surname for someone who lived by a sort of palisade made with thornbushes, from Old English þorn (“thornbush”) + dīc (“ditch; dike”). The town was named after Israel Thorndike, a landowner.

More words from Old English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Thorndike. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Thorndike

MLA

“Thorndike.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Thorndike. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Thorndike,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Thorndike.

Source: Thorndike on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.