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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

English

through

/θɹuː/
So as to enter (something), pass within or across, and then leave.

    Etymology graph

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    • derived
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    Origin

    Etymology 1

    From Middle English thrugh, thruch, thruh, metathetic variants of thurgh, thurh, from Old English þurh, from Proto-Germanic *þurhw (“through”), from Proto-Indo-European *tr̥h₂kʷe, suffixed zero-grade from *terh₂- (“to pass through”) + *-kʷe (“and”).

    Cognates

    Cognate with North Frisian döör (“through”), Saterland Frisian truch (“through”), West Frisian troch (“through”), Dutch door (“through”), German durch (“through”), Luxembourgish duerch (“through”), West Flemish deur (“through”), Yiddish דורך (durkh, “through”), Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌷 (þairh, “through”), Latin trans (“across, over, through”), Albanian tërthor (“through, around”), Welsh tra (“through”). See also thorough.

    Etymology 2

    From Middle English thrugh, þrouȝ, throgh, from Old English þrūh (“trough, conduit, pipe; box, chest; coffin, tomb”), from Proto-Germanic *þrūhs (“hollowed-out wood”), from Proto-Indo-European *terh₃u- (“to rub, turn, drill, bore”). Not directly related with German Truhe (“chest”), which belongs to the root of English trough. However, these two Germanic roots seem to have influenced each other early on.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • rootProto-Indo-European*terh₂- “to cross over; to overcome; to pass through”
    • inheritedMiddle Englishthrugh
      • inheritedOld Englishþurh
        • inheritedProto-Germanic*þurhw “through”
          • inheritedProto-Indo-European*tr̥h₂kʷe
      • inheritedOld Englishþrūh “trough, conduit, pipe; box, chest; coffin, tomb”
        • inheritedProto-Germanic*þrūhs “hollowed-out wood”
          • derivedProto-Indo-European*terh₃u- “to rub, turn, drill, bore”

    Related: North Frisian döör, Saterland Frisian truch, West Frisian troch, Dutch door, German durch, Luxembourgish duerch, West Flemish deur, Yiddish דורך, Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌷, Latin trāns, Albanian tërthor, Welsh tra

    Words built on it: come through

    Meanings

    prep
    1. So as to enter (something), pass within or across, and then leave.
    2. So as to progress within (something) or towards the end or limit of (something).
    3. From one side of (an opening) to the other.
    4. To or beyond the other side of (an obstacle); past.
    5. Indicating that something has been consumed or used up.
    6. Along the course of; used in expressions of progress towards the end of something.
    adj
    1. Passing from one side of something to the other.
    2. Finished; complete.
    3. Along the course of a task etc.; used in expressions of progress towards the end.
    4. Without a future; done for.
    5. No longer interested; wearied or turned off by experience.
    6. Proceeding from origin to destination without the need to change transport vehicle.
    adv
    1. By way of the interior.
    2. By way of an opening.
    3. So as to overcome an obstacle and pass beyond it; past.
    4. So as to pass a stage in a process and proceed to the next stage or level.
    5. From beginning to end, or from the present position to the end.
    6. Throughout something; all the way across or into something.
    noun
    1. A coffin, sarcophagus or tomb of stone; a large slab of stone laid on a tomb, or in a dry-stone wall from one side to the other; a perpend.

    Sources

    • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Wiktionary: through