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"T" Word Origins

Where do words come from? Trace the origin and history of any English word, from its Latin, Greek or Old English roots through to its modern meaning. Every etymology is sourced.

“T” Word Origins

thirst trap
English
A compound of trap and the slang sense of thirsty, meaning desperate for attention or sex.
thirsty
Old English
From Old English þurstiġ, formed from thirst plus -y.
thirteen
Old English
From Old English þrēotīene, a combination of "three" and "-teen" (ten).
thirteenth
Origin
From thirteen plus the ordinal suffix -th.
thirty
Old English
From Old English þrītiġ, literally "three tens".
this
Old English
From Old English þis, an ancient Germanic demonstrative — the "near" counterpart to "that".
thistle
Old English
From Old English þistel, an old Germanic word for this prickly plant.
thistly
Origin
From thistle + -y.
thither
Old English
From Old English þider, reshaped over time by analogy with "hither".
tho
Middle English
From Middle English tho, tha, from Old English þā (“the, those”, plural), from Proto-West Germanic *þai, from Proto-Germanic *þai (“those”), from Proto-Indo-European *to-, *só (“that”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian do (“the”, plural). Doublet of they.
thock
Origin
Onomatopoeic.
thole
Origin
From Middle English thōle, from tholen, tholien, from Old English þolian, from Proto-West Germanic *þolēn, from Proto-Germanic *þulāną (“to suffer”), from Proto-Indo-European *telh₂- (“to bear, suffer; to support”), compare Norwegian Bokmål tåle.
Thom
Origin
A shortened form of Thomas.
Thomas
Aramaic
From the Aramaic word for "twin", carried into English through the biblical apostle Thomas, famous for doubting Jesus's resurrection until he saw the evidence himself.
thomason
Origin
From Thomas + -son. Literally, “son of Thomas”.
thomasson
Origin
From Thomas + -son. Literally, “son of Thomas”.
Thompson
Origin
Formed from Tom plus -son, meaning "son of Thomas".
Thomson
Origin
From Tom plus -son, meaning "son of Thomas"; a variant spelling of Thompson.
thone
Origin
From Middle English *thon, from Old English þān (“moist, damp, wet; having water, watered, irrigated”), from Proto-West Germanic *þain, from Proto-Germanic *þainaz (“moist”), from Proto-Indo-European *teh₂- (“to melt, flow”). Cognate with Scots thane, thain (“moist, damp”). Related to thaw.
thong
Old English
From Old English þwong, an old Germanic word for a strip or strap used to bind things.
thonself
Origin
From thon + -self.
Thor
Old English
From Old Norse Þórr, the name of the Norse thunder god; related to Old English Þunor.
Thora
Old Norse
A short form of Old Norse female names beginning with "Þórr" (Thor).
thoracic
Ancient Greek
From Ancient Greek thōrakikós, relating to the thorax (chest).
thoracotomy
Latin
From thoraco- (relating to the chest) plus -tomy (a cutting), from Greek roots meaning "to cut."
thorax
Latin
From Latin thorax, itself from Greek thōrax, meaning "breastplate" — the body part was named after the armor that covers it.
thorn
Old English
From Old English þorn, going back to a very old Germanic word for a sharp spike, related to a root meaning "stiff."
thornback
Origin
From Middle English thornbak; equivalent to thorn + back.
Thornton
Old English
From Old English þorn (“thorn”) + tūn (“settlement”).
thorny
Old English
From Old English þorniġ, built from thorn plus the adjective-forming suffix -y.
thorough
Old English
A stressed variant of "through," from Old English þuruh — the two words share the same root but split apart in meaning over time.
thoroughbred
Origin
From thorough (in the sense of "complete") plus bred.
thoroughbreed
Origin
From thorough + breed.
thoroughfare
Middle English
From Middle English thurghfare, literally "a way through" — thorough (through) plus fare (a going, a journey).
thoroughgoing
Origin
From thorough + going (adjective).
thoroughly
Origin
From thorough plus the adverb-forming suffix -ly.
thorp
Origin
From Middle English thorp, throp, from Old English þorp, þrop (“farm, village”), from Proto-West Germanic *þorp, from Proto-Germanic *þurpą, *þrepą (“village, farmstead, troop”), from Proto-Indo-European *trab-, *treb- (“dwelling, room”). Doublet of dorf and dorp, and possibly also of troop and troupe.
Thorpe
Old English
Various places in England, from Old English þorp. See also thorpe.
thot
English
Generally explained as an initialism of 'that ho over there', though the derivation is not firmly documented.
thotty
Origin
From thot + -y.
thou
Old English
From Old English þū, the original singular form of "you"; it fell out of everyday use as English simplified its pronouns, surviving mainly in older literature, prayer, and dialect.
though
Old English
From Old Norse *þóh and Old English þēah, both descending from a common Germanic word meaning "though" or "nevertheless."
thought
Old English
From Old English þōht, related to the verb "think" — it is literally the noun form of thinking.
thoughtful
Middle English
From Middle English thoȝtful, built from thought plus -ful.
thoughtfully
Origin
From thoughtful plus -ly.
thoughtfulness
Origin
From thoughtful + -ness.
thoughtless
Origin
From thought plus -less, meaning literally "lacking thought."
thoughty
Origin
From Middle English thoughty, thoghty, equivalent to thought + -y. Cognate with Scots thochty, thouchty (“thoughty”), Dutch gedachtig (“thoughty”), German gedächtig (“suspicious”).