Etymology From Middle English thrusche, þrusch, þresche, from a combination of Old English þrysċe (from Proto-Germanic *þruskijǭ, a diminutive of Proto-Germanic *þruskō) and Old English þræsċe (from Proto-Germanic *þrauskǭ and/or *þrastuz); all from Proto-Indo-European *trosdos (“thrush”). Cognate with German Drossel, Old Norse þrǫstr, Latin turdus, Lithuanian strazdas (“thrush”), Middle Irish truid, Welsh drudwy (“starling”), Old Church Slavonic дрозгъ (drozgŭ), Russian дрозд (drozd).
1
Any of numerous species of songbirds of the cosmopolitan family Turdidae, such as the song thrush, mistle thrush, bluebird, and American robin.
I felt comforted by the song of the redbreast, and I thought I felt less lonely and deserted as long as I heard the merry notes of the thrush.1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 281:
Etymology Uncertain, though likely not related to the "bird" sense of Etymology 1; perhaps compare Icelandic þröstur, Danish torsk, Norwegian trøske. Perhaps also related to Old French fourchette (“frog of a horse's hoof”).
1
A fungal infection caused by species of genus Candida, affecting the mouth or vagina; candidiasis.
Cervical cancer and recurrent vaginal thrush are both strongly linked to the presence of HIV in women.1991 August 24, Dawn Schmitz, “AIDS Redefined In 1992?”, in Gay Community News, volume 19, number 6, page 6: