Methinks

Part of speech: interjection

Pronunciation: /mɪˈθɪŋks/

Definitions

1. It seems to me or I believe, used to express personal opinion or subjective judgment in an archaic or formal manner
2. I believe or it appears to me, an archaic expression of personal thought or opinion
3. It seems to my mind or I judge, an old-fashioned way to state what one thinks or believes

Etymology: The surprising thing about "methinks" is that its "me" was never the subject of the verb. In Old English, "mē þynceþ" meant "it seems to me," with "me" as the indirect object and the thing that seemed as the grammatical subject. Over centuries, speakers stopped parsing it that way, and "me" was reanalysed as the subject: "I think." The verb "think" in this sense is an older meaning, "to seem," which is why the same construction survives in German "mir dünkt" and Icelandic "mér þykir," and why the Flemish "me dunkt" has the same shape. Middle English kept the form as "me thinketh," and the single-word "methinks" came later, when the two parts fused in speech and writing. Because the "me" had become a subject-like element, the old verb ending was dropped, leaving "methinks" as a fixed expression. Its sense has stayed close to the original: it signals a personal impression or judgment rather than a fact.

Synonyms: I think, it seems to me, I believe