▪ I. † think, v.1 Obs.
(exc. in methinks, q.v.) Forms: see below.
[OE. þync(e)an, þ{uacu}hte, ᵹeþ{uacu}ht = OS. thunkian, thûhta (Du. dunken), OHG. dunchan, dûhta (MHG. dunken, G. dünken, däuchte), ON. þykkja, þótta (:—*þuŋkja, *þ{uacu}hta) (Sw. tycka, Da. tykkes), Goth. þugkjan, þūhta,:—OTeut. *þuŋkjan, *þuŋχta to seem, appear. Although in Gothic and all the Teutonic langs. þuŋkjan is inflected as a weak verb, with forms parallel to those of þaŋkjan (think v.2), it is generally held to have been originally a strong vb., the present stem of which was formed with -ja suffix, like *ligjan, *sitjan, etc., on the weak grade of an original ablaut series *þiŋk-, *þaŋk-, *þuŋk- (see think v.2), which subseq. passed into the first class of weak vbs. (cf. brûkjan, brûhte, bugjan, bauhte, etc.). In OE., as in the cognate langs., the forms of this vb. and think v.2 remained quite distinct; but in ME., owing to the fact that both þync- and þenc- gave ME. þink-, and both þ{uacu}ht and þóht appeared in ME. as þouȝt, thought, they became confused and finally fell together. The contiguity of sense also helped: see think v.2]
A. Illustration of Forms.
1. inf. and pres. tense (α) 1 þyncan, -cean; 3rd pers. sing. 1 ðynceþ, ðyncþ, 4 thunceth(ü); 3 þuncþ (þunþ).
| a 800 Cynewulf Elene 541 (Gr.) Do swa þe þynce. c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xxxvi. 255 Hwelc wite sceal us ðonne to hefiᵹ ðyncan [v.r. ðyncean]? a 1250 Owl & Night. 1592 Ek steape hire þun[c]þ a mile. Ibid. 1649 Me þunch. Ibid. 1672 þuncþ [Jesus MS. þinkþ]. |
(β) 1 þincan, þincean, 3–5 þink(e, 4 þynke, thinc, 4–6 thynk(e, 4–7 thinke, 5 thynck, 6 thincke, 4–6 (7–9 arch. in methinks) think; 3rd pers. sing. 1 þinþ, 1–3 þincþ, 3 þinkþ, 4 thinkt; 3 (Orm.) þinnkeþþ.
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xxxiii. § 2 Ᵹif he hine þonne beᵹit, þonne þincð him þæt he næbbe ᵹenoᵹ. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 74 Swa micel swa þe þince. c 1200 Ormin 11807 Ne þinnke ȝuw nan wunnderr. c 1325 Spec. Gy Warw. 588 Þouh þe þinke, hit greue þe. c 1350 Will. Palerne 384 Lordes, lusteneþ her-to, ȝif ȝou lef þinkes. 13.. Cursor M. 18966 (Gött.) Gret selcuth here-of thinces vus. Ibid. 2602 (Fairf.) Me walde þink þat hit ware myne. a 1400 Hylton Scala Perf. (W. de W. 1494) i. xxxiv, Hym shall thynke that his synnes are..so fowle. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) xxvii. 278 Þanne wolde hem thinken gretter delyt. 1531 Dial. on Laws Eng. i. xxix. 70 It thynketh more resonable. 1577 Harrison England ii. i. (1877) i. 18 Adding what him thinketh good of his owne knowledge. |
| Irreg. 13.. Cursor M. 225 (Cott.) Notful me thinc it ware to man. Ibid. 16389 Selcuth vs thinc o þe. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xxi. 96 Þis think me ane of þe grettest meruailes. 1530 Crome in Strype Eccl. Mem. (1721) III. App. x. 20 But my thynk theye hurt purgatorye sore. c 1572 Gascoigne Fruites Warre Wks. (1831) 212 Me thinke if then their cause be rightly scande. |
(γ) 2–3 þinche(n, 2–4 þunche(n; 3 þenche(n, 4 thynche(n.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 33 Nalde hit þe þinchen na mare bute [etc.]. Ibid. 35 Ȝet hit wald me þunchen þet softeste beð..þat ic efre ibad. Ibid. 69 Þet þuncheð gode swiðe god. a 1200 Moral Ode 62 Eiðer to lutel and to muchel scal þunchen [v.r. þunche] eft hom baþe. c 1230 Hali Meid. 7 Tah hit þunche oðre men þat ha drehen harde. c 1250 A lutel soth Sermun 80 in O.E. Misc. 190 An eue to go mid him Ne þunchet [v.r. þincheþ] hire no schome. c 1300 Harrow. Hell (Harl. MS.) 140 Me þuncheþ he is a coward. 1399 Pol. Poems (Rolls) I. 397, I say ffor my self, and schewe, as me thynchith. |
(δ) 3–4 þenke(n, 4–5 thenke(n, 5 thenck; 3rd pers. sing. 4 thenkth. (Belonging in form to think v.2)
| c 1330 [see B. 3]. c 1374 Chaucer Anel. & Arc. 105 But no thing thenkith þe fals as doth the trewe. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 8 So that him thenketh of a day A thousand yer, til he mai se The visage of Penolope. 1419 in Proc. Privy Council (1834) II. 247 Þus us thenkiþ þer was grete negligence in sum persone. |
(ε) 3rd pers. sing. 3–4 þingþ, 4 thingth; 5 thyngyt; thing.
| a 1300 Fragm. Pop. Sc. (Wright) 96 The sonne is more than the mone,..The mone thinȝth the more, for heo so neȝ ous is. 1340 Ayenb. 166 Suo dede þe martires ase hit þingþ ine hare liue. c 1420 Anturs of Arth. xxv, Vs thing [v.r. thynke] a masse als squete, As any spyce that euyr thou ete. |
2. pa. tense. (α) 1–3 þuhte, 3 þuȝte, ðhuȝte, (Orm.) þuhhte, 4 þuȝt, 5 thught.
| a 800 Cynewulf Christ 1424 Lytel þuhte is leoda bearnum. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 119 Hit þuhte here ech sunderlepes þat it was his landes speche. c 1200 Ormin 15324 Itt himm þuhhte swiþe god. c 1250 Death 186 in O.E. Misc. 180 Hit þuȝte [v.r. þuhte] þe ful god. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 1849 To sen de werld ðhuȝte hire god. 13.. Cursor M. 750 (Fairf.) If ham gode þuȝt [v.rr. thoght, þouȝt]. |
(β) 3 þohte, 3–4 þoȝte, 3–5 þouȝte, 4 thoȝte, þoȝt, þoht, thouht, (þouȝth), 4–5 þouȝt, thoght, 4–6 Sc. thocht, 5 thoghte, thoȝt, þowht, Sc. thoucht, 5–7 (8–9 arch. in methought) thought; 3–4 þoute, 4 thout, (thouth), 4–5 þout, 5 thowt. (Coinciding in form with think v.2)
| c 1290 St. Kenelm 123 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 348 Him þouȝte he clam op-on þat treo. a 1300 Cursor M. 19040 (Edin.) Þar of to don quat taim god þoȝte [C., G. thoght, L. thoȝt, Tr. þouȝt]. Ibid. 1339 (Cott.) Him thoght [Gött. thout, F. þoȝt, Tr. þouȝte]..Þat to þe sky it raght þe toppe. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 562 Hard hit hym þoȝt. 1375 Barbour Bruce i. 79 Þis ordynance þaim thocht þe best. c 1430 Hymns Virg. 83 Al þat y dide, it þouȝte me swete. 1513 Douglas æneis xi. vi. 15 The Goddis wraik, hym thocht, Schew that by fait Ene was thiddir brocht. 1632 Holland Cyrupædia 205 Him thought that one came unto him. |
B. Signification. intr. To seem, to appear.
1. With expressed subject (sometimes it) and complement; often also with dat. pron.
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xxxii. §2 Þonne ne ðuhte he him no innon swa fæᵹer swa he utan þuhte. c 897 [see A. 1 α]. c 975 Rushw. Gosp. Matt. xvii. 25 Hwæt ðynceþ þe simon petre? a 1000 Boeth. Metr. xxviii. 63 Ne þincð þæt wundor micel monna æneᵹum. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 119 Monie þewas beoð..þe monnen þuncheð rihte. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 109 Þe sunne þinkeð ful of liht..þe sunne þincheð ful of hete. c 1275 Woman of Samaria 19 in O.E. Misc. 84 Hwat artu þat drynke me byst, þu þinchest of iude-londe. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 2183 Thanne is it wysdom, as it thynketh me To maken vertu of necessitee. 1437 Earl Warwick in Wars Eng. in France (Rolls) II. Pref. 67 Such as shall think unto youre lordship necessarie and sufficient. a 1450 Le Morte Arth. 3829 That lyffe hym thought no-thyng longe. |
2. Impersonal, i.e. without expressed subject, or with following clause as implicit subject: It seems. (Always with dat. pron., me, him, her, etc.)
After c 1300 sometimes irreg. put into the person or number of the dative pron., by confusion with think v.2: thus methink, for methinks, after I think. Cf. A. 1 β irreg.
a. With complement, as in 1; also with following inf. clause as implicit subject.
| Beowulf 1748 Þinceð him to lytel þæt he lange heold. c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xiv. §2 Ac þincð him ᵹenoᵹ on þam þe hi binnan heora æᵹenre hyde habbað. c 1200 Ormin 5030 Ȝiff himm þinnkeþþ god, he maȝȝ Þe ȝifenn heoffness blisse. a 1300 Cursor M. 636 (Cott.) Þar for thoght þam þen na scham. Ibid. 868 Vs thoght scam þe to bide. c 1425 Ibid. 16827 (Laud) Dothe hym doune as you thenckyth best. c 1460 Towneley Myst. ii. 158 Cry on, cry, whyls the thynk good. c 1520 Barclay Jugurth (1557) 28 b, Whan he had..such compani as him thought competent for an army. 1556 Aurelio & Isab. (1608) D iv, Take that nombre of men and women as shall thincke you goode. |
b. Followed by a n. clause (constituting the logical subject), or parenthetic. See also methinks.
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xxix. §1 Him selfum ðincð þæt he nænne næbbe. c 1200 Ormin 10299 Hemm þuhhte þatt he mihhte ben Helysew þe profete. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 7597 To bete þulke robberie, þat him þoȝte he adde ydo. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 100 Hym thoughte þat his herte wolde breke. c 1470 Henry Wallace v. 998 Say quhat ye will, this is the best, think me. 1530 Tindale Pract. Prelates I vij, The maryage of the brother with the sister is not so greuouse agenst the lawe of nature (thinketh me) as the degrees aboue rehersed. 1635 Heywood Hierarch. iv. 198 Him thought that in his depth of sleepe he saw A Souldier arm'd. |
c. With adverb (as, how, so, thus), usually representing a clause.
| [Beowulf 1341 Ᵹe feor hafað fæhðe ᵹestæled þæs þe þincean mæᵹ þeᵹne moneᵹum.] c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xxi. 28 Hu þincð eow? a 1300 Cursor M. 639 (Cott.) ‘Adam’, he said, ‘how thinkt [v.rr. thinkes, þinkeþ] þe, In þis stede es fair to be?’ c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. Prol. 248 Therfore may I seyn, as thynketh me, This songe in preysyng of this lady fre. c 1440 Alphabet of Tales 175 We hard a grete noyse of armyd men, & as vs thoght, of harnessid hors. 1570–6 Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 333 The which may (as me thinketh) be broken in-to foure severall portions. |
3. Phr. think long, to seem long, to be wearisome (to one): cf. think v.2 10 c.
| a 1000 Boeth. Metr. x. 66 Þeah hit lang ðince. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 183 Hire þuncheð lang, þat hie on him bileueð. c 1330 Assump. Virg. (B. M. MS.) 121 Alle him þenkeþ swiþe longe Til þou comest hem amonge. c 1430 Hymns Virg. 9/49 After his loue me þenkiþ long. |
▪ II. think, v.2
(θɪŋk)
Pa. tense and pple. thought (θɔːt). Forms: see below.
[OE. þęnc(e)an, þóhte, (ᵹe)þóht, = OFris. thinka (WFris. tinkje, tinze); OS. thęnkian, thāhta (Du., LG. denken), OHG. dęnchen, dāhta (MHG., Ger. denken, dachte), ON. þękkja, þátta (*þęŋkja, *þáhta), (Sw. tänka, Da. tænka), Goth. þagkjan, þāhta (:—*þaŋχta). In form, a factitive vb. f. þaŋk-, strong grade of ablaut series þiŋk-, þaŋk-, þuŋk-:—pre-Teut. *teng-, *tong-, *tng-: cf. think v.1 The original meaning may thus have been ‘to cause (something) to seem or appear (to oneself)’. In ME., þenk (as was normal with the groups -eng, -enk) became þink, with the result of confusing this in the present stem with the prec. vb., of which the pa. tense þ{uacu}hte was also from 13th c. written þoughte, thought(e, so that the forms of the two verbs became completely identical. The practical equivalence of sense between me thinks, him thought, etc., and I think, he thought, etc., also contributed to this result, there being no difference of import between ‘such compani as him thought [= OE. him þ{uacu}hte] competent’ (see think v.1 B. 2 a) and ‘such company as he thought [= OE. he þóhte] competent’.]
A. Illustration of Forms.
1. inf. and pres. tense (α) 1 þencan, 2 þence, 2–4 þenken, (3 Orm. þennkenn, ðenke(n, 4 þengke), 4–5 þenke, thenke, þenk, 4–5 thenk.
| c 888 Hwæt he þencð [see B. 1]. ? a 1100 O.E. Chron. an. 995 (MS. F) Nan mann ne mihte ðencan embe naht elles butan. a 1175 Þence [see B. 8 b]. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 49 Þe man þe..ne þencð no þing. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2072 Of me ðu ðhenke ðan it sal ben. Ibid. 3563 And ðenk, louerd, quat ben bi-foren Abram, and ysaac, and iacob sworen. c 1290 St. Gregory 50 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 357 Þou þencst..with þi conseil al rome to bi-traiȝe. 1382 Thenk [see B. 2]. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 490/2 Thenkyn, cogito. |
(β) 2–3 þenchen, 3–4 þenche, 4 thenche.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 61 Þet we ne þenchen ufel to don. c 1200 Moral Ode 118 (Trin. Coll. MS.) He sal hit þenche þanne. c 1205, c 1275 Þench, þinche [see B. 2 b (b)]. c 1330 Arth. & Merl. (Kölbing) 6534 Eten & drink men schal on benche And after mete in chaumber þenche. c 1386 Thenche [see B. 4]. |
(γ) 4 þink-, þinc-, thinc-, 4–5 þinke, 5 þynke; 4–6 thynk, thynke, (thincke), 4–7 thinke, (thinck, 6 thyncke), 4– think.
| 13.. Cursor M. 14187 (Cott.) Sir quat thinckes þou? Ibid. 21630 (Edin.) Mar..Than ani man mai þinc [Cott. thing] in thoȝt. a 1340 Hampole Psalter cxlv. 1 Þe purere part of mannys saule, þat thynkis þe wisdom of god. c 1425 Eng. Conq. Irel. 22 Other, that wors is..vs tynken vndo that god shild. 1552 Huloet, Thyncke often, reputo, as. 1648 tr. Senault's Paraphr. Job 360 To thinke..on their domesticke affaires. 1653 Thinck [see B. 2 b (b)]. |
(δ) 3–4 imp. þeng, 4 inf. thing.
| a 1275 Prov. ælfred 518 in O.E. Misc. 133 Ne þeng þu neuere þi lif. 13.. Thing [see γ]. a 1400 Þeng [see B. 5 a]. |
2. pa. tense. 1–4 ð-, þóhte, 3 þoȝte, (þochte, þoute, þuhte, Orm. þohhte), 3–5 þouȝte, þouȝt, 4 þouhte, þoughte, þoȝt, þoght, (þout, þuȝt), thoȝte, thoȝt, thouȝte, Sc. thowcht, 4–5 þought, Sc. thoucht, 4–6 thoght, 4– Sc. thocht, 5 þowȝt(e, (þowȝth), thouȝt, thowght(e, (thught), 6 thoughte, (dial. 8–9 thoft, 9 thowt), 4– thought.
| 971 Ðohte [see B. 2 b]. c 1200 Ormin 7312 Herode..þohhte þohh to cwellenn himm. c 1205 Lay. 1255 He þoute [c 1275 þohte] of his swefne. Ibid. 24190 Þuhte [see B. 10]. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 2652 Hengist þoȝte þe king & is bytraye. 13.. Cursor M. 3352 (Cott.) He..thoght on thing he had to done. Ibid. 2039 (Fairf.) Þe ȝonger broþer þuȝt ful wa. c 1350 Will. Palerne 855 Sche þout þroly in herte þat leuer hire were. 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 848 Wel hym semed for soþe, as þe segge þuȝt. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints iii. (Andreas) 928 Fore-þi I thowcht I wald nocht dwell. 1375 Barbour Bruce ii. 69 He Thoucht that suld pass ane othir way. c 1400 Destr. Troy 3189 Fele of þe folke febull it thughten. 1450 W. Lomner in Four C. Eng. Lett. (1880) 4 He thowghte he was desseyvyd. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. (Rolls) I. 90 Tha thocht it greit folie. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iii. ix. 146, I thought good to speak this. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones vii. xiii, I thoft he had been an officer himself. 1864 Mrs. Lloyd Ladies Polc. 102 I thoft, if so be you would be so handsome as to spake a word for me. 1864 Tennyson North. Farmer, Old Style v, I niver knaw'd whot a meän'd but I thowt a 'ad summat to saäy. |
3. pa. pple. 3 iþoht, -e, (yþout), þoht, (Orm. þohht), 3–4 iþoȝt, 4 i-þouȝt, yþouȝt, i-thought, þoȝt, -e, þouȝte, Sc. thowcht, thocht, 4–5 thoght, 5 þouȝt, þought, 5–6 thowght, 6–7 Sc. thocht(e, 7 thoughte, (5–9 dial. thoft(e), 5– thought.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 71 Ure ateliche sinnes þe we hauen don and queðen and þoht. c 1200 Ormin 2364 Wel haffde þohht to libbenn. c 1205 Lay. 13468 Þat he hæfde iþoht ær. 13.. Cursor M. 20092 (Edin.) Quat hauis tu þoȝte [v.r. thoght]? c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 513 Ich haue y⁓þouȝt. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints ii. (Paulus) 380 To do þis, hafe I thowcht. Ibid. x. (Mathou) 135 As men..thocht had. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xiii. 268 Þis wil be þouȝte longe. 1387–8 T. Usk Test. Love i. ii. (Skeat) I. 162 If I coud haue made chere to one, and ithought an other. 1482 Ord. Gild Exeter in Eng. Gilds (1870) 314 To have a sustenans..as cane be thofte..resounabyll. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 276 This was thought to be done for this intent. |
B. Signification. I. To conceive in the mind, exercise the mind, etc.
1. trans. To form in the mind, conceive (a thought, etc.); to have in the mind as a notion, an idea, etc.; to do in the way of mental action. a. with simple obj. (n. or pron.).
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xxxix. §9 Þeah hwa mæᵹe onᵹitan hwæt oðer do, he ne mæᵹ witan hwæt he þencð. a 1200 Moral Ode 79 He wat wet þenkeð and hwet doð alle quike wihte. 13.. Cursor M. 27101 (Cott.) Vr thoghtes ar þai be thoght. c 1400 Rom. Rose 2541 They in herte cunne thenke a thing And seyn another, in hir speking. a 1548 Hall Chron., Edw. IV 224 Whatsoeuer he thought in his Imaginacion. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. ii. vii. 50 To thinke so base a thought. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxx. 180 Any man that sees what I am doing, may easily perceive what I think. 1871 Smiles Charac. i. (1876) 22 They think great thoughts. 1895 Cornh. Mag. Mar. 303 Don't begin to think hard things now. |
b. with a direct statement, question, or exclamation as obj. (For constructions with indirect statement, etc., see 2 b, 4 a, 5 a, 8 a, 9.)
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 21 Þæt mæᵹ beon þæt sume men þencan oþþe cweþan, ‘hu mæᵹ ic secan þæt gastlice leoht [etc.]?’ c 1386 Chaucer Man of Law's T. 939 Parfay, thoghte he, fantome is in myn heed. c 1440 Gesta Rom. xxxi. 112 (Harl. MS.) And he thought to him selfe ‘how many this be..?’ 1611 Bible 2 Kings v. 11, I thought, He will surely come out to me. 1634 Milton Comus 566 O poor hapless Nightingale thought I. 1692 Bentley Confut. Atheism iii. (1693) 16 If any one shall think with himself, How then can any thing live in Mercury and Saturn? 1832 Tennyson Miller's Dau. 93 My mother thought, What ails the boy? 1842 ― Dora 4 He..often thought, ‘I'll make them man and wife’. |
c. To conceive, feel (some emotion): as, † to think wonder (think ferly), to wonder (obs.); to think scorn (of, or to do something), to scorn (arch.); to think shame, to be ashamed (now dial.). See also scorn n. 4, shame n.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 10601 (Cott.) Hir freindes..Thoght ferli hou sco þider wan. c 1425 Eng. Conq. Irel. 16 Many hadden gret enuy, and mych wonder toght of Robert de barr. c 1430 [see scorn n. 4]. c 1440 Alphabet of Tales 85 When þe preste hard þis, onone he thoght shame. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lxxxiii. 259 He thinkes scorne to speke to me. 1681 R. Knox Hist. Ceylon 49 These gifts..he thinks scorn to receive. a 1791 Grose Olio (1796) 108 He ought to think shame of himself for such treatment. 1886 Stevenson Kidnapped i, Can you forget..old friends..? Fie, fie; think shame! |
† 2. a. (with simple obj.) To meditate on, turn over in the mind, ponder over, consider. Obs.
| c 1000 Ags. Ps. (Th.) cxviii. [cxix.] 117 And ic þine soð⁓fæstnysse symble þence. c 1200 Moral Ode 118 (Trin. Coll. MS.) Al þat a fri man haueð idon..he sal hit þenche þanne. a 1300 E.E. Psalter i. 2 And his lagh þincke he night and dai. 13.. Cursor M. 24064 (Cott.), I thinc it euer and ai. 1382 Wyclif 1 Tim. iv. 15 Thenk thou thes thingis. 1486 Bk. St. Albans e ij b, Thynke what I say my sonne nyght and day. 1605 Shakes. Macb. ii. ii. 33 These deeds must not be thought After these wayes. |
b. with indirect question as obj.: (For const. with direct question see 1 b.) (a) in reference to a fact or possibility.
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 7 Maria..ðohte hwæt seo halettung wære. a 1300 Cursor M. 1323 (Cott.) Seth bigan to thinc for-qui, Þat þis tre bi-com sua dri. 1881 Trollope Dr. Wortle's School v. iv, Mrs. Wortle began to think whether the visitor could have known of her intended absence. |
(b) In reference to something to be done, with implication of purpose or design. (Cf. 7, 8.)
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 241 And hie þohton hu hie hine acwellan meahton. c 1205 Lay. 8555 And þench [c 1275 þinche] mid wulche deden Þu miht werien þine leoden. c 1386 Chaucer Melib. ¶761 Thinkinge how she myghte brynge this nede vnto a good conclusion. 1474 Caxton Chesse iv. viii. (1883) 184 He began to thynke in what maner he myght escape the deth. 1653 Holcroft Procopius i. 10 Thinck Sir! how you may avenge us and the Persians. 1778 F. Burney Evelina (1791) I. xxxiii. 178 A-thinking what he should do. Mod. I am thinking what to do next. |
c. To have one's thoughts full of, imbued with, or influenced by; to think in terms of. Also, with adj. as quasi-obj. or used quasi-advb., to think in terms of, prefer, have in view (things that are―), esp. to think big, to be ambitious.
| 1821 Byron Diary 29 Jan., They..think and dream Dante. 1859 Habits Gd. Soc. Pref., A horse-dealer..if he thinks nothing but horses, he cannot be good society. 1865 Kingsley Herew. ii, Unless thou hast been drinking beer and thinking beer. 1889 Pall Mall G. 24 Oct. 7/2 The present generation of Greeks talks French but thinks German. 1960 J. Carswell South Sea Bubble vi. 100 Even Blunt, though his maxim was certainly to ‘think big’, would hardly have suggested anything so obviously unacceptable. 1962 A. Lurie Love & Friendship xv. 300 Living in a small town had subtly affected my mind, and I had begun to Think Small. 1970 in M. Pei Words in Sheep's Clothing ii. 14 For those who think old! 1972 D. Haston In High Places xii. 139 With people pulling off tricks like the West Ridge, Dhynenfurth was not day-dreaming in thinking tall. 1978 National Geographic Nov. 615/2 When people think apple,..they usually think red. 1979 Now! 21–27 Sept. 134/3 Simple, uncluttered and tubular they illustrate fashion's new mood of ‘think thin’. 1981 Daily Tel. 21 Dec. 2/3 (heading) ‘Think British’ call to CBI firms. |
3. a. intr. To exercise the mind, esp. the understanding, in any active way; to form connected ideas of any kind; to have, or make, a train of ideas pass through the mind; to meditate, cogitate. (The most general verb to express internal mental activity, excluding mere perception of external things or passive reception of ideas.)
think aloud: to express one's thoughts by audible speech as they pass through the mind; to think for oneself: to form independent judgements, not to be overinfluenced by preconceptions or received opinions; to think out loud = to think aloud; to think straight: see straight adv. 1 g.
| c 1000 ælfric Gen. xxiv. 63 Þe eode ut on þæt land þencende. c 1320 Cast. Love 17 He leue vs þenche and worchen so, Þat he vs schylde from vre fo. 1382 Wyclif 1 Cor. xiii. 11 Whanne I was a litil child..I thouȝte as a litil child. 1552 Huloet, Thinke muche, reputo. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. ii. iv. 1 When I would pray, and think, I thinke, and pray To seuerall subiects. 1673 Dryden State Innocence ii. i, That I am I know, because I think. 1690 Locke Hum. Und. ii. i. §10 There is something in us, that has a Power to think. c 1714 Pope Lett. (1735) I. 151 The Freedom I shall use in this Manner of Thinking aloud. 1735 Berkeley Defence of Free-Thinking in Math. xix. 19 The only advantage I pretend to, is that I have always thought and judged for myself. 1764 Goldsm. Trav. 372 Those who think must govern those that toil. 1853 Dickens Let. 28 Nov. (1938) II. 522 One of the great uses of travelling is to encourage a man to think for himself. 1864 Bowen Logic i. 10 To think is to make clear through Concepts something already otherwise represented or known to consciousness. 1870 J. P. Smith Widow Goldsmith's Daughter vi. 90 The merry mischief in his eyes..made her feel her absurdity in thinking out loud. 1974 Times 1 May 6/6 Those matters were thoroughly probed..the President often taking the role of devil's advocate; sometimes merely thinking out loud. 1974 D. L. Edwards What Anglicans Believe xii. 100 Anglican laymen have been encouraged to think for themselves. |
b. with about, of, (on, upon arch.), over, † to (obs. rare): To exercise the mind upon, or have the mind occupied with; to meditate on; to consider, attend to mentally, apply the mind to.
to give (one) furiously to think: see give v. 38.
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 57 Myccle swiðor we sceolan þencan be þæm gastlicum þingum. c 1000 Ags. Ps. (Th.) cxvii[i]. 8 God ys on Dryhten ᵹeorne to þenceanne. c 1000 Institutes of Polity c. 14 Riht is þæt munecas..a to Gode þencan and ᵹeornlice clypian. c 1200 Vices & Virt. 17 Ac ðu..noldest þenchen of ðine for[ð]siðe. a 1300 Floriz & Bl. 32 Ac floriz þencheþ al on oþer. c 1340 Hampole Prose Tr. 36 Thow may..thynke ouer thi synnes be-fore donne. 13.. Cursor M. 15612 (Gött.) To thinc apon his care. a 1380 Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. xxxix. 138 Nou is deþ a wonder þing And grislich for to þenken on. a 1425 Cursor M. 9977 (Trin.) [She] þouȝte neuer to wicked dede. 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 11 Think & loke wele vpon your werkis without hasting you. 1641 Evelyn Diary 2 Jan., Who now thought of nothing but the pursuite of vanity. 1706 E. Ward Wooden World Diss. (1708) 100 It makes him think upon Pay-Day. 1782 F. Burney Cecilia viii. vi, Think of it well ere you proceed. 1804–6 Syd. Smith Mor. Philos. (1850) 89 He began thinking about lances. Mod. I'll think over the matter, and let you know my decision in a day or two. [Cf. 16.] |
4. To form or have an idea of (a thing, action, or circumstance, real or imaginary) in one's mind; to imagine, conceive, fancy, picture. a. trans. with simple obj. or obj. clause; also absol. in colloq. phrases only think! you can't think!
| c 1200 Ormin 1761 Unnseȝȝenndlike mare inoh Þann aniȝ wihht maȝȝ þennkenn. a 1300 Cursor M. 647 Es nan..wit hert mai think,..Þe mikel ioy þat þam es lent. c 1386 Chaucer Miller's T. 67 There nas no man so wys þat koude thenche So gay a popelote, or swich a wenche. 1415 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 85/1 As free..as hert may thynk, or eygh may see. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. v. i. 431 Thinke but this..That you haue but slumbred heere. 1656 Stanley Hist. Philos. viii. (1701) 303/1 Thou seest not what thou thinkst before thy eye. 1782 F. Burney Diary 8 Dec., You can't think how I'm encumbered with these ruffles! 1864 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. III. 220 Only think! I get my new milk again, at eight. |
b. intr. with of (on obs. or arch.), in same sense. (Often imperative in colloq. phrases.)
| a 1300 Cursor M. 18802 (Cott.) Quat hert mai thinc o suilk honur. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) xxvii. 278 He had..all maner of foules & of bestes that ony man myghte thenke on. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. iii. v. 116 And then to be stopt in like a strong distillation with stinking Cloathes, that fretted in their owne grease: thinke of that, a man of my Kidney; thinke of that. 1653 Walton Angler ii. 41 The gloves of an Otter are the best fortification for your hands against wet weather that can be thought of. 1741 H. Walpole Lett. to Mann (1834) I. vi. 12 Do but think on a duel between Winnington and Augustus Townshend. 1842 Tennyson Locksley Hall 73 Can I think of her as dead? 1844 E. FitzGerald Lett. (1889) I. 125 Think of the rocococity of a gentleman studying Seneca in the middle of February 1844 in a remarkably damp cottage. 1861 J. Pycroft Agony Point xlvi, Think of me ever being rich! 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) IV. 264 The ancient philosophers..thought of science only as pure abstraction. 1885 J. Payn Talk of Town I. 7 She always thought of him..as a very young man. |
c. trans. with simple obj. To form a definite conception of (something real) by a conscious mental act; to picture in one's mind, apprehend clearly, cognize (with or without direct perception).
| 1864 Bowen Logic i. 5 We..are thus enabled to think the landscape as a whole. 1885 J. Martineau Types Eth. Th. (ed. 2) I. i. xi. §8. 212 When you think this equation [surface of a sphere = area of circle of twice its diameter]. 1890 W. James Princ. Psychol. II. xx. 203 We think the ocean as a whole by multiplying mentally the impression we get at any moment when at sea. |
II. To call to mind, take into consideration.
5. a. trans. (with obj. clause, often indirect interrogative): To call to mind; to consider, reflect upon; to recollect, remember, bear in mind. to think that―! (int.): introducing a statement of a fact thought of as remarkable or surprising.
| c 1020 Rule St. Benet lxiii. (Logeman) 104 Ac he þænce simle þæt he be eallum his domum & weorcum be his is to ᵹildanne. c 1230 Hali Meid. 3, & maken þe to þenchen hwuch delit were þrin. a 1400 Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1903) 258 Þeng wat þou art, & wat þou was. 1474 Caxton Chesse i. iii. (1883) 15 Yf thou be a man thinke that thou shalt dye. 1605 Shakes. Macb. ii. ii. 51, I am afraid, to thinke what I haue done. 1667 Milton P.L. vi. 135 Fool, not to think how vain Against th' Omnipotent to rise in Arms. 1818 Shelley Rosalind & Helen 188 Helen smiled..To think that a boy as fair as he..The like sweet fancies had pursued. 1906 Belloc Hills & Sea 30 To think that you can get to a place like that for less than a pound! 1919 G. B. Shaw Heartbreak House ii. 60 And to think that I actually condescended to fascinate that creature there to save you from him! 1946 M. Peake Titus Groan 337 To think that an hour earlier she had been helping to plait those locks. |
b. intr. To consider the matter; to reflect.
| Beowulf 290 æᵹ hwæþres sceal scearp scyld-wiᵹa ᵹescad witan worda & worca seþe wel þenceð. a 1800 Cowper Inscr. Tomb Hamilton 1 Pause here, and think. 1842 Tennyson Dora 27 Consider, William: take a month to think. 1862 E. FitzGerald Lett. (1889) I. 286, I somehow fancy a line of nonsense will catch you at Ely: and yet, now I come to think, you will have left Ely, probably. 1879 J. Blackwood Let. 14 Jan. in Geo. Eliot Lett. (1956) VII. 94, I have been reading it all with great interest, and it does make one think. 1933 M. Lowry Ultramarine i. 41, I wonder why it [sc. a carrier pigeon] had a message from Swansea... Makes you think, that, doesn't it? 1968 G. Mitchell Three Quick & Five Dead ii. 67 ‘But young Otto is a psychopath!’ said Laura. ‘Makes you think a bit, that does,’ agreed the Superintendent. 1976 ‘D. Halliday’ Dolly & Nanny Bird x. 127 Remember how Comer came bursting in one evening?.. It makes you think, doesn't it? |
c. intr. with of (arch. on, upon), or inf.: To call to mind, remember, bethink oneself (of), hit upon mentally. (See also 7 b.) Also, to think back (on or to), to recall, reflect on; (when one) come(s) to think of it: see come v. 24 b.
| c 1175 Pater Noster 96 in Lamb. Hom. 59 He walde þet he of him þohte. a 1300 Cursor M. 1860 (Cott.) Our lauerd þan on noe thoght. c 1400 Emare 951 The emperour..þowȝt on hys synne; Of hys þowȝtyr Emare, That was putte yn-to þe see. a 1536 Tindale Declar. Sacraments a vj b, God..promysed that thei shuld be thoght vpon before the lord yir god & saued from their enemies. 1552 Huloet, Thynke vpon me, memento mei. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. iv. iv. 547 Haue you thought on A place whereto you'l go? 1613 ― Hen. VIII, ii. ii. 138 The most conuenient place, that I can thinke of..is Black-Fryers. 1712 Arbuthnot John Bull ii. iv, There is a small concern of a thousand pounds; I hope you think on it, Sir. 1844 Macaulay Ess., Earl Chatham (1887) 838 In his distress, he thought on Pitt. a 1912 Mod. Did you think to ask him how his father is? No, I didn't think of it. 1960 Times Lit. Suppl. 17 June 387/1, I think back to the sixth forms of the twenties. 1965 H. Gold Man who was not with It iii. 29 Goombye, I thought back to him. 1976 Times Lit. Suppl. 22 Oct. 1327/2 When I think back on it now, that was the best thing I could have done. |
d. intr. with on (adv.), To remember. Now dial.
| 1671 H. M. tr. Erasm. Colloq. 226, I much wonder that now thou thinkest on at last to ask me that. a 1800 Pegge Suppl. Grose, Think on, think of it, as I will if I think on. 1828 Craven Gloss., Think-on, to remember. ‘Be sure to mind to think-on’. |
e. refl. To bethink oneself. rare.
| 1556 Aurelio & Isab. (1608) G j, I thinckes me never the lesse that you have saide an exemple of the peacock. 1890 W. A. Wallace Only a Sister 325, I thought me at last of the vestry window. |
f. to think better of: see better adv. 6.
g. to think twice (const. about or absol.): to hesitate, change one's mind (about), decide against (something); also, in a negative context: (not) to take any notice of or worry about.
| 1898 G. B. Shaw Philanderer iii. 119 He thinks twice before he commits himself. 1910 G. F. Hill in Archæologia LXII. 140, I confess that had I come across this MS. at the beginning of my search, I should have thought twice before going on. 1936 W. H. Saumarez Smith Let. 21 Nov. in Young Man's Country (1977) ii. 43 When they find that I am neither a Blue..nor a bridge-player, they may think twice about offering the appointment to me. 1955 M. Hastings Cork & Serpent v. 67 Don't worry. Nobody here thinks twice about me. 1956 A. Huxley Let. 13 Aug. (1969) 805 He thought I had been wise to think twice about talking on TV about mescalin. 1979 R. Rendell Make Death love Me i. 8 The rule was made to be broken and no one ever thought twice about breaking it. 1981 P. Salway Roman Britain 705 This must make us think twice before attributing reasons to any funerary or religious practice from the ancient world for which we have no written evidence. |
h. to think again: to realize that one is mistaken, to change one's mind, to have second thoughts. Cf. thought1 2 c.
| 1911 G. B. Shaw Getting Married 291 So youre not coming home with me. Hotchkiss..: Yes I am. Mrs. George: No. Hotchkiss: Yes. Think again. 1935 C. S. Forester African Queen ii. 35 It would blow this ole launch..to Kingdom Come. You think again, miss. 1958 P. Shore in N. Mackenzie Conviction 37 Those who imagine that the problem of the public schools will disappear..will have to think again. 1974 M. Gilbert Flash Point xiii. 109 It was a put-up job. If they think I'm going to sit down under it, they can think again. |
6. To take into consideration, have regard to, consider. † a. trans. with simple obj. Obs. rare.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 15 Þet we sculden þenchen nu ȝef we weren iseli. 1382 Wyclif Prov. iii. 6 In alle thi weies thenc [1388 thenke on] hym. c 1450 tr. De Imitatione i. xxiv. 32 Þenke no þinge but þi soule helþe; charge onely þo þinges þat longiþ to þi soule. |
b. intr. with of, arch. on (upon).
| a 1300 Cursor M. 10435 (Cott.) Qui ne wil þou on þi seluen thinc, Þat þou wil noiþer ete ne drinc? 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 2652 And whyles he lyffes..Thynk he suld ay of his lyfes hende. c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 65 Wolde God þat preelatis wolde þenke on þis now. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) V. 181 To þinke [v.r. þengke] on þe comyn profit. 1532 Tindale Expos. Matt. v-vii vii. ii. 89 If thou repente..he promyseth that he will not thynke on thy synnes. 1735 Johnson Lobo's Abyssinia, Descr. xi. 112 Nothing was thought of, but how to save ourselves, and the little goods we had. 1827 Scott Surg. Dau. x, ‘That is the last matter to be thought on’, said Hartley. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) IV. 35 If..we begin by thinking of ourselves first, we are easily led on to think of others. |
7. To bethink oneself of something in the way of a plan or purpose; to find out or hit upon (a way to do something) by mental effort; to contrive, devise, plan, plot. (Cf. think out, 15. See also 8.) a. trans. with simple obj. or inf.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 1075 Brutus by⁓þoughte hym of queintise: Queyntise bihouede [v.r. behoues] hym nedly þenke, Þat his enemy schold waite a blenk. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 181 b/1 Thou cursyd wretche now thynke to saue thy lyf. 1602 Marston Antonio's Rev. iv. v, Let's thinke a plot. 1852 Thackeray Esmond i. ix, It was this lady's disposition to think kindnesses..and to scheme benevolence. |
b. intr. with of (on, upon, obs. or arch.).
| 1598 Shakes. Merry W. iv. iv. 46 What shall be done with him? What is your plot? Mist. Pa. That likewise haue we thought vpon. 1630 in Picton L'pool Munic. Rec. (1883) I. 158 His Majesty..hath thought of a way. 1699 Lister Journ. Paris 49 'Tis..their Misfortune not to have Thought of an Alphabet. a 1715 Burnet Own Time (1766) II. 31 She..took all the ways she could think on to ruin him. a 1774 Goldsm. Surv. Exp. Philos. (1776) II. 121 Derham..was the first who thought upon this method of measuring the heights..by the barometer. |
c. to think on one's feet: to react to events, etc., quickly and effectively.
| 1935 Wodehouse Luck of Bodkins xvi. 202 PS. Think on your feet, boy! 1960 Analog Science Fact/Fiction Oct. 73/2 Your records show that you can think on your feet. 1976 J. Archer Not a Penny More x. 116 ‘James,’ said Jean-Pierre, thinking on his feet for not the first time in his life. ‘You take a taxi immediately.’ 1981 T. Wright in Believing in Church v. 112 Reports approved by Synod (the Church thinking on its feet). |
8. To conceive or entertain the notion of doing something; to meditate, contemplate, intend, purpose, design, mean, ‘have a mind’, ‘have thoughts (of)’. In early use often not distinguishable from 7; in later use mostly denoting an imperfect, temporary, or ineffective intention: cf. thought n. 3 d. a. trans. with inf. or obj. clause.
| Beowulf 1536 Swa sceal man don þonne he æt guðe ᵹegan þenceð long-sumne lof. 971 Blickl. Hom. 151 Þa Iudeas..þohton þæt hie woldan ofslean þa apostolas. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 61 Þet we ne þenchen ufel to don. c 1220 Bestiary 455 He..ðoȝte he wulde him fordon. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1181 Iulius þe emperour..þoȝte to sle al þat folc. 1375 Barbour Bruce xi. 532 To the castell thai thoucht to fair. c 1400 Brut xii. 16 Ferst he þougt assaye whiche of ham louede him most and best. 1535 Coverdale 2 Chron. ii. 1 Salomon thoughte to buylde an house vnto the name of the Lorde. 1585 Abp. Whitgift in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 44 This Paper..which I had thowght to have delivered unto you my self yesterday. 1681 Dryden Abs. & Achit. 510 With them joined all the haranguers of the throng, That thought to get preferment by the tongue. 1833 Tennyson Lady Clara Vere de Vere i, You thought to break a country heart For pastime. 1878 T. Hardy Ret. Native iv. ii, He..thought he would send for his mother; and then he thought he would not. |
b. trans. With simple obj. (usually an action).
| a 1175 Cott. Hom. 221 Ne yfel to þence, ne to donne. c 1220 Bestiary 449 Wo so seieð oðer god, & ðenkeð iuel on his mod, Fox he is & fend iwis. a 1300 Cursor M. 4124 To stint wald he..Þe foly þat his breþer thoght. c 1320 Cast. Love 1 Þat good þenkeþ, good may do. a 1450 Le Morte Arth. 1655 How in an Appelle he dede the galle And hadde it thought to syr gawayne. 1553 R. Ascham in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 14 To whom yow never intended to think any harm. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 661 Peace is despaird, For who can think Submission? 1819 Shelley Cenci i. i. 97 While yet Manhood remained to act the thing I thought. |
c. intr. with of (also upon, ? arch. or dial.).
| 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 9 We began to think of returning. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones Ded., It was by your Desire that I first thought of such a Composition. 1760–72 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) III. 138 You must not think of going till you take..dinner with us. 1812 Crabbe Tales xviii, Each thought of taking to himself a wife. 1861 Kingsley in Lett. & Mem. (1877) II. 133, I hear you think of getting into Parliament. 1894 J. T. Fowler Adamnan Introd. 60 He thought of going to Rome and Jerusalem, and did go to Tours. |
d. spec. with of: To consider (a person) in view of some vacancy, or esp. of marriage; to cherish the notion or intention of marrying.
| 1670 Lady Chaworth in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 17 Lady Exeter..could heartily wish that you thought of her niece Lady Betty. 1802 M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. xx. 187, I trust to your prudence, not to think of Flora..; for you can't..marry a girl with so small a fortune. 1856 Patmore Angel in Ho. ii. ii. iii, You, with your looks and catching air, To think of Vaughan! |
† e. intr. or ellipt. To purpose or intend to go; to direct one's course. Obs.
| c 893 K. ælfred Oros. iv. ix. §2 He þara ælces ehtend wolde beon,..þe þæs wordes wære þæt from Romebyrᵹ þohte. a 1023 Wulfstan Hom. xlii. (Napier) 200 On ða wisan, þe man hors ᵹewæpnað, þonne man to wiᵹe þencð. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 12501 [Arthur] passed Burgoyne..Vntil Hostum, þyder he þought. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xvi. 175, I frayned hym..of whennes he were, and whider þat he þouȝte. a 1400–50 Alexander 1121 Now airis he furthe with his ost, to Egist he thinkes. |
† f. fig. To seem likely (to do something): thought to = ‘was like to’, was on the point of, nearly did... Cf. F. penser à. Obs.
| 1578 N. Baxter Calvin on Jonah 9 The shyppe thought to be broken. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. ii. xi. 45 b, A Northerly wynde..thought to haue made vs turne backe agayne. 1599 Nashe Lenten Stuffe 46 With so ill a will hee went, that hee had thought to haue topled his burning carre..into the sea (as Phaeton did). |
III. To be of opinion, deem, judge, etc.
9. a. trans. with obj. clause (or pronoun substitute), or parenthetic: To be of opinion, hold the opinion, believe, deem, judge, apprehend, consider; usually, to believe without any great assurance, to regard it as likely, to have the idea, to suppose; in reference to a future event, to expect (coinciding partly in sense with 12).
who do you think? what do you think? (colloq.) phrases used, esp. parenthetically, to introduce a surprising statement.
| Beowulf 691 Næniᵹ heora þohte þæt he þanon scolde eft eard lufan æfre ᵹesecean. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 67 Þos ilke bode, wisliche þing, of oðre is ful festning. a 1300 Cursor M. 950 Þou sal thinc þou liues to lang. c 1386 Chaucer Sompn. T. 322 Thanne thoughte they it was the beste reed To lede hem bothe to the Iuge agayn. 1450 W. Lomner in Four C. Eng. Lett. (1880) 4 He thowghte he was desseyvyd. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII 170 Who would haue thought that our Uncle of Englande would haue made warre on vs? 1592 Moryson Let. in Itin. (1617) i. 25 Each of vs went to our taske, he (as I thought) to goe, I to sleepe. 1601 Holland Pliny (1634) I. 188 Thrason was the first builder of towne wals: of towers & fortresses, the Cyclops, as Aristotle thinketh. 1610 Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 40 Canst thou remember..? I doe not thinke thou canst. 1615 G. Sandys Trav. 38 Fresh water, some say brought thither by art, I rather think from a naturall fountain. 1616 B. Jonson Epigr., Voyage itself 135 But 'mongst these Tiberts, who do you think there was? Old Banks the juggler. 1726 Swift Gulliver i. vii, A country, governed, as I thought, by very different maxims from those in Europe. 1790 Tom Tit's Song Bk., There was an old woman, And what do you think, She lived upon nothing, But victuals and drink. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 15 It was thought that the flocks, thus separated from the evil shepherds, would soon return to the true fold. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 97, I think that I understand him. |
b. I don't think (slang): used after an ironical statement, to indicate that the reverse is intended. that's what you think (cliché, with stress on you): an expression of emphatic, sometimes scornful, disagreement.
| 1837 Dickens Pickw. xxxviii, ‘You're a amiably-disposed young man, sir, I don't think’, resumed Mr. Weller, in a tone of moral reproof. 1853 ‘C. Bede’ Verdant Green iii. iv, ‘Well! you're a grateful bird, I don't think!’ said Mr. Bouncer. 1857 Hughes Tom Brown ii. ii, Hark how he swears, Tom. Nicely brought-up young man, ain't he, I don't think. 1911 Keble Howard Cheerful Knave xvi, Breakfast? Yer a credit to yer calling, I don't think. 1934 J. O'Hara Appointment in Samarra ii. 31 ‘I can handle that.’ ‘That's what you think.’ 1973 P. Moyes Curious Affair of Third Dog xi. 148 ‘We're going to have the pleasure of your company for several days at least.’ ‘That's what you think.’ |
c. intr. To hold the opinion (indicated by context). to think so, to be of that opinion; to think from (quot. 1625), to dissent from, to disagree with; to think with, to be of the same opinion as.
| a 1200 Moral Ode 149 Al he walde and oðerluker don and oðerluker þenchen Wenne he bi-þohte on helle fur. 1552 Huloet, Thyncke contrarye, absentio, is. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 425 b, He said he spake as he thought. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. ii. vii. 62, I feare me it will make me scandaliz'd. Luc. If you thinke so, then stay at home. 1625 F. Markham Bk. Hon. i. vi. §2 The Holy Ghost (from whose rule we dare not thinke) mentioneth but two Sonnes. 1820 Byron Mar. Fal. ii. i. 302, I did not Think with him, but would not oppose the thought. 1877 Smith & Wace's Dict. Chr. Biog. I. s.v. Atticus, Those who thought with him found in him a warm friend. |
d. I thought as much: see as C. 1. e. I should think―, introducing emphatic assent: certainly, assuredly, indeed. Also ellipt. in neg., I should think not.
| 1894 A. Jessopp Random Roaming iv. 160 Fish? I should think there was fish! There was fish enough to come to at least {pstlg}15 of our money. 1903 G. B. Shaw Man & Superman iv. 167 Promise me that you wont. Violet (very decidedly) I should think not indeed. 1944 L. P. Hartley Shrimp & Anemone iv. 41 ‘Do you know..Nancy Steptoe?’ ‘I should think I did.’ |
10. a. trans. with complement (with or more often without inf.): To believe, consider, or suppose (to be..); to look upon as.
† Also (quot. 1607) with for (cf. take for, and 12 d).
| c 1205 Lay. 24190 For he heom þuhte wurðe. a 1250 Prov. ælfred 60 in O.E. Misc. 106 We [read þe] hine her on worlde wrþie þencheþ [c 1275 þenket]. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 4250 He sal thynk hym loverd of alle. c 1459 Regist. de Aberbrothoc (Bann. Cl.) II. 107 Thynkand it onkyndle tyll thole ane nominatioun of lardschipe of sic ane man. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VII 7 They were thought to haue been confederates. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, v. ii. 26 Thinking his prattle to be tedious. 1607 ― Cor. iv. v. 62 If..not yet thou know'st me, and..dost not thinke me for the man I am. 1610 ― Temp. iv. i. 120 May I be bold To thinke these spirits? 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxv. 135 Some, that have the ambition to be thought eloquent. 1728 Young Love of Fame vi. 205 Think nought a trifle, tho' it small appear. 1834 James J. Marston Hall vii, Lord Masterton thought himself bound to act the part of an elder brother. 1865 Ruskin Sesame ii. §94 You think that only a lover's fancy. |
b. with complement immediately following (with ellipsis of obj. it, or with inf. or clause as obj. placed after the complement). Now chiefly in think fit (see fit a. 2 b), think proper.
| c 1375 Cursor M. 14096 (Fairf.) Martha þuȝt il ho [Mary] ne help hir walde. c 1400 Laud Troy Bk. 3426 Wherfore I rede, if ȝe thenke right, That we sende som messanger To Delos. c 1460 Sir R. Ross La Belle Dame 190 Whan he þought tyme to daunce with her. a 1500 Debate Carpenter's Tools 208 in Hazl. E.P.P. I. 86 Alle the ȝerne that I may spynne, To spend at ale he thinkes no synne. 1560 in Feuillerat Revels Q. Eliz. (1908) 51 As the said Edmunde..shall thinke behoofefull & expedient. 1611–1875 [see fit a. 2 b]. 1692 Sir T. P. Blount Ess. 37, I thought good to go to the Philosophers. 1831 Scott Chron. Canongate Introd., The little narrative which I thought proper to put forth in October, 1827. |
c. think (it) long: to grow weary with waiting; to weary, to be impatient; to long, yearn. In quot. c 1380 think long by = to weary of. See also long a.1 9 b. Obs. exc. dial.
A perversion of the earlier think long (think v.1 B. 3) ‘to seem or appear long to’, by substituting the nom. for the (uninflected) dative. In the first quot. ‘þat Crist þouȝte longe’ may be = that to Christ seemed long (cf. ‘that him thoughte long’).
| c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. II. 59 Þe Jewis þouȝten þat Crist þouȝte longe bi his liif, and wolde..slee himsilf. 1450 Marg. Paston in P. Lett. I. 178, I thynk ryth longe tyll I have some god tydyngys fro yow. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon xciii. 303 My wyfe..thynkethe longe for my comynge. 1592 G. Harvey Four Lett., etc. Sonn. xviii, These hungry wormes thinke longe for their repast. 1631 Rutherford Lett. (1862) I. 75 Behold I come..; think not long. I shall be with you at once. 1650 Trapp Comm. Exod. x. 3 God think's long of the time that men misspend..in wicked courses. 1788 C. Reeve Exiles I. 195 We think long till we see you. 1895 Fraser Whaups xi. 152 Ye maunna bide lang away, for I'll be thinkin' lang till I see ye again. |
† d. think (it) much: to think it a great or serious matter; to make objection, object, grudge; to be shy, hesitate (to do something, or of something); to be surprised, wonder (that{ddd}). See also much B. 2 g, and cf. 11. Obs.
Perh. altered from ‘it thinks me much’ (think v.1).
| 1610 Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 252 Thou..thinkst it much to tread y⊇ Ooze Of the salt deepe. 1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. Boccalini's Advts. fr. Parnass. i. i. (1674) 1 Menante thinks not much to acquaint you here with the chiefest of them. 1669 R. Montagu in Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) I. 465 Mr. Grey nor Mr. Treasurer will not think much of my sharing with them. 1678 Tillotson Serm., 1 John v. 3 I. 221 If we consider our infinite obligations to God, we have no reason to think much to sacrifice to him our dearest interests. |
† e. pass. To seem, appear (to a person): = think v.1; also ellipt. to seem good. Obs.
Perh. originally for think v.1: ‘it thinks (= appears) to the king’ being changed by way of correction to ‘it is thought to the king’; hence the retention of to.
| 1425 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 290/2 Hit is thoght to the Kyng..that there is provision. 1427 Ibid. 326/2 Alleggyng..such groundes..as it was þought to youre discretion. 1558 Q. Mary in J. M. Stone Life (1901) 512 As to hys godly wysdome shall be thowght mete and convenyent. 1577 J. Knewstub Confutation (1579) 86 It was thought good vnto almighty God, that the Scriptures shoulde be penned. |
11. a. intr. To have a (good, bad, or other) opinion with regard to a person or thing; to value or esteem something (highly or otherwise). Const. with adv. (much, little, well, ill, etc.), or adverbial accusative (in fig. phrases, as to think the world of, think small beer of, etc.: see also the ns.); and with of († by, † at, dial. to, on) before the name of the person or thing.
| c 1375 Cursor M. 14669 (Fairf.) Þai loked on him & loured grim & heþeli þai þuȝt be him. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xii. 298 ‘What thynke you by hym?’ ‘Certes’, sayd rowlande, ‘reynawd is a sage knyght’. 1535 Coverdale Haggai ii. 3 But what thinke ye now by it? 1579 Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 111/1 To constraine vs to thinke better on our selues. 1581 Mulcaster Positions iii. (1887) 11 This man wrote thus, and was verie well thought of. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. ii. i. 85 What doth he thinke of vs? 1601 ― Twel. N. iv. ii. 59, I thinke nobly of the soule. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 104 ¶1 To be negligent of what any one thinks of you, does not only shew you arrogant but abandoned. 1813 Sk. Character (ed. 2) I. 55, I didn't think much of her. 1902 O. Wister Virginian ix, Mrs. Tayler..thought the world of her. a 1912 Midl. dial. I don't think much to him. What do you think to the book? 1974 Amer. Speech 1971 XLVI. 117 We should think on each student as unique. 1978 R. Hill Pinch of Snuff ix. 85 I've known Charlie for years. I asked what he thought on it. |
b. think nothing of: (a) to have a very low opinion of, set no value upon, esteem as worthless; (b) to make light of, make no difficulty or scruple about (cf. make nothing of, nothing 11 a); so to think no more of..than; think nothing of it: imp. phr. deprecating proffered thanks or apology.
| [1640 Dk. Newcastle Country Capt. ii. i, Betweene, us too, what thinke you of a wench? Court. Nothinge.] 1802 Beddoes Hygeïa viii. 76 A pint of wine in two hours is nothing thought of. 1872 O. W. Holmes Poet Breakf.-t. v, The Lady thanked him..but said she thought nothing of the walk. 1888 Harper's Mag. Mar. 565/2 The Western people..think no more of throwing down a railroad..than a conservative Easterner does of taking an unaccustomed walk across country. 1948 M. Allingham More Work for Undertaker vii. 87 ‘We did not disturb you, I hope?’ ‘Think nothing of it,’ murmured the torchbearer magnanimously. 1950 [see pleasure n. 3]. 1980 F. Olbrich Desouza in Stardust iv. 41 ‘Thank you for giving up so much of your time, Mr. Chiknis.’ ‘Think nothing of it, Chief Inspector.’ 1982 W. J. Burley Wycliffe's Wild-Goose Chase i. 17 ‘Sorry to bother you on a Sunday morning.’.. ‘Think nothing of it.’ |
12. To believe possible or likely; to suspect; to expect, anticipate. a. trans. with simple obj.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 11837 Priam..& his prise knightes, Sweryn all swiftly, & no swyke thoghtyn. 1604 Shakes. Oth. iii. iii. 339, I saw't not, thought it not: it harm'd not me. 1719 De Foe Crusoe (1840) I. ii. 25 He, thinking no harm, agreed. |
b. with inf. To expect.
| c 1400 Ywaine & Gaw. 549 He thoght to be wele on hys way Or it war passed the thryd day. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iv. v. 92, I neuer thought to heare you speake againe. 1613 ― Hen. VIII, iii. ii. 429 Cromwel, I did not thinke to shed a teare In all my Miseries. 1765 G. Colman Terence, Step-Mother iv. vi, And do you think To find a woman without any fault? 1769 Bickerstaffe Dr. Last iii. xi, O, don't think to humbug me so. 1823 Southey Lett. (1856) III. 392, I thought to have seen you ere this. Mod. I little thought to find you here! |
c. intr. with of, † on (upon), † to: To have a notion, anticipation, or expectation; to suspect; to expect, look for.
| 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour d iv b, She..answerd withoute remembrynge her ne thynkyng to no harme. 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, i. iv. 244 When that our Princely Father..Blest his three Sonnes.., He little thought of this diuided Friendship. 1650 R. Gentilis Considerations 234 He stumbles at some evill which hee did not think upon. 1706 E. Ward Wooden World Diss. (1708) 98 He may meet with both when he least thinks on 't. |
| fig. 1868 Morris Earthly Par., Man born to be King 298 Staring out into the night Where yet the woods thought not of light. |
d. intr. with for († of, † on), after as or than, and with the preposition at the end of the clause: To expect, suppose. (Cf. look for, look 15 a.)
| c 1530 Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. 239, I thinke ye should not reioyse her so easily as ye thynke of. 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. iv. iii. 163 Oh sir, the conceit is deeper than you think for. 1658 W. Gurnall Chr. in Arm. verse 14. ix. (1669) 93/2 A godly Servant is a greater blessing than we think on. 1751 R. Paltock P. Wilkins (1884) I. 141, I have not made so bad a hand of my time as I thought for. 1821 Scott Kenilw. xv, They hear farther than you think of. 1852 Lytton My Novel xii. xiv, It is of more importance to him than I even thought for. |
13. trans. To judge or consider to exist; to believe in the existence of. rare.
| 1532 Cromwell in Merriman Life & Lett. (1902) I. 351 He..percase might thinke sum unkyndenes and also presumpcyon in yow so to handell hym. 1671 Milton Samson 295 Unless there be who think not God at all. 1872 Contemp. Rev. XX. 92 Whatever its limits in a given percept be, there must be thought corresponding limits in its external sphere. |
IV. With adverbial extension.
14. trans. To bring by thinking, or in thought, into or out of some specified condition.
| 1599 Shakes. Much Ado iii. iv. 84 Indeed I cannot thinke, if I would thinke my hart out of thinking, that you are in loue. 1666 South Serm., Tit. ii. 15 (1715) I. 199 He that thinks a Man to the Ground, will quickly endeavour to lay him there. 1784 Cowper Task vi. 85 Meditation here May think down hours to moments. 1849 Tait's Mag. XVI. 376/2 He thinks away every proposition he has been taught to believe. 1865 Bushnell Vicar. Sacr. ii. iv. (1868) 187 We hardly dare think them into our finite molds. |
15. think out: (a) To find out, devise, or elaborate by thinking, to construct intellectually; (b) to arrive at a clear understanding of by continued thinking; to solve by a process of thought; (c) to think to the end, finish or complete in thought.
| 1382 Wyclif Ecclus. xvii. 31 Or what wers than that flesh thoȝte out and blod? [Vulg. quid nequius quam quod excogitavit caro et sanguis?] 1847 Helps Friends in C. i. iii. 40 Too mean a subject for despair, or, at least, unworthy of having any remedy..thought out for it. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. iv. I. 519 He meditated deeply on the philosophy of trade, and thought out by degrees a complete..theory. 1862 M. E. Braddon Lady Audley xxxiii, She did not finish the thought in words. She did not even think out the sentence. 1885 Anstey Tinted Venus ii. 25 Oh, don't bother me... I don't want to be uncivil, but I've got to think this out. |
16. think (a thing) over: to give continued thought to (it); to apply the mind steadily to, with the view of coming to a decision.
| 1847 Marryat Childr. New Forest ix, He would think the matter over. 1873 Black Pr. Thule xxii, She had thought it well over beforehand. 1884 [see over adv. 12]. |
17. think through = think out (sense 15) (b) or (c).
| 1922 Hardy Late Lyrics 150 I've been thinking it through, as I play here to-night. 1934 T. Wilder Heaven's my Destination iii. 42 During the journey he..‘thought through’ the matter of capital punishment. 1961 Observer 8 Oct. 10/3 It is doubtful if Mr. Gaitskell himself had thought through the problem of inner-party democracy. 1979 B. Hebblethwaite in M. Goulder Incarnation & Myth iv. 97 A remarkable attempt to think through what it means for our concept of God to say that Christ's cross is God's cross in our world. |
18. think up: to make up or compose by thinking; to devise, invent, contrive, or produce by thought or cogitation. Orig. U.S.
| 1855 Mrs. Stowe Tales & Sk. New Eng. Life 79 Christmas is coming..and I have got to think up presents for everybody. 1872 S. Hale Lett. (1918) iv. 83 He asked our plans at once, took right hold and thought up what we had better do. 1885 Century Mag. XXIX. 350/1, I believe she is thinking up another poem. 1901 Merwin & Webster Calumet ‘K’ vii. 108, I had him pretty busy there for a while thinking up lies. 1930 G. K.'s Weekly 15 Nov. 146/1 If Mr. Lloyd George can think up a good ticket. 1956 People 13 May 8/6 In America the magic new process—it was thought up over there—is being developed in all sorts of wonderful ways. 1977 J. Wainwright Nest of Rats i. xii. 103 There's a way round it... There has to be. Some brainy type thought it up. |
V. Comb.
19. (It is not clear in every case whether the verbal or the nominal sense of think is dominant.) think(s) balloon, bubble, in a comic-strip cartoon, a circle resembling a balloon or bubble floating above a character's head and containing (the word ‘thinks’ followed by) the character's thought in direct speech; think book, a book containing the writer's thoughts, opinions, observations. etc.; one that makes the reader think; think box colloq. or joc., the brain; think factory U.S. colloq., a research institution; think-fest [fest], an intellectual treat; think group, a group of people that meets to thrash out a subject or problem; think-man = idea(s) man s.v. idea n. 12; think-piece chiefly Journalism, a general article containing discussion, analysis, opinion, etc., as opp. to fact or news. See also think tank.
| 1959 Spectator 31 July 133/3 In a ‘thinks’ balloon are the words: ‘Rock Hanson..looks an awful wolf’. 1977 Times 31 May 7/6 Roy Lichtenstein's Girl at the Piano has a nice verbal irony in the ‘thinks balloon’ as she muses. |
| 1962 Listener 25 Oct. 694/2 People who want a short, quick holiday from newspapers, problems, and ‘think’ books. |
| 1917 Dialect Notes IV. 330 Brain. Also think tank, think box. 1937 Daily Express 5 Feb. 10/6 I do not believe that their brains, or think-boxes, are of sufficient calibre to understand what they are preaching. 1964 C. Hodder-Williams Main Experiment i. viii. 95 A drawing of a computer with a think-bubble coming out of it with the caption, ‘Computers’. 1981 N. Tucker Child & Book v. 141 The self-proclaiming speech styles of the main characters [in comics], and their periodic ‘thinks’ bubbles. |
| 1959 Nation 24 Jan. 62/2 Other think-factories are Johns Hopkins University Operations Research Office... Johns Hopkins thinks for the Army. Stanford Research Institute..does the bulk of its thinking for a variety of government agencies. |
| 1947 Auden Age of Anxiety (1948) i. 28 Assembled again For a Think-Fest. 1958 Sunday Times 21 Dec. 12/3 The most stimulating think-fest in my week was Sir Kenneth Clark's lucid lecture on the revolting subject, ‘Can Art Be Democratic?’. 1967 Guardian 26 Sept. 8/1 Think groups, in which scientists frighten one another with visions of a not too distant future. 1967 Economist 15 July 187/1 Nor is Mr Brezhnev the think-man who throws up bright new ideas to keep his colleagues on the ball. |
| 1947 Partisan Rev. XIV. 478 Rapid withering of talent, as shown in slick formula novels or plays or ‘think-pieces’ for periodicals, has more often than not been the fate of the intellectual. 1966 E. West Night is Time for Listening iv. 120 I'm not reporting stories... I'm in the think piece business these days. a 1974 R. Crossman Diaries (1977) III. 546 They are producing various think-pieces, including one on industrial relations, one on social services and one on poverty, discussion papers out of which will be boiled one policy paper to be presented at Conference. |
Add: [V.] [19.] think-aloud a. Psychol., designating data obtained by requesting a subject to express his or her thoughts out loud while performing a specific task; also, pertaining to or involving this method of collecting data.
| 1973 D. A. Karpf in Dissertation Abstr. XXXIII. b. 6111/2, 40 Experimental Ss received *think-aloud problems surrounded by problems with no think-aloud probes and were compared. 1989 Appl. Linguistics X. 424 A cognitive theory..enables us to better understand the processing of language in lexical search as revealed through concurrent think-aloud data. |
▸ not even to think about or of: to refrain from pursuing or even considering (something, esp. a particular course of action). Now freq. in imper., esp. in don't even think about it!: on no account carry out the action implied or specified.
| 1751 E. Haywood Hist. Betsy Thoughtless III. v. 64 ‘I will not hear a word on that head,’ cried Mr. Trueworth, hastily interrupting him, ‘and if you would add to the favours you have already conferred upon me, do not even think of it.’ 1835 M. W. Shelley Lodore III. ii. 15 ‘Indeed, indeed, love,’ she replied, ‘we will not be separated again.’ ‘We will not even think about that tonight,’ said Villiers. 1875 Trollope Way we live Now I. xxvii. 171 She had no plan of revenge yet formed. She would not talk of revenge,—she told herself that she would not even think of revenge,—till she was quite sure that revenge would be necessary. 1965 B. Friel Philadelphia, here I Come! i. 36 It taught you a lesson. Didn't it just? Now I wouldn't even think of travelling. 1992 D. Parry & P. Withrow Jacamar Nest xlii. 298 Harry jerked forward in his chair but the woman swung the barrel of the gun around to his temple, and there was a click like the sound of a door locking as she thumbed back the hammer. ‘Don't even think about it,’ she said. 2001 Orange County (Santa Ana, Calif.) Reg. (Nexis) 1 Apr. They had a bag on the side [of the director's chair] for scripts and drinks, his name on the back and his warning on the seat: ‘Don't even think about it’ to keep others from sitting in his chair. |
▪ III. think, n. dial. or colloq.
[f. think v.2]
1. a. An act of (continued) thinking; a meditation.
| 1834 Tait's Mag. I. 426/1 We lie lown yonder..and have time for our ain think. 1870 Mrs. Whitney We Girls ii, Ruth did talk..when she came out of one of her thinks. 1891 Fenn Mahme Nousie II. v. 73 Let's have a cigar and a quiet think. |
b. nonce-use. An idea, a thought.
| 1886 H. Maudsley Nat. Causes & Supernat. Seemings 33 To every one a thing is..what he thinks it—in effect, a think. 1887 G. Macdonald Home Again iv, A thing must be a think before it be a thing. |
2. a. What one thinks about something; an opinion.
| 1835 Lady Granville Lett. (1894) II. 187 My own private think is that he will execute another voluntary. 1861 J. Brown Horæ Subs. Ser. ii. 355 The cobbler..dispenses his ‘think’..to all comers on all subjects. |
b. to have another think coming: to be greatly mistaken.
| 1937 Amer. Speech XII. 317/1 Several different statements used for the same idea—that of some one's making a mistake...[e.g.] you have another think coming. 1942 T. Bailey Pink Camellia xxvii. 199 If you think you can get me out of Gaywood, you have another think coming. 1979 Jrnl. R. Soc. Arts CXXVII. 221/2 Any design consultant who thinks he is going to get British Leyland right by himself on his own has got another think coming. |
3. attrib. and Comb. (nonce-wds.), as thinkache, pain of thought, mental suffering; think-room, a room or apartment for meditation.
| 1892 Bridger Depression p. v, Each separate thinkache enumerated by my depressed patients. 1906 Month July 72 Castle, work-room, think-room. |
▪ IV. think, þink
obs. form of thing.