Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “think” come from?

Think comes from Middle English thynken, from Old English þyncan, from Proto-Germanic þunkijaną, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European teng-.

think (English): To ponder, to go over in one's head; To...

Definitions

  1. To ponder, to go over in one's head; To...

Ancestry of “think”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishthinkenTo think, ponder; to deduce, figure out; to...
2Old Englishþyncanto seem
3Proto-Germanicþunkijanąto seem, to appear

Words derived from “think”

  • thinking
  • unthinkable
  • rethink
  • methinks
  • unthinking
  • thinkable
  • groupthink
  • thinkest
  • unthinkingly
  • freethinking
  • thunk
  • unthinkably
  • doublethink
  • outthink
  • unthink
  • nonthinking
  • unthinkability
  • thinkability
  • thinkingly
  • thinky
  • unthinkableness
  • misthink
  • thinkableness
  • unthinkingness
Every word from Proto-Germanic þunkijaną →