Etymograph

English

thought

Thought comes from Middle English thought ‘product of mental activity’, from Proto-Germanic *þanhtaz ‘thought, idea’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *teng- ‘to think’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*teng-1‘to think’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þankijaną1‘to perceive’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þanhtaz1‘thought’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þą̄ht1reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150þōht1
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500thought1‘product of mental activity’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1611thought1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English thought
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Which of you by taking thought, can adde one…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*teng-Wiktionary, English thought‘to think’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þankijanąWiktionary, English thought‘to perceive’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þanhtazWiktionary, English thought‘thought’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þą̄htWiktionary, English thoughtreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150þōhtWiktionary, English thought
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500thoughtWiktionary, English thought‘product of mental activity’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1611thoughtWiktionary, English thought. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Which of you by taking thought, can adde one…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with thought, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

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

  • thank ← þanc ← *þankaz
  • thinking ← thenkinge ← þenċende ← *þankijandz ← *þankijaną
  • tent ← tinto ← tīnctus ← tingo ← *tengō
  • dunk ← dunke ← dunken ← dunkōn ← *þunkōn
  • tinge ← tingere ← tingō ← *tengō
  • tincture ← tīnctūra ← tingō ← *tengō
  • methinks ← me thinketh ← mē ← þyncan ← *þunkijaną

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

  • think ← thinken ← þenċan ← *þankijan

through Middle English thought ‘product of mental activity’

34 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun A representation created in the mind without the use of one's faculties of vision, sound, smell, touch, or taste; an instance of thinking.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “thought”. 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- / thought