Etymograph

English

thinkism

Thinkism comes from Middle English thinken ‘to think, ponder’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *teng-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*teng-1‘to think’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þankijaną1‘to perceive, to think’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þankijan1‘to think’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150þenċan1‘to think’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500thinken1‘to think, ponder’
  6. English1500–presentthink1
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2008thinkism1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English thinkism
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2008, Bobbie Johnson, Kelly to Kurzweil: You're a total Thinkist: “Kevin Kelly, the Wired editor at large, says he…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*teng-Wiktionary, English thinkism‘to think’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þankijanąWiktionary, English thinkism‘to perceive, to think’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þankijanWiktionary, English thinkism‘to think’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150þenċanWiktionary, English thinkism‘to think’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500thinkenWiktionary, English thinkism‘to think, ponder’
  6. English1500–presentthinkWiktionary, English thinkism
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2008thinkismWiktionary, English thinkism. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2008, Bobbie Johnson, Kelly to Kurzweil: You're a total Thinkist: “Kevin Kelly, the Wired editor at large, says he…”

A compound of think + -ism

Proto-Indo-European *teng- ‘to think’

Proto-Germanic *þankijaną ‘to think’

Proto-West Germanic *þankijan ‘to think’

Old English þenċan ‘to think’

Middle English thinken ‘to think’

English think

Linked words

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

thank, tent, dunk, thoughtless, tinge, tincture, methinks, 18 more

through Proto-Germanic *þankijaną ‘to perceive, to think’

thought, 10 more

through Old English þenċan ‘to think’

forethought, 4 more

Today it means

noun The principle that any problem or technological obstacle can be solved by spending large amounts of effort in thinking about a solution.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “thinkism”. 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- / thinkism

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