English
thick
Thick comes from Old English þicce, from Proto-Germanic *þekuz, from Proto-Indo-European *tégus ‘thick’, from *(s)teg- ‘to cover’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)teg-‘to cover’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*tégus‘thick’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þekuz‘thick’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þikkwī‘thick’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150þicce‘thick’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500thikke‘thick’
- Englishearliest quotation 1590thick
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)teg-‘to cover’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*tégus‘thick’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þekuz‘thick’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þikkwī‘thick’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150þicce‘thick’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500thikke‘thick’
- Englishearliest quotation 1590thick
Earliest quotation: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book II, Canto III: “Through the thicke they heard one rudely rush.”
Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg-
Today it means
adj Relatively great in extent from one surface to the opposite in its smallest solid dimension.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg- / thick