throe
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throe¹
- /θɹəʊ/ UK
- /θɹoʊ/ US
Sounds like throw · Rhymes with -əʊ
Where it comes from
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 throes · throw
- A severe pang or spasm of pain, especially one experienced when the uterus contracts during childbirth, or when a person is about to die. O man haue mind of that laſt bitter throw; / For as the tree does fall, ſo lyes it euer low.
- The pain of labour or childbirth; the suffering of death. As if their own indignant earth, / Which gave the sons of England birth, / Had felt their blood upon her brow, / And shuddering with a mother's throe, / Had turned every drop of blood, / By which her face had been bedewed / To an accent unwithstood, / As if her heart had cried aloud: […]
- Any severe pang or spasm, especially an outburst of feeling; a paroxysm. Commend me to them, / And tell them, that to eaſe them of their greefes, / Their feares of Hoſtile ſtrokes, their Aches loſſes, / Their pangs of Loue, with other incident throwes / That Natures fragile Veſſell doth ſuſtaine / In lifes vncertaine voyage, I will ſome kindnes do them, […]
- A hard struggle, especially one associated with the beginning or finishing of a task. Of the group, Max (Room’s Jacob Tremblay) is the most nominally mature, at least biologically speaking; unlike his childhood companions, he’s entered the early throes of puberty, and spends a lot of his waking hours pining, rather chastely, for a classmate (Millie Davis).
verb throes · throeing · throed · throw
-
To cause (someone) to feel throes, as if in childbirth; to put in agony.
Pre-thee ſay on, / The ſetting of thine eye, and cheeke proclaime / A matter from thee; and a birth, indeed, / Which throwes thee much to yeeld.
Similar: afflict, torture, ache, aggrieve, agonize, anguish, dere, excruciate, hurt, irritate, pang, pine
-
To feel throes; to struggle in extreme pain; to be in agony; to agonize.
[W]hile yet he gazed at the wonderful countenance, his memory began to throe and struggle.
Similar: ache, thole, agonize, anguish, hurt, pain, passion, suffer, throe, wark, wring
throe²
- /θɹəʊ/ UK
- /θɹoʊ/ US
Sounds like throw · Rhymes with -əʊ
Where it comes from
Perhaps a variant of froe.
Translations
Every language
noun severe pang or spasm of pain, especially one experienced when the uterus contracts during childbirth, or when a person is about to die
| Español | agonía, dolor |
|---|---|
| Français | agonie |
| Deutsch | Agonie, Krampf, Wehen |
| Русский | му́ки múki, предсме́ртная аго́ния predsmértnaja agónija, спазм spazm |
| العربية | مَخَاضٌ maḵāḍun |
noun suffering of death
| العربية | سَكْرَةٌ sakratun |
|---|
verb to cause (someone) to feel throes, as if in childbirth; to put in agony
| Русский | вызыва́ть аго́нию vyzyvátʹ agóniju, терза́ть terzátʹ |
|---|
Talk about this word "throe." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/throe. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. throe. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/throe "throe." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/throe.Cite this
@misc{throe_2026,
title = {throe},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/throe},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
