Etymograph

English

thank

Thank comes from Middle English thanken ‘to express gratitude, give thanks’, from Proto-Germanic *þankaz ‘thought’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tóng-o-s.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tóng-o-s1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þankaz1‘thought’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þankōną1‘to thank’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þankōn1‘to thank’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150þancian1‘to thank’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500thanken1‘to express gratitude’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1564thank1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English thank
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1564, Erasmus, The Saiynges of Diogenes the Cynike: “[H]aſt thou no ſhame to deſpiſe that perſone, to…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tóng-o-sWiktionary, English thankreconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þankazWiktionary, English thank‘thought’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þankōnąWiktionary, English thank‘to thank’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þankōnWiktionary, English thank‘to thank’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150þancianWiktionary, English thank‘to thank’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500thankenWiktionary, English thank‘to express gratitude’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1564thankWiktionary, English thank. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1564, Erasmus, The Saiynges of Diogenes the Cynike: “[H]aſt thou no ſhame to deſpiſe that perſone, to…”

Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *tóng-o-s

Today it means

verb To express appreciation or gratitude toward (someone or something).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “thank”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *tóng-o-s / thank

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