In the spirit of Thanksgiving, let’s take a look at the word “thank” as in “thank you”, “give thanks”, and “thank goodness”.

The proto-Germanic “thankojan” evolved into the Old High German “danchon” and eventually into German’s “danken” (to thank). Splitting off in another direction, it’s pretty easy to see how the “thankojan” of proto-Germanic evolved into the English “thank”.

A more interesting detail is that “thank” is actually related to “think”. It’s a branch of specific types of thought: the good thought or thought of gratitude.

What are you thankful for this year?

Happy Wednesday, Nerds! Enjoy the holiday and I’ll see you next week for more word history.