Where did the saying "touch wood" and then actually touch something wooden come from?

Question

i often hear the phrase "touch wood" and then the person who said it has to then touch wood. I know it is to prevent something bad happening but just wondered why we say and do that and where it originated from

Answer 1

I believe it originally had something to do with the spirits who live in trees. Know it sounds rather random!

[Q] From Mike Gast: “What is the origin and true meaning of knock on wood or touch wood?”
[A] To touch wood or knock on wood is a superstition action to ward off any evil consequences or bad luck, perhaps because of some recent action you’ve taken or untimely boasting about your good fortune (“I’ve never been in danger of drowning, touch wood”); it can also be a charm to bring good luck.
The origin is unknown, though some writers have pointed to pre-Christian rituals involving the spirits of sacred trees such as the oak, ash, holly or hawthorn. There is, I’m told, an old Irish belief that you should knock on wood to let the little people know that you are thanking them for a bit of good luck. There’s also a belief that the knocking sound prevents the Devil from hearing your unwise comments. Others have sought a meaning in which the wood symbolises the timber of the cross, but this may be a Christianisation of an older ritual. It wasn’t always wood that was lucky: in older days, iron was also thought to have magical properties, and to touch iron was an equivalent preventative against ill-fortune.
The phrase itself is relatively modern, as the oldest citation for the British version of the phrase, touch wood, that I can find dates only from 1899. The American equivalent knock on wood is roughly contemporary, with my first example from 1905.

Answer 2

The origin is unknown, though some writers have pointed to pre-Christian rituals involving the spirits of sacred trees such as the oak, ash, holly or hawthorn. There is, I’m told, an old Irish belief that you should knock on wood to let the little people know that you are thanking them for a bit of good luck. There’s also a belief that the knocking sound prevents the Devil from hearing your unwise comments. Others have sought a meaning in which the wood symbolises the timber of the cross, but this may be a Christianisation of an older ritual. It wasn’t always wood that was lucky: in older days, iron was also thought to have magical properties, and to touch iron was an equivalent preventative against ill-fortune.

Answer 3

"To touch wood" is a superstition action to ward off any evil consequences or bad luck, perhaps because of some recent action you’ve taken or untimely boasting about your good fortune (“I’ve never been in danger of drowning, touch wood”); it can also be a charm to bring good luck.

The origin is unknown, though some writers have pointed to pre-Christian rituals involving the spirits of sacred trees such as the oak, ash, holly or hawthorn. There is an old Irish belief that you should touch on wood to let the little people know that you are thanking them for a bit of good luck. There’s also a belief that the knocking sound prevents the Devil from hearing your unwise comments. Others have sought a meaning in which the wood symbolises the timber of the cross, but this may be a Christianisation of an older ritual. It wasn’t always wood that was lucky: in older days, iron was also thought to have magical properties, and to touch iron was an equivalent preventative against ill-fortune.

The phrase itself is relatively modern, as the oldest citation for the British version of the phrase, touch wood, that I can find dates only from 1899. The American equivalent knock on wood is roughly contemporary, with my first example from 1905.

Answer 4

Touch Wood Saying

Answer 5

Touch the wood. It might go back to the old religions when one thought that there might be some spirits in all living things. To touch the wood did one when one have said or done something stupid to have some protection from the spirit in the living tree. It could also have something to do with children play, there is some games one is free when one touch wood and the word PAX the word for peace in Latin was used.

Answer 6

Good Luck: Knock on Wood or Touch Wood - It was believed that good spirits lived in trees, and that by knocking on anything made from wood, we could call upon these spirits for protection against misfortune.

Answer 7

Pre-Christian superstition, much like black cats. People used to believe that there were spirits in the trees, and by touching the trees or something wooden the spirits would protect them from evil or bad luck.

Answer 8

The song that makes me cry the most is a song called "My Immortal" by Evanescence. Beautiful , but sad written lyrics. A very powerful song that brings me to tears from the very first line of the song being sung. Every time. Amy Lee can sing the hell out of that song.

Answer 9

I always heard "knock on wood." I'm sure its the same thing. Don't know where it came from.

Answer 10

That's an interesting question!