The Depth of Gratefulness
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The Depth of Gratefulness

Many words with use daily have deeper meanings attached to them, and unveiling them enriches our outlook on life as well as our ability to formulate our own thoughts.

In Japanese, 'thank you' – arigato – has a deeper meaning. It originally conveys the surprise of seeing a favor coming true, hence provoking gratitude. In other words, it is about acknowledging the extraordinary nature of an event, surpassing mere politeness. In fact, it evolved from arigatai, which means literally 'formidable'. (Yoshino, 1937/1982)

In French, merci comes from the Latin mercedem, 'salary', 'reward'. It was originally used to mean divine grace (in English, 'mercy:), and later adopted in its common meaning to thank someone (CNRTL, 2012).

In English, to 'thank' means also to 'recompense', apparently from ancient German thankon, which is the source of the corresponding meaning for many other European languages, including modern German and Dutch (Pfeifer et al., 1993, Etymonline, 2024). By the way, did you know that in English, 'gratitude' and gratefulness' are used somewhat interchangeably, which is a source of debate among English speakers (Maddox, 2010)?

Additionally, the German dank refers to a feeling of obligation, recognition (Pfeifer et al., 1993).

In Spanish, the common expression gracias comes from the Latin gratia, meaning 'grace', 'pleasing' (Real Academia Española, 2024; Wikipedia, 2024).

I am passionate about the etymology of words, because understanding the roots of our language enable us to grasp their deeper meanings and symbolic interconnections. As such, it multiplies our potential to symbolically define, communicate, and ultimately, to think.

Moreover, the potential depth behind this simple word that we use every day ought to remind us of the importance of gratitude. In fact, gratitude has been shown to be a critical component of happiness (Harvard Health Publishing, 2021-08-14). A simple exercise to benefit from summoning gratefulness in our lives is to name five things you are grateful for once a day.

As for me, I am grateful I got to share some of my thoughts with you, which helps me structure them and sparks instructive conversations. Please reach out if you want to discuss any of this further!

Source: Yoshino, G. 1937, 1982. Et vous, comment vivrez vous? (pp. 135-36). Éditions Piquier.

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Baptiste Crozat

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