Thick

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /θɪk/

Definitions

1. Having a large distance between opposite surfaces or sides, or being dense in consistency
2. Having a considerable distance between surfaces or being densely packed in material
3. Measuring a large distance from one side to the other in an object or a substance ; characterized by a packed or closely compacted substance or structure ; speaking with an accent or speech causing difficulty in understanding

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "thick" is how widely its family spreads: the same word turns up across the Germanic languages (German "dick", Dutch "dik", Swedish "tjock", Icelandic "þykkur") and even in the Celtic languages, where Welsh "tew" and Irish "tiubh" mean the same thing. That match points back to a shared ancestor in Proto-Indo-European, reconstructed as "tégus", meaning "thick", which was already old by the time the Germanic peoples spoke it. In Old English the word was "þicce", meaning "thick" or "dense", a sense that still lies at its core. Its Germanic form, reconstructed as "*þekuz", gave rise to a family of words for mass and closeness rather than for any single object, which is why the English adjective is so flexible. Middle English then wrote it as "thikke" before it settled into the modern spelling.

Synonyms: dense, heavy, wide, broad, substantial

Antonyms: thin, slim, narrow