Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “thin” come from?

Thin comes from Middle English thinne, from Old English þanne, from Proto-Germanic þan, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European só, a demonstrative pronoun meaning that or this.

thin (English): Having little thickness or extent from one...

Definitions

  1. Having little thickness or extent from one...

Ancestry of “thin”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishthinnethin, narrow, skinny, slender; weak; sparse,...
2Old Englishþynnethin
3Proto-West Germanicþunnīthin
4Proto-Germanicþunnuzthin
5Proto-Indo-Europeanténh₂usthin
6Proto-Indo-Europeantenh₂-to stretch, to extend
7Proto-Indo-Europeanten-to stretch, to extend

Words derived from “thin”

  • thinner
  • thinly
  • ultrathin
  • thinnish
  • thinnet
  • superthin
  • semithin
  • microthin
  • overthin
  • thinny
  • nonthin
  • nanothin
  • quasithin
  • 天拿水
  • tinneri
  • dina
  • dinigar
  • dineskar
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ten- →