Thrive

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /θɹaɪv/

Definitions

1. To grow strongly and healthily, achieving success and flourishing in a favorable environment
2. To prosper and develop well, showing signs of vigorous growth or success over time
3. To advance or progress with robust growth and positive results, often in response to good conditions

Etymology: Few people would guess that "thrive" once meant to grab hold of something. Its ancestor in Old Norse, "þrífa," meant "to seize, grasp, take hold," and the sense of prospering grew out of that physical act. The idea seems to be getting a firm grip on resources, so that you flourish. The word reached English in Middle English as "thryven" and "thriven," borrowed from Norse rather than inherited from Old English, which is why its roots lie in the speech of Scandinavian settlers. The meaning shifted from grasping to thriving over several centuries, and the older physical sense survives only faintly. The same Germanic root produced words in the Scandinavian languages that still carry the notion of prospering: Swedish "trivas," Danish "trives," and Norwegian Bokmål "trives" all mean to do well or feel at home. Those cognates show the word was once shared across the North Germanic world.

Synonyms: flourish, prosper, blossom

Antonyms: fail, decline, stagnate