*þankijan

Reconstruction

Wiktionary reconstructs the infinitive *þankijan.^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *þankijaną (“to perceive, to think”),^[2] which Kroonen cites as *þankjan-, Orel as *þankjanan and EWA as *þank(i)jan-.^[3][4][5] Ringe and Taylor derive the Old English second and third singular þencst, þencþ from Proto-Germanic *þankīsi, *þankīþi, remade as *þąnkisi, *þąnkiþi.^[6]

Morphology

A weak verb of class I;^[5][7] EWA takes the class II inflection of Old Dutch thencon for secondary.^[5] Its Proto-Germanic past *þanhtē "perceived, thought" was already one of the irregular past tenses with the cluster *-ht-.^[8] In it the nasal had left a nasalized long vowel, *[θɑ̃:xte:], which was rounded in the northern dialects: Old English þōhte and Old Frisian thōgte against Old Saxon thāhte and Old High German dāhta.^[9]

Evidence

The verb is attested in all the West Germanic languages: Old English þenċan, Old Frisian thenza, Old Saxon thenkian, Old Dutch thencon and Old High German denken.^[5] In Old Dutch, ONW has it from the Old Middle and Old Low Franconian Psalms of the 10th century, and Williram's commentary on the Song of Songs of about 1100 has it too.^[10]

Meanings

1. to think^[1]

Ringe and Taylor take "to perceive, to think" for the Proto-Germanic meaning.^[2] Old English also used the verb for "to consider, to remember, to intend",^[11] Old Saxon for "to consider, to contrive",^[12] and Old High German for "to consider, to devise, to deliberate".^[5]

Derivatives

• *þunkijan "to seem": Ringe and Taylor derive Proto-Germanic *þunkijaną as an intransitive from *þankijaną,^[13] and Kroonen calls it a zero-grade formation related to the verb.^[14]
• Ringe and Taylor take the Proto-Germanic noun *þankaz "thought, thanks, satisfaction", the source of Old English þanc, Old Saxon thank and Old High German dank, and the collective *þankō for probably derived from the verb.^[2]
• *biþankijan "to think about" and *underþankijan "to investigate, to recognise", which Wiktionary reconstructs;^[15][16] Old English and Old Saxon have both prefixed verbs.^[11][7]

Reflexes

• Old English: þenċan (“to think, to consider, to remember, to intend”)^[11]
• Old Frisian: thenka (“to think”)^[17]
• Old Saxon: thenkian (“to think, to consider, to contrive”)^[12]
• Old Dutch: thenken (“to think”)^[10]
• Old High German: denken (“to think, to consider, to devise”)^[5]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *þankijan
2. ^ a b c Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 512
3. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 533
4. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 416
5. ^ a b c d e f Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de, p. s.v. denken
6. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 295
7. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. thėnkian
8. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 72
9. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 142
10. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org, p. s.v. thenken
11. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. þėncan
12. ^ a b Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. thenkian
13. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 223
14. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 551
15. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *biþankijan
16. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *underþankijan
17. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altfriesisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. thanka