thrive: [13] Thrive was borrowed from Old Norse thrífask ‘grasp for oneself’, hence ‘prosper’, the reflexive form of thrífa ‘grasp, seize’ (whose origins are not known). The word’s semantic development from ‘grasp for oneself’ to ‘prosper’ was presumably inspired by the notion of ‘accumulating resources’. Thrift [13], borrowed from the Old Norse derivative thrift, originally meant ‘thriving’; the modern sense ‘frugality’ evolved in the 16th century – frugality being thought of as a prerequisite for prosperity. => thrift
