[thou.sand] n, pl thousands or thousand [ME, fr. OE thusend; akin to OHG dusunt thousand, Lith tukstantis, and prob. to Skt tavas strong, L tumere to swell--more at thumb] (bef. 12c) 1: ten times one hundred
2: a very large number "~s of ants" -- thousand adj -- thou.sand.fold adj or adv -- thou.sandth adj or n