英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

thank you [thank you 词源字典]

polite formula used in acknowledging a favor, c. 1400, short for I thank you (see thank). As a noun, from 1792.[thank you etymology, thank you origin, 英语词源]

thankful (adj.)

Old English þancful "satisfied, grateful," also "thoughtful, ingenious, clever;" see thank + -ful. Related: Thankfully; thankfulness. Thankfully in the sense "thankful to say" is attested by 1966, but deplored by purists (compare hopefully).

thankless (adj.)

"likely to not be rewarded with thanks," 1540s, from thank + -less. Related: Thanklessly; thanklessness.

thanks (n.)

Old English þanc, þonc in late use "grateful thought, gratitude," plural form thanks from mid-13c., from the same root as thank (v.). Compare Old Saxon thank, Old Frisian thank, Old Norse þökk, Dutch dank, German Dank. The Old English noun originally and chiefly meant "thought, reflection, sentiment; mind, will, purpose;" also "grace, mercy, pardon; pleasure, satisfaction."

As short for I give you thanks from 1580s; often with extensions, such as thanks a lot (1908). Spelling thanx attested by 1907.

thanksgiving (n.)

1530s, "the giving of thanks," from thanks (n.) + present participle of give (v.). In the specific sense of "public celebration acknowledging divine favors" thanksgiving dates from 1630s (the first one in America was held October 1621 by Plymouth Colony Pilgrims in appreciation of assistance from members of the Massasoit tribe and celebration of the first harvest); though Thanksgiving Day itself is not attested until 1670s.

thar

now representing dialectal pronunciation of there; in literary use in Middle English.

that (pron.)

Old English þæt, "that, so that, after that," neuter singular demonstrative pronoun ("A Man's a Man for a' that"), relative pronoun ("O thou that hearest prayer"), and demonstrative adjective ("Look at that caveman go!"), corresponding to masc. se, fem. seo. From Proto-Germanic *that, from PIE *tod-, extended form of demonstrative pronominal base *-to- (see -th (1)). With the breakdown of the grammatical gender system, it came to be used in Middle English and Modern English for all genders. Germanic cognates include Old Saxon that, Old Frisian thet, Middle Dutch, Dutch dat "that," German der, die, das "the."

Generally more specific or emphatic than the, but in some cases they are interchangeable. From c. 1200 opposed to this as indicating something farther off. In adverbial use ("I'm that old"), in reference to something implied or previously said, c. 1200, an abbreviation of the notion of "to that extent," "to that degree." Slang that way "in love" first recorded 1929. That-a-way "in that direction" is recorded from 1839. "Take that!" said while delivering a blow, is recorded from early 15c.

thatch (v.)

late 14c., thecchen, from Old English þeccan "to cover, cover over, conceal," in late Old English specifically "cover the roof of a house," related to þæc "roof, thatching material," from Proto-Germanic *thakan (cognates: Old Saxon thekkian, Old Norse þekja, Old Frisian thekka, Middle Dutch decken, Dutch dekken, Old High German decchen, German decken "to cover"), from PIE *(s)teg- (2) "to cover" (see stegosaurus).

thatch (n.)

Old English þæc "roof, thatch, cover of a building," from the source of thatch (v.). Compare Old Norse þak, Old Frisian thek, Swedish tak, Danish tag, Middle Dutch, Dutch dak "roof," Old High German dah "covering, cover," German Dach "roof."

thatcher (n.)

early 14c. (late 12c. as a surname); agent noun from thatch (v.). Corresponds to Old English þecere, Dutch dekker, German Decker. Thatcherite in British politics (1976) refers to policies and principles of Conservative politician and prime minister Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013).

thaught (n.)

"rower's bench," 1620s, alteration of thoft, from Old English þofte, from Proto-Germanic *thufto- (cognates: Dutch doft, German ducht), from PIE *tupta-, from root *tup- "to squat."

thaumaturge (n.)

"wonder-worker," 1715, from Medieval Latin thaumaturgus, from Greek thaumatourgos "wonder-working; conjurer," from thauma (genitive thaumatos) "wonder, astonishment; wondrous thing," literally "a thing to look at," from root of theater, + ergon "work" (see organ).

thaumaturgy (n.)

"wonder-working," 1727, from Greek thaumatourgia, from thaumatourgos (see thaumaturge). Related: Thaumaturgic; thaumaturgical (1620s).

thaw (n.)

"the melting of ice or snow," also "spell of weather causing this," c. 1400, from thaw (v.). Figurative sense is from 1590s; specifically "relaxation of political harshness or hostility" from 1950, an image from the "Cold War."

thaw (v.)

Old English þawian (transitive), from Proto-Germanic *thawon- (cognates: Old Norse þeyja, Middle Low German doien, Dutch dooien, Old High German douwen, German tauen "to thaw"), from PIE root *ta- "to melt, dissolve" (cognates: Sanskrit toyam "water," Ossetic thayun "to thaw," Welsh tawadd "molten," Doric Greek takein "to melt, waste, be consumed," Old Irish tam "pestilence," Latin tabes "a melting, wasting away, putrefaction," Old Church Slavonic tajati "to melt"). Intransitive sense from early 14c. Related: Thawed; thawing.

THC (n.)

active ingredient in marijuana and hashish, 1968, short for tetrahydrocannabinol (1940).

the

definite article, late Old English þe, nominative masculine form of the demonstrative pronoun and adjective. After c.950, it replaced earlier se (masc.), seo (fem.), þæt (neuter), and probably represents se altered by the th- form which was used in all the masculine oblique cases (see below).

	Masc.	Fem.	Neut.	Plural
Nom.	se	seo	þæt	þa
Acc.	þone	þa	þæt	þa
Gen.	þæs	þære	þæs	þara
Dat.	þæm	þære	þæm	þæm
Inst.	þy, þon	--	þy, þon	--

Old English se is from PIE root *so- "this, that" (cognates: Sanskrit sa, Avestan ha, Greek ho, he "the," Irish and Gaelic so "this"). For the þ- forms, see that. The s- forms were entirely superseded in English by mid-13c., excepting a slightly longer dialectal survival in Kent. Old English used 10 different words for "the" (see table), but did not distinguish "the" from "that." That survived for a time as a definite article before vowels (that one or that other).

Adverbial use in the more the merrier, the sooner the better, etc. is a relic of Old English þy, the instrumentive case of the neuter demonstrative (see that).

Thea

fem. proper name, from Greek thea "goddess," fem. equivalent of theos "god" (see theo-).

theater (n.)

late 14c., "open air place in ancient times for viewing spectacles and plays," from Old French theatre (12c., Modern French théâtre, improperly accented) and directly from Latin theatrum "play-house, theater; stage; spectators in a theater" (source also of Spanish, Italian teatro), from Greek theatron "theater; the people in the theater; a show, a spectacle," literally "place for viewing," from theasthai "to behold" (related to thea "a view, a seeing; a seat in the theater," theates "spectator") + -tron, suffix denoting place.

Meaning "building where plays are shown" is from 1570s in English. Transferred sense of "plays, writing, production, the stage" is from 1660s. Generic sense of "place of action" is from 1580s; especially "region where war is being fought" (1914). Spelling with -re arose late 17c. and prevailed in Britain after c. 1700 by French influence, but American English retained or revived the older spelling in -er.

theatre (n.)

chiefly British English spelling of theater (q.v.); for spelling, see -re.