throe

== English == === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /θɹəʊ/ (General American) IPA(key): /θɹoʊ/ Homophone: throw Rhymes: -əʊ === Etymology 1 === The noun is probably derived partly: from Middle English throu, throwe (“(chiefly in the plural) uterine contraction during the birth of a child; pain experienced while giving birth; suffering; a pain; emotional distress, anxiety”) [and other forms], perhaps from: Old English þrawu (rare), a variant of þrēa (“affliction, torment; disaster; oppression; a rebuke; severity; threat”), from Proto-West Germanic *þrau, from Proto-Germanic *þrawō (“longing; suffering”), from Proto-Indo-European *trewh₁-; and Old English þrōwian (“to endure, suffer”), from Proto-Germanic *þrōwijaną, probably from *þrawō (see above); and Old Norse þrá (“longing, yearning”), from Proto-Germanic *þrawō (see above); and from Middle English throuen (“to endure distress, suffer; to be ill, to have a fever; to suffer (death, hardship, illness, punishment, etc.); to endure (sadness, hard work, etc.)”) [and other forms], from Old English þrōwian (see above). The current spelling of the word is a 16th-century variant of Middle English throu, throwe, perhaps to avoid confusion with throw (“act of turning or twisting; fit of bad temper or peevishness; look of anger, bad temper, irritation, etc., a grimace”). The verb is derived: from the noun; and perhaps from Middle English throuen (verb) (see above). ==== Noun ==== throe (plural throes) A severe pang or spasm of pain, especially one experienced when the uterus contracts during childbirth, or when a person is about to die. (usually in the plural) The pain of labour or childbirth; the suffering of death. Any severe pang or spasm, especially an outburst of feeling; a paroxysm. (figuratively, usually in the plural) A hard struggle, especially one associated with the beginning or finishing of a task. ===== Alternative forms ===== throw (obsolete) ===== Derived terms ===== death throe in the throes of throes of passion ===== Translations ===== ===== See also ===== Thesaurus:agony Thesaurus:pain ==== Verb ==== throe (third-person singular simple present throes, present participle throeing, simple past and past participle throed) (obsolete) (transitive) To cause (someone) to feel throes, as if in childbirth; to put in agony. Synonyms: afflict, torture; see also Thesaurus:hurt (intransitive) To feel throes; to struggle in extreme pain; to be in agony; to agonize. Synonyms: ache, thole; see also Thesaurus:suffer ===== Alternative forms ===== throw (obsolete) ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 2 === Perhaps a variant of froe. ==== Noun ==== throe (plural throes) Synonym of froe (“a cleaving tool for splitting cask staves and shingles from a block of wood”). Synonym: frow ===== Translations ===== === References === === Further reading === James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Throe”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), volume IX, Part 2 (Su–Th), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 368, column 1. “throe”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. === Anagrams === threo-, Other, Toher, heort-, thero-, other, hetro, Rothe, rothe