Think v.²

Pa. t. and pple. thought. Forms: see below. [OE. þęnc(e)an, þóhte, (ʓe)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 ablant 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. t. þúhte 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 þúhte] 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. t. 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.  trans. Senault’s Paraphr. Job, 360. To thinke … on their domesticke affaires.

1653.  Thinck [see B. 2 b (b)].

  δ.  3–4 imper. 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. t. 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, Northern 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-pouȝt.

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 pouȝte 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.  Daus, trans. 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. (sb. or pron.).

c. 888.  K. Ælfred, Boeth., xxxix. § 9. Þeah hwa mæʓe onʓitan hwæt oðer do, he ne mæʓ 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.  Shaks., 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., March, 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. Pæt mæʓ beon þæt sume men þencan oþþe cweþan, ‘hu mæʓ 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 may 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? Ibid. (1842), Dora, 4. He … often thought, ‘I’ll make them man and wife.’

  c.  To conceive, feel (some emotion): as, † to think wonder (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 sb. 4, SHAME sb.

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 sb. 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.  (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 soðfæstnysse 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.  Shaks., 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 sun 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. (1833), 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.  Miss 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.

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.

  3.  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.

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.  Shaks., 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.

1764.  Goldsm., Trav., 372. Those who think must govern those that toil.

1864.  Bowen, Logic, i. 10. To think is to make clear through Concepts something already otherwise represented or known to consciousness.

  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.

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 ʓeorne to þenceanne.

c. 1000.  Institutes of Polity, c. 14. Riht is þæt munecas … a to Gode þencan and ʓeornlice 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.  Miss 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. cl.; 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.

1590.  Shaks., 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.  Mme. D’Arblay, 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.  Maundev. (1839), xxvii. 278. He had … all maner of foules & of bestes that ony man myghte thenke on.

1598.  Shaks., 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.

c. 1020.  Rule St. Benet, lxiii. (Logeman), 104. Ac he þænce simle þæt he be eallum his domum & weorcum be his is to ʓildanne.

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. (18B3), 15. Yf thou be a man thinke that thou shalt dye.

1605.  Shaks., 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.

  b.  intr. To consider the matter; to reflect.

Beowulf, 290. Æʓ hwæþres sceal scearp scyld-wiʓa ʓescad 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.

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.

  c.  intr. with of (arch. on, upon), or inf.: To call to mind, remember, bethink oneself (of), hit upon mentally. (See also 7 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.  Shaks., Wint. T., IV. iv. 547. Haue you thought on A place whereto you’l go? Ibid. (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.

Mod.  Did you think to ask him how his father is? No, I didn’t think of it.

  d.  intr. with on (adv.), To remember. Now dial.

1671.  H. M., trans. 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.

  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.  trans. 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. 11. 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 byþoughte 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.  Shaks., 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.

  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 sb. 3 d. a. trans. with inf. or obj. cl.

Beowulf, 1536. Swa sceal man don þonne he æt guðe ʓegan 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 V. 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 þeace, 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.  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.  Mar. 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 Romebyrʓ þohte.

a. 1023.  Wulfstan, Hom., xlii. (Napier), 200. On ða wisan, þe man hors ʓewæpnað, þonne man to wiʓe 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, trans. 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.  trans. with obj. cl. (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. Næniʓ heora þohte þæt he þanon scolde eft eard lufan æfre ʓesecean.

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, Lett., 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.  Shaks., 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.

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.

Nursery Rime, There was an old woman; and what do you think? She lived upon nothing but victuals and drink.

  b.  I don’t think (slang): used after an ironical statement, to indicate that the reverse is intended.

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.

  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.  Daus, trans. Sleidane’s Comm., 425 b. He said he spake as he thought.

1591.  Shaks., 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.

  10.  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.  Shaks., Rich. II., V. ii. 26. Thinking his prattle to be tedious. Ibid. (1607), Cor., IV. v. 62. If … not yet thou know’st me, and … dost not thinke me for the man I am. Ibid. (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.  G. P. R. 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.  Clara 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 …). See also MUCH B. 2 g, and cf. 11. Obs.

  Perh. altered from ‘it thinks me much’ (THINK v.¹).

1610.  Shaks., Temp., I. ii. 252. Thou … thinkst it much to tread y^e Ooze Of the salt deepe.

1656.  Earl Monm., trans. 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. Ibid. (1427), 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.  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 ady. (much, little, well, ill, etc.), or adverbial accusative (in fig. phrases, as to think the world of, small beer of, etc.: see also the sbs.); and with of († by, † on, † at, dial. to) before the name of the person or thing.

c. 1375.  Cursor M., 14669 (Fairf.). Þai loked on him & loured grin & 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.  Shaks., Merry W., II. i. 85. What doth he thinke of vs? Ibid. (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.

[Midl. dial. I don’t think much to him. What do you think to the book?]

  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.

[1640.  Dk. Newcastle, Country Capt., II. i. Betweene, us too, what thinke you of a wench? Court. Nothinge.]

1802.  Beddoes, Hygëia, VIII. 76. Half a pint of bark decoction in the day is rejected as intolerable, when 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., March, 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.

  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.  Shaks., 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.  Shaks., 2 Hen. IV., IV. v. 92. I neuer thought to heare you speake againe. Ibid. (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.

1769.  Bickerstaffe, Dr. Last in his Chariot, 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 without remembrynge her ne thynkyng to no harme.

1594.  Shaks., Rich. III., I. iv. 244. When that our Princely Father … Blest his three Sonnes…, He little thought of this diuided Friendship.

1650.  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.  Shaks., Tam. Shr., IV. iii. 163. Oh sir, the conceit is deeper than you think for.

1658.  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.  Shaks., 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.  Miss 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 up: to make up or compose by thinking. ? U.S. colloq.

1885.  Grace D. Litchfield, in Century Mag., XXIX. 350/1. I believe she is thinking up another poem.