October 08, 2009
- thrive (verb)
- \THRYVE\
- What does it mean?
- 1 : to grow vigorously : do well : flourish2 : to gain in wealth or possessions : prosper
- How do you use it?
- "But scanty as the pasture appears, about six hundred sheep, many goats, a few cows and horses, all thrive well on it." (Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle)
- Are you a word wiz?
Which language do you think "thrive" comes from?
Old Norse was the North Germanic language of the Scandinavian peoples prior to about 1350. To form "thrive," speakers of Middle English (the English in use from the 12th to 15th centuries) borrowed the Old Norse word "thrifask." "Thrifask" is probably a form of the Old Norse word "thrifa" which means "to grasp." A long list of other Old Norse borrowings includes "awkward," "bag," "brittle," "cake," "call," "egg," "likely," "race," "skirt," "steak," and "Thursday."
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