thank

英文詞源

thank

thank: [OE] The notion of ‘gratitude’ in modern English thank arose out of an earlier ‘thoughtfulness’. For the word goes back ultimately to prehistoric Germanic *thank-, *thengk-, which also produced English think, and the noun thank originally meant ‘thought’ (a 12th-century translation of the gospels has ‘From the heart come evil thanks’ Matthew 15:19, where the Authorized Version gives ‘Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts’).

The sense ‘thought’ graduated via ‘favourable thought, good will’ to ‘gratitude’. It was originally singular, and the modern plural usage did not emerge until the 14th century. Thank you first appeared in the 15th century, short for I thank you.
=> think

thank (v.)

Old English tancian, toncian "to give thanks, thank, to recompense, reward," from Proto-Germanic *thankojan (cognates: Old Saxon thancon, Old Norse takka, Danish takke, Old Frisian thankia, Old High German danchon, Middle Dutch, Dutch, German danken "to thank"), from *thankoz "thought, gratitude," from PIE root *tong- "to think, feel."

Related phonetically to think as song is to sing; for sense evolution, compare Old High German minna "loving memory," originally "memory." Related to Old English noun tanc, tonc, originally "thought," but by c. 1000 "good thoughts, gratitude." In ironical use, "to blame," from 1550s. To thank (someone) for nothing is recorded from 1703. Related: Thanked; thanking.