English
trow
Trow comes from Scots trow ‘a mischievous sprite or fairy’, from Old Norse draugr ‘malevolent revenant’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dreh₂- ‘to run’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dreh₂-‘to run’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*truzlą‘supernatural being’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350trǫll‘troll, malevolent supernatural being’
- Nornmoderntroll
- Old Norsec. 800–1350draugr‘malevolent revenant’
- Nornmodern*droureconstructed
- Scotsc. 1450–presenttrow‘a mischievous sprite or fairy’
- Englishearliest quotation 1828trow
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dreh₂-‘to run’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*truzlą‘supernatural being’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350trǫll‘troll, malevolent supernatural being’
- Nornmoderntroll
- Old Norsec. 800–1350draugr‘malevolent revenant’
- Nornmodern*droureconstructed
- Scotsc. 1450–presenttrow‘a mischievous sprite or fairy’
- Englishearliest quotation 1828trow
Earliest quotation: 1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology: “The Trows are of a diminutive stature, and they…”
The story
Norwegian drau, modern drov, drauv), from Old Norse draugr (‘malevolent revenant’); along the variation drow, intermixed with Norn troll, from Old Norse trǫll (‘troll, malevolent supernatural being’), a partial synonym to draugr. L-vocalisation occurred in the early 15th century in Middle Scots, so trolly, knolls probably became *trowie, knowes around this time.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dreh₂- ‘to run’
through Old Norse trǫll ‘troll, malevolent supernatural being’
through Norn *drou
Today it means
noun —
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dreh₂- / trow