Wordsmith.org: the magic of words


A.Word.A.Day

About | Media | Search | Contact  


Home

Today's Word

Subscribe

Archives



Apr 4, 2019
This week’s theme
Words that turn into other words when beheaded

This week’s words
erose
scow
vaward
thew
pelf

Twitter Follow us on
@AWAD
@WordsmithOrg
@AnagramTimes

Bookmark and Share Facebook Twitter Digg MySpace Bookmark and Share
A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

thew

PRONUNCIATION:
(thyoo)

MEANING:
noun:
1. Muscle or tendon.
2. Power; strength; vitality.

ETYMOLOGY:
From thew (muscle, strength), from Old English theaw (custom, usage). Earliest documented use: 888.

USAGE:
“Alabama-born pro-slavery apologist Daniel Hundley noted: ‘... With hearts of oak and thews of steel, crouching to no man and fearing no danger ...’.”
Tommy Brown; “Of All the Hardy Sons of Toil”: Class and Race in Antebellum Southcentral and Southeastern Alabama; Alabama Review (Montgomery); Jul 2015.

“When I was in junior high, there was a television series with thirtysomethings playing adolescents. The channels crossing one character’s forehead became iconic and, in imitation, I took the habit of raising my eyebrows. Many a shameful night preceding my high school years was spent working the thews of strained visages, gesturing furrows during imagined dialogues and reactions, anything to intensify the indentures athwart my forehead.”
Matthew Lancit; Diary; National Post (Canada); Sep 20, 2007.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
There are no persons capable of stooping so low as those who desire to rise in the world. -Marguerite Gardiner, writer (1 Sep 1789-1849)

We need your help

Help us continue to spread the magic of words to readers everywhere

Donate

Subscriber Services
Awards | Stats | Links | Privacy Policy
Contribute | Advertise

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith