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throe

Pronunciation: /θɹəʊ/

The English word “throe” has 7 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A severe pang or spasm of pain, especially one experienced when the uterus contracts during childbirth, or when a person is about to die.
  2. The pain of labour or childbirth; the suffering of death.
  3. Any severe pang or spasm, especially an outburst of feeling; a paroxysm.
  4. A hard struggle, especially one associated with the beginning or finishing of a task.
  5. Synonym of froe (“a cleaving tool for splitting cask staves and shingles from a block of wood”).

verb

  1. To cause (someone) to feel throes, as if in childbirth; to put in agony.
  2. To feel throes; to struggle in extreme pain; to be in agony; to agonize.

Etymology

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…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.