English
through
Through comes from Old English þurh, from Proto-Germanic *þurhw ‘through’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *terh₂- ‘to pass through’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₂-‘to cross over, pass through’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þurhw‘through’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150þurh‘through’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500thurgh
- Englishearliest quotation 1892through
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₂-‘to cross over, pass through’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þurhw‘through’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150þurh‘through’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500thurgh
- Englishearliest quotation 1892through
Earliest quotation: 1892, Walter Besant, Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?: “Athelstan Arundel walked home all the way, foaming and…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *terh₂- ‘to pass through’
enter, trans, avatar, tram, tranquillity, tardy, torus, très, sarai, 20 more
through Old English þurh
Today it means
prep So as to enter (something), pass within or across, and then leave.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *terh₂- / through