thew

[ thyoo ]

noun

1. Usually thews. muscle or sinew.
2. thews, physical strength.

thew

/ θjuː /

noun

1. muscle, esp if strong or well-developed
2. plural muscular strength

Derived Forms

• ˈthewless, adjective
• ˈthewy, adjective

Other Words From

• thewy adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of thew¹

before 900; Middle English; Old English thēaw custom, usage; cognate with Old High German thau (later dau ) discipline; akin to Latin tuērī to watch

Word History and Origins

Origin of thew¹

Old English thēaw; related to Old Saxon, Old High German thau discipline, Latin tuērī to observe, tūtus secure

Example Sentences

An unseen power lifted him from his bed, thew him across the room, and tossed him from one side of the room to the other.

From Project Gutenberg

This is, of course, no argument against the poems now-we mean it only as against the poets thew.

From Project Gutenberg

Alice Sheltoir, charged with being a common scold—to the thew.

From Project Gutenberg

When this is so, the thew or servus is like to appear as the unfreest of persons rather than as no person but a thing.

From Project Gutenberg

What is more, we may say that every man who was not a thew was in some definite legal sense a free man.

From Project Gutenberg