English
thirst
Thirst comes from Proto-Germanic *þurstuz ‘dryness, thirst’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ters- ‘dry’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ters-‘dry’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þurstuz‘dryness, thirst’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þurstureconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150þurst
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500thirst
- Englishearliest quotation 1611same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ters-‘dry’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þurstuz‘dryness, thirst’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þurstureconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150þurst
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500thirst
- Englishearliest quotation 1611same form
Earliest quotation: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “The people thirsted there for water.”
The story
Germanic cognates include Old High German thurst, Middle High German durst, German Durst, Old Saxon thurst, Old Dutch thursti, Middle Dutch dorst, dorste, Dutch dorst, Old Norse þorsti (Swedish törst, Icelandic þorsti, Faroese tosti, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål tørst, Norwegian Nynorsk tørste). Indo-European cognates include Ancient Greek τέρσομαι (térsomai), Albanian djersë (‘sweat’), Sanskrit तृष्णा (tṛṣṇā, “desire; thirst”), Sanskrit तृष्यति (tṛ́ṣyati), Latin terra, Latin torridus.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ters- ‘dry’
test, territory, inter, terrain, territorial, terrace, toast, terra, torrent, terrestrial, terrier, torrid, fossa, fosse, terrine, terroir, 42 more
Today it means
noun A sensation of dryness in the throat associated with a craving for liquids, produced by deprivation of drink, or by some other cause (such as fear, excitement, etc.) which stops the secretion of the pharyngeal mucous membrane.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ters- / thirst