I.
Etymology: partly from Middle English thoughte (past of thinken to seem, (assumed) Middle English ythought (past participle of Middle English thinken ), from Old English thūhte (past of thyncan ), gethūht (past participle of thyncan ); akin to Old High German dūhta seemed (past of dunken ), gidūht seemed (past participle of dunken ), Old Norse thōtti (past of thykkja ), thōtt (past participle of thykkja ), Gothic thūhta (past of thunkjan ); partly from Middle English thoughte (past of thenken to think), thought, ythought (past participle of thenken ), from Old English thōhte (past of thencan ), gethōht (past participle of thencan ); akin to Old High German dāhta thought (past of denken ), gidāht thought (past participle of denken ), Old Norse thātti perceived (past of thekkja ), Gothic thāhta deliberated (past of thankjan )
past of think
II. ˈthȯt, usu -ȯd.+V noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English thōht, gethōht; Old English thōht akin to Middle High German dāht thought; derivative from the root of Old English thencan to think; Old English gethōht akin to Middle Dutch gedacht thought; both from a prehistoric West Germanic word whose first constituent is represented by Old English ge- (perfective, associative, and collective prefix) and whose second constituent is derived from the root of Old English thencan — more at co- , think
1.
a.
(1) : the action or process of thinking : mental concentration on ideas as distinguished from sense perceptions or emotions : the arranging of ideas in the mind
a philosophy of life filled with deep thought — William Clark
there must be thought and care even in such a task as the delivery of milk — William Feather
(2) : meditation , reflection
a very necessary off day with only swimming and lazy thought — Elyne Mitchell
b. : serious consideration : attention , care , regard
gave no thought at all to the opportunities the river landing offered — American Guide Series: Minnesota
built with some thought for the officers and crew — Alan Dixon
c. : recollection , mind
I and my brother are not known; yourself so out of thought … cannot be questioned — Shakespeare
2.
a.
(1) : the faculty or power of thinking ; especially : the ability to think logically
the course will deal … with thought directed toward problems of human relations — Official Register of Harvard University
(2) : use of the ability to think logically
a situation that calls for swift sure thought — New York Herald Tribune Book Review
b. : the power to conceive or realize : conception , imagination
beauty beyond thought
3. : something that is thought: as
a.
(1) : an individual product of thinking : idea
have to wait for the occasional genius or the occasional lucky thought — A.N.Whitehead
the central thought of the paragraph
(2) : an individual act of thinking
too familiar to give a thought to — John Buchan
a fearful person needs … thoughts of courage — W.J.Reilly
(3) : an idea that stimulates thinking or supplies material for reflection
concluded his sermon with what he called a thought for the day
(4) : a more or less clearly defined intention or plan
the thought behind the campaign is to win decisively
— often used in negative constructions
had no thought of becoming a minister — H.E.Starr
(5) : hope , expectation
beset by lung trouble, he gave up thought of a college education — L.A.Weigle
an experiment undertaken … without thought of a strict financial return — W.B.Fisher
(6) : opinion , belief
a change has been made … but with tests, in the thought of many, too mechanical and absolute — B.N.Cardozo
b.
(1) : whatever is in one's mind : ideas , opinions
if he disliked anything one said or did, he spoke all his thought — W.B.Yeats
(2) : the product of careful and reasoned consideration
those of us who like … more thought in our music — Virgil Thomson
(3) : the intellectual product or the organized views and principles (as of a particular period, place, group, or individual) : philosophy
it is only in criticism that the thought of an era becomes articulate — C.I.Glicksberg
modern scientific thought
4. archaic : sorrow , grief , trouble
5. : bit III 3c — used only in the adverbial phrase a thought
slapped him a thought too heartily on the back — Noel Coward
Synonyms: see idea