unthank

unthank

See also: Unthank

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English unthank, from Old English unþanc (“displeasure, anger, ill-will”), from Proto-Germanic *unþankaz, equivalent to un- +‎ thank. Cognate with West Frisian ontank, Dutch ondank, German Undank.

Noun

unthank (uncountable)

1. Lack or absence of thanks or thankfulness; thanklessness; unthankfulness; ill-will.
   • 2000, Francis G. Snyder, The Europeanisation of Law:

     It is always by this unthank that things are given to the observer that we pretend to have access to the truth of the word.

2. Harm; injury; misfortune.

   Unthank come on his head that bound him so. — Chaucer.

Etymology 2

From un- +‎ thank.

Verb

unthank (third-person singular simple present unthanks, present participle unthanking, simple past and past participle unthanked)

1. (transitive) To recant; unsay, as what has been said by way of acknowledgement.
2. (transitive) To undo or retract one's thankfulness; negate, cancel, or revoke one's thanks.

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for unthank in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.)