*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of thin

Etymology tree Proto-West Germanic *þunnī Old English þynne Middle English thinne /thenne /thünne English thin From Middle English thinne, thenne, thünne, from Old English þynne, from Proto-West Germanic *þunnī, from Pro

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
adj

Having little thickness or extent from one surface to its opposite. · Very narrow in all diameters; having a cross section that is small in all directions. · Having little body fat or flesh; slim; slender; lean; gaunt. · Of low viscosity or low specific gravity.

adv

Not thickly or closely; in a scattered state.

noun

A loss or tearing of paper from the back of a stamp, although not sufficient to create a complete hole. · Any food produced or served in thin slices.

verb

To make thin or thinner. · To become thin or thinner. · To dilute. · To remove some plants or parts of plants in order to improve the growth of what remains.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-West Germanic *þunnī Old English þynne Middle English thinne /thenne /thünne English thin From Middle English thinne, thenne, thünne, from Old English þynne, from Proto-West Germanic *þunnī, from Proto-Germanic *þunnuz (“thin”) – compare *þanjaną (“to stretch, spread out”) – from Proto-Indo-European *ténh₂us (“thin”), from *ten- (“to stretch”). Cognates Cognate with German dünn, Dutch dun, West Frisian tin, Icelandic þunnur, Danish tynd, Swedish tunn, Latin tenuis, Irish tanaí, Welsh tenau, Latvian tievs, Polish cienki, Russian тонкий (tonkij), Sanskrit तनु (tanú, “thin”), Persian تنگ (tang, “narrow”). Doublet of tenuis. Also related to tenuous.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

This page abbreviates 6 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:thinne//thenne//thunne<alt:////thünne><ety:inh<ang:þynne>>",
        "tree": "1"
      },
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    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "thinne"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English thinne"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "þynne"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English þynne"
    },
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      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*þunnī"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *þunnī"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
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        "2": "gem-pro",
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      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *þunnuz (“thin”)"
    },
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      },
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    },
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      },
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    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "dünn"
      },
      "expansion": "German dünn"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "dun"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch dun"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "tin"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian tin"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "þunnur"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic þunnur"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "tynd"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish tynd"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "tunn"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish tunn"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "tenuis"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin tenuis"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ga",
        "2": "tanaí"
      },
      "expansion": "Irish tanaí"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cy",
        "2": "tenau"
      },
      "expansion": "Welsh tenau"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lv",
        "2": "tievs"
      },
      "expansion": "Latvian tievs"
    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "pl",
        "2": "cienki"
      },
      "expansion": "Polish cienki"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ru",
        "2": "тонкий"
      },
      "expansion": "Russian тонкий (tonkij)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sa",
        "2": "तनु",
        "3": "",
        "4": "thin",
        "tr": "tanú"
      },
      "expansion": "Sanskrit तनु (tanú, “thin”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fa",
        "2": "تنگ",
        "tr": "tang",
        "t": "narrow"
      },
      "expansion": "Persian تنگ (tang, “narrow”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "tenuis"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of tenuis"
    },
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    }
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      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/þunnī"
    ],
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      "þynne",
      "þynne#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "thinne",
      "thinne#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "thenne",
      "thenne#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "thünne",
      "thunne#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "thinne",
      "thinne#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "thenne",
      "thenne#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "thünne",
      "thunne#Middle_English"
    ],
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    ],
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      "*þunnī",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/þunnī"
    ],
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      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/þunnuz"
    ],
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      "*þanjaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/þanjaną"
    ],
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      "*ténh₂us",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ténh₂us"
    ],
    [
      "*ten-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ten-"
    ],
    [
      "dünn",
      "dünn#German"
    ],
    [
      "dun",
      "dun#Dutch"
    ],
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      "tin",
      "tin#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "þunnur",
      "þunnur#Icelandic"
    ],
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      "tynd",
      "tynd#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "tunn",
      "tunn#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "tenuis",
      "tenuis#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "tanaí",
      "tanaí#Irish"
    ],
    [
      "tenau",
      "tenau#Welsh"
    ],
    [
      "tievs",
      "tievs#Latvian"
    ],
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      "cienki",
      "cienki#Polish"
    ],
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      "тонкий",
      "тонкий#Russian"
    ],
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      "तनु",
      "तनु#Sanskrit"
    ],
    [
      "تنگ",
      "تنگ#Persian"
    ],
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      "tenuis",
      "tenuis#English"
    ],
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      "tenuous",
      "tenuous#English"
    ]
  ],
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  "descendants": [],
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        "Having little thickness or extent from one surface to its opposite.",
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        "Having little body fat or flesh; slim; slender; lean; gaunt.",
        "Of low viscosity or low specific gravity."
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        "To become thin or thinner.",
        "To dilute.",
        "To remove some plants or parts of plants in order to improve the growth of what remains."
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for thin →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
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Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-dGhpbg