#WordNerdWednesday
Somehow it took me nearly half a century to wonder where the word “thanks” comes from.
Turns out it’s not a complicated story.
Our modern “thanks” seems to derive from similar Old English (panc), Old Norse (pokk) and German (dank) words meaning roughly “good will” and “to remember or think of fondly, with gratitude.” People started using “thanks” as a standalone noun in the 16th century.
Thanksgiving may be an American holiday, but gratitude is global – and it never goes out of style.
