Other forms: thoughts
A thought is one thing passing through your mind. A sudden thought, my first thought, a nice thought.
It is countable in that sense and uncountable when it means thinking in general: deep in thought, without thought, food for thought. It is also the past tense and past participle of think, which is why the word appears constantly and in two grammatical roles. Note give something some thought, meaning to consider it, and on second thoughts, which is the British form — Americans say on second thought, singular — and introduces a change of mind.
1nounthoughtAn idea passing through the mind.~27%
“The thought had not occurred to anybody.”
2nounactThe act of thinking.~71%
“He acted without a moment's thought.”
3nouncareCare and consideration for others.~2%
“It was a kind thought and they were touched.”
Shares are an estimate: a language model read 17 sentences found in the wild and placed 11 of them on a sense (6 were unclear) — a count of our sample, not a measurement of English.
thought is an idea or act of thinking.
Old English thoht comes from the same root as think, by a sound change that also gave brought from bring and sought from seek. The pattern is old and no longer productive, which is why English has no new verbs forming their past this way.
Proto-Indo-European
*teng-
Middle English
thought
English, today
thought
Built from
From Middle English thought. From Middle English thought, ithoȝt, from Old English þōht, ġeþōht, from Proto-West Germanic þą̄ht, from Proto-Germanic þanhtaz, gaþanhtą (“thought”), from Proto-Indo-European teng- (“to think”). Cognate with Scots thocht (“thought”), stq Toacht (“thought”), West Frisian oandacht (“attention, regard, thought”), Dutch gedachte (“thought”), German Andacht (“reverence, devotion, prayer”), Icelandic þóttur (“thought”). Related to thank, think.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA