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REFERENCE

methinks

v.
C2 Proficiency UK //miːθˈɪŋks// me·thinks Archaic Humorous

v. a very old-fashioned way of saying 'I think'. You use it to sound like you are speaking in an old story or a Shakespeare play.

v. an archaic first-person singular form of 'think'. Used primarily in literary or historical contexts to evoke a medieval or Elizabethan style of speech.


SIMPLE

Methinks the weather is turning cold.

CONTEXTUAL

In the play, the character says, 'Methinks the wind is rising', to show he is worried about the storm.

COMPLEX

The author employs archaic constructions like 'methinks' to immerse the reader in a world where the language of the past feels entirely natural and immediate.

Origin

From Middle English me thinketh from Old English mē þynceþ (from þyncan (“to seem”)); equivalent to me (indirect object pronoun, as in “show me it”) + think (“to seem”). Compare synonymous Flemish me dunkt, German mir/mich dünkt, Old Norse mér þykkir (Icelandic mér þykir). Compare meseems.

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