Where does “methinks” come from?
Methinks comes from Middle English thynken, from Old English þyncan, from Proto-Germanic þunkijaną, tracing back through Proto-Indo-European (e)me-, men-, and ḱóm.
Ancestry of “methinks”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | me thinketh | — |
| 2 | Old English | mē | me |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | *miʀ | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | miz | dative/instrumental of *ek |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | (e)me- | 1st person |