Thancian

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. An archaic Old English verb meaning to express gratitude or give thanks to another person
2. Old English for showing appreciation to someone, by offering words of gratitude in return for a kindness
3. A historical verb for giving thanks, used in Anglo-Saxon writing to acknowledge a favour or gift

Etymology: Old English "thancian" meant "to thank," and it was a verb built on "thanc," meaning thought, goodwill, or gratitude. That noun carried a sense closer to "thought" or "favour" than to our modern politeness, which is part of why thanking someone once implied you were thinking kindly of them. The root goes back to a Germanic word for thinking, and its relatives survive in German "Dank" and Dutch "dank." Old English had a second, older sense that surprised later readers: "thancian" could also mean to reward or to be grateful in the sense of owing a debt, so a benefactor was thanked by repaying him. Over time the reward-giving sense faded and the modern meaning of expressing gratitude in words took over.

Synonyms: thank