Etymograph

English

thanks

Thanks comes from Old English þancas ‘thanks’, from Proto-Germanic *þankōs, plural of *þankaz ‘thought, gratitude’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *teng- ‘to think, feel’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*teng-1‘to think, feel’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þankaz1‘thought, gratitude’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þankōs1reconstructednominative plural of *þankaz
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150þancas1‘thanks’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500thanks1
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1595–1596thanks1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English thanks
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1595–1596, William Shakespeare, A Midsommer Nights Dreame: “Thanks, courteous wall: Jove shield thee well for this!”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*teng-Wiktionary, English thanks‘to think, feel’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þankazWiktionary, English thanks‘thought, gratitude’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þankōsWiktionary, English thanksreconstructednominative plural of *þankaz
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150þancasWiktionary, English thanks‘thanks’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500thanksWiktionary, English thanks
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1595–1596thanksWiktionary, English thanks. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1595–1596, William Shakespeare, A Midsommer Nights Dreame: “Thanks, courteous wall: Jove shield thee well for this!”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *teng- ‘to think, feel’

think, thought, tent, dunk, tinge, tincture, 21 more

Today it means

intj Used to express appreciation or gratitude.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “thanks”. 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 *teng- / thanks

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