entry
thought
/θɔt/A mental process, idea, or considered judgment
From Proto-Indo-European teng (to think).
from Proto-Indo-European *teng- (“to think”). Cognate with Scots thocht (“thought”), Saterland Frisian Toacht...
from Proto-Germanic *þanhtaz, *gaþanhtą (“thought”)
from Old English þōht, ġeþōht
from Middle English thought, ithoȝt
Word Ancestry
from Proto-Indo-European *teng- (“to think”). Cognate with Scots thocht (“thought”), Saterland Frisian Toacht...
from Proto-Germanic *þanhtaz, *gaþanhtą (“thought”)
from Old English þōht, ġeþōht
from Middle English thought, ithoȝt
Long before anyone had a “thought,” speakers of Proto-Indo-European used *teng- for the act of thinking. In Germanic, that mental activity acquired a rougher shape: *þanhtaz, which became Old English þōht, with the nasal disappearing before the harsh fricative—a tiny pronunciation shortcut preserved in the word’s strange spelling. The family resemblance survives in think and thank, a surprising pairing: one is mental consideration, the other perhaps reflects the old connection between thinking and expressing gratitude. By the Middle English period, thought had settled into its familiar form, meaning both the activity in the mind and the idea produced by it. So when a thought suddenly arrives, it carries an ancient linguistic fossil: a prehistoric verb for thinking, squeezed through centuries of Germanic sound change.
The Story
Long before anyone had a “thought,” speakers of Proto-Indo-European used *teng- for the act of thinking. In Germanic, that mental activity acquired a rougher shape: *þanhtaz, which became Old English þōht, with the nasal disappearing before the harsh fricative—a tiny pronunciation shortcut preserved in the word’s strange spelling. The family resemblance survives in think and thank, a surprising pairing: one is mental consideration, the other perhaps reflects the old connection between thinking and expressing gratitude. By the Middle English period, thought had settled into its familiar form, meaning both the activity in the mind and the idea produced by it. So when a thought suddenly arrives, it carries an ancient linguistic fossil: a prehistoric verb for thinking, squeezed through centuries of Germanic sound change.
Modern Usage
Something someone suspects could cause trouble if said aloud
Kin & Kindred
From 'teng'·to think
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia
Wiktionary