Etymology
1. O.E.
þancian "to give thanks," from P.Gmc.
*thankojan (cf. O.S.
thancon, O.N.
þakka, Dan.
takke, O.Fris.
thankia, M.Du., Ger.
danken "to thank"), from
*thankoz "thought, gratitude," from PIE base
*tong- "to think, feel." For sense evolution, cf. related O.E. noun
þanc, þonc, originally "thought," but by c.1000 "good thoughts, gratitude." The whole group is from the same root as think (q.v.). In ironical use, "to blame," from 1560.
Thankful is from O.E.
þancfulle; thankless "likely to not be rewarded with thanks" is from c.1547.
Thank you is attested from c.1400, short for
I thank you. To
thank (someone) for nothing is recorded from 1703.
2. From Middle English thanken, thankien (“to express gratitude, give thanks; to congratulate, rejoice with, or wish joy to; to extol, praise; to hold responsible for”), from Old English þancian, þoncian (“to thank”), from Proto-West Germanic *þankōn, from Proto-Germanic *þankōną (“to thank”), from *þankaz (see etymology 1) + *-ōną (suffix forming infinitives of verbs from nouns).
3. Cognates
4. Cognate with Scots thank (“to thank”), Saterland Frisian tonkje (“to thank”), Cimbrian dånkan (“to thank”), Dutch, German, and Luxembourgish danken (“to thank”), Vilamovian danka, daŋka, daonka (“to thank”), Yiddish דאַנקען (danken, “to thank”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål takke (“to thank”), Faroese takka (“to thank”), Icelandic þakka (“to thank”), Swedish tacka (“to thank”). See: Old English '
þancian', Proto-Germanic '
*þankōną', Scots '
thank', Frisian, Saterlandic 'tonkje', Cimbrian 'dånkan', Wymysorys '
danka', Faroese '
takka', Icelandic '
þakka', Swedish '
tacka'.
Verbs referencing "thank"
Icelandic
þakka, German, old spelling
danken, Luxembourgish
danken, Faroese
takka, Belarusan
дзякаваць, Cimbrian dånkan.