methought

M3E1T1H4O1U1G2H4T1

A form of methinks — It seems to me.

RareScrabble 18

Meanings

verb
  1. archaicparticiplepastsimple past and past participle of methinks

    Methought I saw my late espoused saint / Brought to me, like Alcestis, from the grave,

    1673, John Milton, Methought I Saw my Late Espoused Saint
    4 more examples

    The clouds methought would open, and ſhew riches / Ready to drop vpon me, that when I wak'd / I cri'de to dreame againe.

    1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], page 12, column 2

    Methought I was immersed in a cataleptic trance of more than usual duration and profundity.

    1844, Edgar Allan Poe, The Premature Burial

    Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer / Swung by angels whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.

    1845 February, — Quarles [pseudonym; Edgar Allan Poe], “The Raven”, in The American Review, volume I, number II, New York, N.Y.; London: Wiley & Putnam, […], →OCLC, page 145

    And then methought my dream changed, and two Great Giants with heading-axes came striding over the bed, […]

    1862 February, George Augustus [Henry] Sala, “The Strange Adventures of Captain Dangerous; a Narrative in Plain English, […] Chapter the Fourth. My Grandmother Dies, and I am Left Alone, without So Much as a Name.”, in George Augustus Sala, editor, Temple Bar: A London Magazine for Town and Country Readers, volume IV, London: Office of "Temple Bar," 122 Fleet Street; Ward and Lock, 158 Fleet Street; New York, N.Y.: Willmer and Rogers, →OCLC, page 304

Origin

  1. Old Englishmē þūhte
  2. Middle Englishme thoght
  3. Englishmethought

From Middle English me thoght, from Old English mē þūhte; equivalent to me + thought.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with methought

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Cite this entry
APA

methought. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/methought

MLA

“methought.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/methought. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “methought,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/methought.

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