English
thwart
Thwart comes from Old Norse þvert ‘strong neuter nominative/accusative singular…’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *terkʷ- ‘to turn, spin’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terkʷ-‘to turn, spin’root as named · steps between not traced
- Old Norsec. 800–1350þvert‘strong neuter nominative/accusative singular of þverr’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500thwerte
- Englishearliest quotation 1590thwart
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terkʷ-‘to turn, spin’root as named · steps between not traced
- Old Norsec. 800–1350þvert‘strong neuter nominative/accusative singular of þverr’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500thwerte
- Englishearliest quotation 1590thwart
Earliest quotation: 1590, Thomas Lodge, Alindas Comfort to Perplexed Rosalynd: “If thou grieueſt that beeing the daughter of a…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *terkʷ- ‘to turn, spin’
torture, queer, torch, torque, torment, extortion, distort, torsion, tort, tart, trowel, 24 more
Today it means
adj Placed or situated across something else; cross, oblique, transverse.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *terkʷ- / thwart