Where does “Thanksgiving” come from?
Thanksgiving derives from English giving, the present participle of English give, which comes from Old Norse gefa, ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European roots meaning to stretch or extend.
Thanksgiving (English): Thanksgiving Day, celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada, and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States
Definitions
- Thanksgiving Day, celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada, and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States
Ancestry of “Thanksgiving”, step by step
Thanksgiving traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English giving
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | giving | present participle of give; having the tendency... |
| 2 | English | give | To move, shift, provide something abstract or... |
| 3 | English | foregive | To give ahead of time; give in advance |
| 4 | English | fore- | Positioned at or near the front; Before; ahead or... |
| 5 | English | Fore | A people of Papua New Guinea |
| 6 | German | Fahr | — |
| 7 | German | Fähre | ferry |
| 8 | Middle High German | verren | — |
| 9 | Old High German | ferrana | from afar |
| 10 | Old High German | ferro | afar; skipper |
| 11 | Proto-West Germanic | *ferrō | — |
| 12 | Proto-Germanic | ferrai | far, distant |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | per-nóy | — |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 15 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |