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Early Scandinavian
- thwart is a borrowing from early Scandinavian. Etymons: Norse þvert.
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What does the word 'thwart' mean?
Where did the word thwert come from?
Is thwart an adverb?
What does the word 'thwarted' mean?
Where does the word thwart come from? Earliest known use. Middle English. thwart is a borrowing from early Scandinavian. Etymons: Norse þvert. See etymology. Nearby entries.
- thwart, v. meanings, etymology and more
OED's earliest evidence for thwart is from before 1325, in...
- thwart, v. meanings, etymology and more
to stop something from happening or someone from doing something: Our holiday plans were thwarted by the airline pilots ' strike. Synonyms. foil. frustrate. queer the pitch (for someone) UK informal. scotch formal. spoil. Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples. to prevent something from happening.
Today we mostly use thwart as a verb to mean “to defeat or oppose successfully” but a lesser-known meaning of the word is “to pass through or across.” And it’s that sense that points to the origin of this odd-sounding word.
Apr 8, 2024 · From mid-13c. as an adjective, "contrary, stubborn, obstinate;" earlier overthwert, thwertover "blatant, outright" (c. 1200). As a preposition from early 15c., "across, athwart, from one side to the other." also from late 14c.
'Thwart' derives from Middle English 'thwert,' an adverb meaning 'across.' Its early meaning 'to cross the path of' leads to its extended use 'to defeat or oppose successfully.'
The earliest known use of the adjective thwarted is in the mid 1600s. OED's earliest evidence for thwarted is from 1655, in the writing of Thomas Fuller, Church of England clergyman. thwarted is formed within English, by derivation.
OED's earliest evidence for thwart is from before 1325, in Genesis & Exodus. It is also recorded as an adverb from the Middle English period (1150—1500). thwart is formed within English, by conversion.
