From c. 1700, abbreviated thro’; in 15–18th c., without ’, thro. Forms: see below. [OE. ðurh, þurh, Northumb. ðerh, a Common WGer. prep. and adv.: cf. OFris. (from *thurch) thruch, truch (WFris. troch, NFris. truch, troch); OS. thurh, thuru, *thurih (MLG. dorch, dörch, dor, dör, LG. dör, dôr, MDu. door, dōre, döre, deur, dor, dur, Du. door); OHG. duruh, durih, duri, dur (MHG. durch, dürch, dur, dür, Ger. durch, dial. dur, dör). Not in Scandinavian: in Gothic with different ablaut grade þairh (= þerh); prob. cases of a sb., belonging to a pre-Teut. ablaut-series *terk-, tork-, trk- to bore: cf. Goth. þairkô hole, and OHG. durhil, MHG. dürchel, dürkel, OE. *þyrhil, þyrel bored, perforated: cf. THIRL sb. OE. þurh with full stress became þuruh, now THOROUGH, as burh has become borough, furh furrow, etc.; when unstressed and proclitic, þurh became þŏr, and with metathesis þrŭh, þrŭ, throŭ, thrŏ. The unstressed forms naturally prevailed in proclitic prepositional use, and the stressed in the adverb, and its derived adj. and sb. But with the restressing of the prep. thrŭ as through, this form has also become possible as an adverb, while on the other hand the stressed THOROUGH also survives as an archaic form of the preposition beside the normal through. Thurf is an early phonetic development of þurh, and thruf a more recent one of þruh. The metathesis of þruh for þurh occurs already c. 1300 in a s. w. text; but otherwise in ME. is usually northern. From Caxton onwards it was the standard English form.
See Note under THOROUGH prep. and adv.]
A. Illustration of Forms.
For disyllabic forms þureh, þuruh, þurow, etc.: see THOROUGH.
α. 1 þurȝ (þerh), 1–3 þorh (1 þorch), 1–4 þurh, 2–4 þurch, 3 Orm. þurrh, 3–4 þurȝ, þorȝ, thurȝ, 3–5 þurgh, 4 þorgh, þorghe, þourh, þour, (þour), 4–5 þourgh, thourgh, thurghe, thorgh, 4–6 thurgh, 5 thorȝ, þurȝe, þourȝe, (thour), Sc. thourch. Also 3 þurþ, þorþ, 4 þurth, þurȝth, 5 thourth, (dorth); 4–5 thurght, thorght, 5 þurght.
(Final þ, ð, is frequently a scribal error for final ȝ, and th a copyist’s error for ch; in Scotch t was often added to -ch, -gh, or -th.)
a. 700. Epinal Gloss. (O.E.T.), 741. Per seudoterum, þorh ludgaet. Ibid., 757. Per anticipationem, þorch [Erfurt dorh] obst.
a. 800. Cynewulf, Elene, 289. Þurh witʓena wordʓeryno.
a. 900. Þurh [see B. I. 7 b].
c. 950. Lindisf. Gosp., Mark xv. 10. Ðerh æfist [Rushw. ðærh æfeste] ʓesaldon hine.
c. 1000. Fates 12 Apostles, 13 (Gr.). Þurʓ Nerones nearo-searwe.
c. 1000. Ags. Gosp., ibid. Ðurh andan hine sealdon.
a. 1175. Cott. Hom., 223. Ealle þing ȝeworhcte god þurch his worda.
a. 1200. Moral Ode, 282. Þe suneȝe þurð sihte.
c. 1200. Þurrh [see B. I. 7].
1297. R. Glouc. (Rolls), 681. & regnede þritti ȝer wel þor [v.rr. þoru, þurgh, thorugh, þrough] alle þinge.
13[?]. Cursor M., 11070 (Gött.). All þe cunthre thurght.
c. 1350. Will. Palerne, 4219. Þourh ȝour help.
13[?]. Gaw. & Gr. Knt., 310. Þurȝ ryalmes so mony.
1377. Langl., P. Pl., B. I. 32. Thorw [C. Thorgh] wyn and þorw women þere was Loth acombred. Ibid. (1393), C. XXI. 399. So þat þorgh gyle was geten, þorwe grace is now y-wonne.
c. 1380. Wyclif, Serm., Sel. Wks. I. 392. Þourȝ Samarie and þe cuntre of Galile.
c. 1386. Chaucer, Frankl. T., 137. Eterne god that thurgh [v.rr. thour, þurgh, þourgh, þoruhe] thy purueiance Ledest the world.
c. 1410. Thourh [see B. II. 5 b].
c. 1425. Seven Sag. (P.), 522. Thourth the emperours commandement.
c. 1440. Thorgh [see B. I. 2].
c. 1450. Merlin, ii. 32. He hadde resceyved deth thourgh me.
c. 1460. Launfal, 1031. The lady rod dorth Cardevyle.
c. 1460. Thourth; 1521 Thurgh [see B. II. 1; B. I. 1].
β. 3 þruh, 4 þrouȝ, 5 þroughe, throwȝe, thruȝ, thrughe, (drogh, trogh), 5–6 thrugh, throughe, 5–7 throgh, 6 throwgh(e, 5– through (8– abbrev. thro’); 4 thru, Sc. thrw, threu, threw, 4–7 (chiefly Sc.) throu, 4–8 (–9 Sc. or dial.) throw, 5 þro, 5–9 thro, 6 throwe, Sc. throuw; Sc. 4–6 throuch, 6 thruch, thrwch, throwch, 7 throche, 8 throch; 5 throght, (troght), 5–6 Sc. throcht, 6 thruȝht, Sc. thrucht, throucht.
a. 1300[?]. Prayer to Virgin, 8, in O. E. Misc. (1872), 195. Bote þu þruh þin milde mod bringe me out of sunne. Ibid., 19.
13[?]. Thru, throu [see B. I. 1 b, 7 b].
c. 1350. Will. Palerne, 459. Mi wicked eyiȝen … lad myn hert þrouȝ loking þis langour to drye.
1375. Barbour, Bruce, I. 137. Throuch thar aller hale assent. Ibid., 533. Destroyit throw pwsoune.
c. 1375. Sc. Leg. Saints, x. (Mathou), 52. Thrw sorcery & felone gyle. Ibid., xiii.2 (Marcus) 49. Threw þe schewynge Of þe ewangele. Ibid., xxvi. (Nycholas), 806. Blyndyt threu gret cowatise.
c. 1400. Sowdone Bab., 2526. He … hade pardon Throgh prayere and specialle grace.
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 1129. Thrugh lemys of light. Ibid., 4977. Þro mony long chaumburs.
c. 1425. Eng. Conq. Irel., 18. The gret peril that myght be-fall hym … drogh the owt-comen folk þat was thus in-to the land I-com. Ibid., 26. Trogh al thynge. Ibid., 28. That thou ne hast y-done troght some grete lette.
c. 1470. Henry, Wallace, VIII. 709. Throcht falsheid, and thar subtilite.
1484. Caxton, Fables of Æsop, V. viii. The serpent … slewe the child through his venym.
1487–8. Throwȝe [see B. I. 4].
c. 1489. Thrughe [see B. I. 1 h].
a. 1500. Cokwolds Daunce, 105, in Hazl., E. P. P., I. 43. Ffor that was thruȝht a chans.
1500–20. Dunbar, Poems, xlii. 81. Thrucht Skornes noss thai put a prik. Ibid., Throucht [see B. I. 3]. Ibid. (1508), Gold. Targe, 28. Doun throu the ryce a ryuir ran.
1533. Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889), 396. Such merchunds … as cum throw Oxmantown.
1545–7. in Archæologia, XXXIV. 41. Throwgh the weke.
1596. Throuch [see B. II. 4].
1674. Brevint, Saul at Endor, 140. [He] may fall … thro a broken bridge.
a. 1679. Hobbes, Rhet. (1681), Pref. Throu the working of Belief.
1709. Prior, Despairing Shepherd, i. Wand’ring thro’ the lonely Rocks.
1724. Ramsay, Vision, i. Throch feidom, our freedom Is blotit with this skore. Ibid. (a. 1758), Bonny Tweedside, i. I’ll awa’ to bonny Tweed side, And see my deary come throw.
γ. 3–4 þurf, 3–6 thurf, 8–9 (dial.) thruff.
c. 1290. St. Brendan, 149, in S. Eng. Leg., I. 223. Þurf oure louerdes grace.
a. 1300. Fragm. Pop. Sc. (Wright), l. 11. Thurf dai & thurf niȝt.
a. 1500. Childe of Bristowe, 520, in Hazl., E. P. P., I. 129. Thurf your good he is save.
a. 1800. Pegge, Suppl. Grose, Thruff and thruff, i.e. through and through. Derb.
1864. Tennyson, North. Farmer, O. Style, xi. I … runn’d plow thruff it an’ all.
1888. Fenn, Dick o’ Fens, 153. Go thruff yon reed-bed home.
B. Signification.
I. prep. The preposition expressing the relation of transition or direction within something from one limit of it to the other: primarily in reference to motion in space, hence in various derived senses.
1. From one end, side, or surface to the other or opposite end, side, or surface of (a body or a space) by passing within it; usually implying into, at one end, side, etc., and out of at the other.
(Expressing movement (or extension) either so as to penetrate the substance of a thing, or along a passage or opening already existing in it.) With various vbs. of motion forming prepositional phrases: cf. PASS v. 58 a. RUN v. 12–15, etc.
a. 700. [see A. α].
c. 950. Lindisf. Gosp., Matt. vii. 13. Inngeonges ðerh nearuo port. Ibid. (c. 1000). Gangað inn þurh þæt nearwe ʓeat.
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 4977. Led were þo lordes þro mony long chaumburs … þurgh mony gay Alys.
1446. Registr. Aberdon. (Maitl. Cl.), I. 245. A lonyng lyand þrow the mur betwix twa ald stane dykes.
1490. Caxton, Eneydos, xv. 60. Fyres … sodaynly sente through the cloudes in grete tempeste and murmure.
1521. Fisher, Wks. (1876), 315. To condyth that people thurgh the deserte.
1557. N. T. (Genev.), John iv. 4. He must nedes go through [1526 Tindale thorowe] Samaria.
1605. Camden, Rem., 193. An extreame cold winde passed throgh his sides.
1708. Constit. Watermen’s Co., xl. If any person Row … through London Bridge, on the Flood-Tide.
1758. Johnson, Idler, No. 15, ¶ 2. Sauntering about the Shop with her arms through her pocket-holes.
1848. Thackeray, Van. Fair, xxxii. George … was lying … dead, with a bullet through his heart.
Mod. There is a path through the wood.
b. Denoting transmission of light, or of sight, by an aperture or a transparent medium; also fig. (See also LOOK v. 20, SEE v. 24.)
13[?]. Cursor M., 11229 (Gött.). Þe sune beme gas thru [Cott. thoru] þe glas.
c. 1386. Chaucer, Knt.’s T., 217. Thurgh a wyndow … He cast his eye vpon Emelya.
1640. Nabbes, Bride, III. ii. A pigmie that cannot be discerned but through a multiplying glas.
1704. Pope, Disc. Past. Poetry, § 5. Piety to the Gods should shine through the Poem.
1766. Goldsm., Vic. W., xvi. These instances of cunning, which she thought impenetrable, yet which everybody saw through.
1852. Dickens, Bleak Ho., viii. Mrs. Pardiggle … had been regarding him through her spectacles.
c. In reference to a (more distant or fainter) sound heard simultaneously with another (nearer or louder) which does not ‘drown’ it or prevent it from reaching the ear.
1819. Keats, Isabella, xxxvi. Languor there was in it, and tremulous shake,… And through it moan’d a ghostly under-song.
1847. Tennyson, Princess, IV. 554. Thy voice is heard thro’ rolling drums.
d. In reference to the passages traversed by the breath in the production and modification of vocal sound, as to speak through the throat, the nose, etc.
1588, 1741, 1850. [see NOSE sb. 3].
1668. Owen Price, Eng. Orthographie, 16. Gh soundes now like h, in Almighty, although [etc.]. Note, But the Ancients did, as the Welch, & Scots do still pronounce gh, thorow the throat.
e. With pl. (or collective) sb., expressing passage between or among things so as to penetrate the whole mass or body of them (without penetrating the individual things); through between. See also 2, and cf. THROUGH OTHER.
1535, 1684. [see THOROUGH B. I. 1 d].
1709. Prior, Despairing Sheph., i. Wand’ring thro’ the lonely Rocks.
1712. Addison, Spect., No. 327, ¶ 6. [Raphael’s] Flight thro’ the Choirs of Angels is finely imaged.
1852. R. S. Surtees, Sponge’s Sp. Tour (1893), 85. He was small and wiry, with legs that a pig could run through.
1890. ‘R. Boldrewood,’ Col. Reformer (1891), 204. The slippery savage … was bounding through the trees.
Mod. Walking through the long grass.
f. In phr. through (one’s) hands, through a machine, etc., referring to something being handled, manufactured, subjected to some process, or dealt with in any way. (See also MILL sb.1 i b.)
c. 1320. Sir Beues (A.), 1035. Erst þow schelt pase þourȝ min hond.
1630. R. Johnson’s Kingd. & Commw., 346. They are able in one day to make two hundred Harquibushes … although there be no Harquebush that goeth through lesse than ten hands at the least.
1641. in Cochran-Patrick, Rec. Coinage Scotl. (1876), I. Introd. 31. They would putt 1000 stane [of copper] throw the yrons in the yeire.
1709. Bagford, in MS. Rawl. Lett., 21, lf. 8. All of them from ye Bookes themselues which haue run throw my handes.
1815. Scott, Guy M., xxxix. I had her through hands once, and could then make little of her.
1874. Green, Short Hist., vii. § 6. 408. Plot and approval alike passed through Walsingham’s hands.
Mod. It has passed through many hands since then.
g. In various directly figurative applications: e.g., (a) referring to the action upon the ears or nerves of a loud, shrill, harsh, or ‘piercing’ sound; (b) implying the overcoming of hindrance or obstruction (see also BREAK v. 55); (c) indicating connection or transmission by an intermediate thing (or person) or a series of such, etc.
To pay through the nose: see NOSE sb. 11. Through thick and thin: see THICK AND THIN.
1543. [see THICK AND THIN A. 1].
1581–1680. [see THOROUGH B. 1. 1 f].
1647. May, Hist. Parl., II. vi. 127. Your Parliament, whose … undiscouraged endeavours … have passed thorow difficulties unheard of.
1766. Goldsm., Vic. W., xxx. The circumstances of my unfortunate son broke through all efforts to dissemble.
a. 1784. Johnson, in Boswell, an. 1737. Knowledge of the world, fresh from life, not strained through books.
1849. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., v. I. 526. John Ayloffe, a lawyer connected by affinity with the Hydes, and through the Hydes, with James.
h. Through and through: repeatedly through; so as to penetrate both sides or surfaces of; right through, entirely through. Also fig. (Cf. II. 5.)
13[?]. [see THOROUGH B. I. 1 g].
c. 1489. Caxton, Sonnes of Aymon, xiv. 346. He shoved his swerde thrughe & thrughe his body.
1599. Shaks., Much Ado, V. i. 68. Thy slander hath gone through and through her heart.
a. 1716. South, Serm. (1842), I. 321. His infinite, all-searching knowledge, which looks through and through the most secret of our thoughts.
1724. De Foe, Mem. Cavalier (1840), 227. He broke through and through them.
1745. P. Thomas, Voy. S. Seas, 281. Our second Shot … went thro’ and thro’ her upper Works.
i. After an auxiliary verb, with ellipsis of go. Cf. II. 6; THROUGH v. 2.
1567. Maplet, Gr. Forest, 85. If a mans iourney lieth so, that he must nedes through the Forrest.
1606. Shaks., Tr. & Cr., V. x. 26. You vile abhominable Tents,… Ile through, and through you.
2. Of motion or direction within the limits of; along within; as in 1, 1 e, but not necessarily implying the traversing of the whole extent from end to end.
c. 1050. Byrhtferth’s Handboc, in Anglia (1885), VIII. 298. Þurh þæne yrnð seo sunne.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 23412 (Edin.). Al þat þe witstandand es Thurȝ sal [þou] þirle wit sweftnes.
c. 1440. Pallad. on Husb., VI. 36. A forgh iij footes deep thy londes thorgh.
1591. Shaks., Two Gent., V. ii. 38. As he in pennance wander’d through the Forrest.
1667. Milton, P. L., II. 663. The Night-Hag … riding through the Air.
1787. Winter, Syst. Husb., 82. Clouds, which being heavier than the air, of course fall thro’ it.
1818. Shelley, Sonnet ‘Lift not the painted veil,’ 11. Through the unheeding many he did move, A splendour among shadows.
1819. Keats, Eve St. Agnes, i. The hare limp’d trembling through the frozen grass.
1903. Times, 14 March, 14/5. The Oxonians showed good form through choppy water.
3. Over or about the whole extent of, all over (a surface); so as to traverse or penetrate every part or district of; in or to all parts of (a region, or a body); throughout; everywhere in. (See also RUN v. 68 d.)
c. 1000. Ags. Gosp., Luke xxiii. 5. He astyrað þis folc lærende þurh ealle iudeam.
13[?]. Gaw. & Gr. Knt., 243. Al stouned at his steuen … þurȝ þe sale riche.
c. 1350. Old Usages Winchester, in Eng. Gilds (1870), 359. Lat crye þe ban þorghe þe town þe þridde day by-fore þe selynge.
c. 1450. Merlin, i. 10. I sought thourgh my chamber.
1500–20. Dunbar, Poems, lxxiv. 14. Leif creuelte … Or throucht the warld quyte losit is ȝour name.
1591. Shaks., 1 Hen. VI., III. iii. 13. We will make the famous through the World.
1659. Termes de la Ley, 146 b/2. That there should be but one scantling of weights and measures through all the Realm.
1727–46. Thomson, Summer, 1168. And Thule bellows through her utmost isles.
1860. Tyndall, Glac., II. vii. 260. Minute particles diffused through the atmosphere.
b. Placed after the sb. arch., poet.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 11070. Noght allan ierusalem burgh, Bot elles al þe contre thurgh [v.rr. thurght, thorogh, þourȝe]. Ibid., 11824. Þe fester thrild his bodi thurgh [rhyme scurf].
1556. Robinson, More’s Utop., Shorte Meter (Arb.), 167. Platoes citie, Whose fame flieth the worlde throughe.
a. 1635, 1802. [see THOROUGH B. I. 3].
1851. Mrs. Browning, Casa Guidi Wind., II. 266. A cry is up in England, which doth ring The hollow world through.
† c. Phr. Through all thing [cf. F. partout]: in every point, in all respects, thoroughly. Obs.
c. 1205. Lay., 10966. Ich sugge þe þurh alle þing, ich sloh Asclepidiot.
c. 1290. Beket, 252, in S. Eng. Leg., I. 113. Euere he was chaste þoruȝ alle þing.
1297, c. 1380. [see THOROUGH B. I. 3 c].
c. 1425. Eng. Conq. Irel., 26. A man full queynt, trow trogh al thynge, & stalwarth.
4. During the whole of (a period of time, or an action, etc., with reference to the time it occupies from beginning to end). See also GET v. 43 c.
a. 1000. Ags. Ps. (Th.), lxxiii[i]. 21 [22]. Þurh ealne dæʓ [tota die].
a. 1250. Owl & Night., 447 (Cott.). And ich so do þurȝ niȝt and dai.
1487–8. Rec. St. Mary at Hill, 141. On euery sonday throwȝe þe yer.
1581. Allen, Apol., 74. Al the Churches of Christ through al ages.
1593. Shaks., Lucr., 718. Through the length of times he stands disgraced.
1667. Milton, P. L., X. 846. Thus Adam … lamented … Through the still Night.
1779. Mirror, No. 37, ¶ 5. The same sanguine temperament of mind which … has attended him through life.
1861. Mrs. Carlyle, Lett. (1883), III. 81. A brass band plays all through our breakfast.
1893. T. F. Tout, Edw. I., iv. 80. All through his reign, the Lusignans helped him in Gascony.
b. Placed after a sb.; esp. preceded by all.
1535. [see THOROUGH B. I. 4].
1864. Mrs. Gatty, Parab. fr. Nat., Ser. IV. 5. He was seldom seen without one [a flower] in his button-hole all the summer through.
1872. A. de Vere, Leg. St. Patrick, Disbelief Milcho, 32. Fireless sits he, winter through.
1873. Black, Pr. Thule, iii. It will be like this all the night through.
5. From beginning to end of; in or along the whole length or course of (an action, an experience, a piece of work, etc.; also of a discourse, a book, etc.). See also GET v. 43, GO v. 63, PASS v. 58 b. RUN v. 68.
c. 1449. [see THOROUGH B. I. 5].
1578. Timme, Caluine on Gen., 326. I may not runne through vncertain speculations.
1766. Goldsm., Vic. W., xiv. I had … put my horse through all his paces.
1774. Mitford, Ess. Harmony Lang., 93. I cannot find any thing like [it] … thro the whole essay.
1831. Macaulay, Lett., in Trevelyan, Life (1876), I. iv. 233. I should have liked to have sat through so tremendous a storm.
1886. Ad. Sergeant, No Saint, I. vi. 105. An old land surveyor … put him through a long catechism.
b. with emphasis on the intervening or intermediate stage or condition. (Leading on to 7.)
1671. Milton, P. R., I. 5. Obedience fully tri’d Through all temptation.
1818. Moore, Fudge Fam. Paris, vi. 103. They graduate Through job, red ribbon, and silk gown, To Chancellorship and Marquisate.
1837. Dickens, Pickw., lvii. Mr. Bob Sawyer, having previously passed through the Gazette, passed over to Bengal.
1870. W. Morris, Earthly Par., III. Story Rhodope, 20. The brown plain … Changed year by year through green to hoary gold.
1881. Stanley, Chr. Instit., vii. (1882), 131. In the new crisis through which the world was to pass.
c. with emphasis laid upon the completion: To the end of. (Leading on to 6.)
1628. [see THOROUGH B. I. 5].
1744. Berkeley, Siris, § 2. Seven children, who came all very well through the smallpox.
1824. New Monthly Mag., X. 19. I never could read through the Nouvelle Heloïse.
1843. Mrs. Carlyle, Lett. (1883), I. 253. I seemed to be got pretty well through my sewing.
Mod. When shall you get through your task? He has got through ‘Smalls.’
6. Indicating a position or point ultimately reached. (Usually in predicate, after verb to be.) Cf. II. 3. a. lit. At a point beyond, or at the further end of. b. fig. Having reached the end of (a course of action, a book, etc.); having finished, completed, or done with. c. In reference to an examination, to be through is to have passed.
1791. T. Jefferson, Writ. (1896), V. 330. I think I can be through them [a bundle of letters] by the end of the week.
1791. Burns, Tam O’Shanter, 93. By this time he was cross the ford … And thro’ the whins, and by the cairn.
1801. trans. Gabrielli’s Myst. Husb., II. 267. They stopped at an inn nearly through the town.
1804. Southey, in Life (1850), II. 262. I am half through the poem.
1894. Outing (U.S.), XXIV. 428/2. You may as well tell him that you’re through taking lessons.
Mod. Is he through his examination?
7. Indicating medium, means, agency, or instrument: By means of; by the action of, by (obs. or arch.) Now spec. By the instrumentality of.
a. 800. [see A. α].
c. 950. Lindisf. Gosp., Luke xvii. 1. Wæ ðæm ðerh ðone hia cymes.
c. 1000. Fates 12 Apostles, 63 (Gr.). We þæt ʓehyrdon þurh haliʓe bec.
1154. O. E. Chron., an. 1132 (Laud). Þurh Godes milce & þurh þe biscop of Seresberi.
c. 1200. Ormin, 13254. Ȝa þurrh fulluhht, ȝa þurrh hanndgang Att hadedd manness hande.
1258. Proclam. Hen. III., 12 Oct. Henry thurȝ godes fultome king on Engleneloande.
c. 1305. Pilate, 89, in E. E. P. (1862), 113. He huld him bitrayd þurf felonie.
1375. Barbour, Bruce, I. 137. Throuch þar aller hale assent, Messingeris till hym þai sent.
1475. Bk. Noblesse (Roxb.), 16. A grete navy … ovyrcom throw myghty fyghtyng.
1579. W. Wilkinson, Confut. Familye of Loue, B iij. Abell was slayne … through the handes of his brother Cain.
1763. J. Brown, Poetry & Mus., vii. 151. This Event happened … thro’ the Authority of the thirty Tyrants.
1793. Burke, Corr. (1844), IV. 153. The answer given to Monsieur Lesardier was through a young gentleman.
1849. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., vi. II. 123. [He] could not prevent the national sentiment from expressing itself through the pulpit and the press.
1883. Sir N. Lindley, in Law Rep., 11 Q. Bench Div. 572. The … Society … seeks to do through him that which it cannot otherwise do.
1885. Act 48 & 49 Vict., c. 54 § 15. Every notice … sent through the post in a prepaid registered letter.
† b. Indicating the agent, after a passive verb: = BY prep. 33. Obs.
a. 900. trans. Bæda’s Hist., I. ix. Seo herʓung wæs þurh Alaricum … ʓeworden.
971. Blickl. Hom., 9. Heofonrices duru … sceal þonne þurh þe ontened beon.
c. 1000. Ags. Gosp., Matt. xxvi. 24. Wa þam menn þurh þone þe byþ mannes sunu be-læwed.
13[?]. Cursor M., 20909 (Cott.). In rome throu an þat hight neron … Petre … naild on þe rod he was.
1434. Sc. Acts Jas. I. (1814), II. 5/1. Chargit be þe gret aithe throwe þe bischope.
c. 1425. Eng. Conq. Irel., 12. Vnnethes he was I-draw vp throgh his felowes, þat mych put har lyf in aduentur for to saw his lif.
1597. A. M., trans. Guillemeau’s Fr. Chirurg., 43 b/1. The skinne beinge lift vp through some seruant, or through the Chyrurgiane with his Pinsers.
8. Indicating cause, reason, or motive: In consequence of, by reason of, on account of, owing to; from; for.
a. 1000. Cædmon’s Gen., 610 (Gr.). Þa se forhatena spræc þurh feondscipe.
c. 1000. Ags. Gosp., Matt. xxvi. 31. Þurh þæs hyrdes sleʓe byð seo heord todræfed.
1154. O. E. Chron., an. 1127 (Laud). Þet wes eall ðurh þone kyng Heanri.
c. 1200. Trin. Coll. Hom., 191. Þurch onde com deað in to þe worelde.
c. 1460. Oseney Regr., 3. Þe paralityke man … heled of our lorde … þroughe þe beleve off theyme þat bare hym.
1562. Aberdeen Kirk Sess. Rec. (Spald. Cl.), 9. Gryte thyft, committit throcht verray neid and necessite.
1671. Milton, Samson, 369. If he through frailty err.
1697. Dryden, Virg. Georg., II. 638. Thro’ Wine they quarrell’d, and thro’ Wine were slain.
1798. Coleridge, Anc. Mar., II. xiii. Every tongue thro’ utter drouth Was wither’d at the root.
1894. J. J. Fowler, Adamnan, Introd. 56. The southern Picts … embraced the truth through the preaching of St. Ninian.
† b. In oaths and adjurations: By, in the name of. (Cf. BY prep. 2.) Obs.
a. 1000. Cædmon’s Satan, 694. Ic þe hate þurh þa hehstan miht, Þæt ðu hellwarum hyht ne abeode.
c. 1000. Ælfric, Gen. xxii. 16. Ic sweriʓe þurh me sylfne, sæde se Ælmihtiʓa.
a. 1225. Ancr. R., 114. Þurh þeo ilke neiles ich halse ou ancren,… holdeð our honden wiðinnen ouwer þurles.
c. 1290. Edmund Conf., 307, in S. Eng. Leg., l. 440. ‘Þurf oure louerdes passioun tel nou,’ he seide.
II. adv.
(For special combinations with verbs, as BREAK through, CARRY through, FALL through, GET through, GO through, PASS through, PULL through, PUT through, RUN through, etc., see the verbs.)
1. From end to end, side to side, or surface to surface (of a body or space) by passing or extending within; so as to penetrate: cf. I. 1.
a. 1000. Ags. Ps. (Th.) lxxvii[i]. 15 [13]. He sæ toslat, sealte yþa ʓefæstnade, and hi foran þurh.
a. 1225. Ancr. R., 272. Heo þuruh stihten Isboset … into þe schere.
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 6780. Mony shalke þurgh shot with þere sharpe gere.
14[?]. Tundale’s Vis., 327. Þo heyte of the fuyr dyd throw pas.
c. 1460. Metham, Wks. (E.E.T.S.), 91. Als strekyn thourth with oon lyne or with many lynes.
a. 1533. Ld. Berners, Huon, lix. 205. Huon … strake hym with his spere clene throwe.
1719. Watts, Hymns, II. lix. 2. Glory to God that walks the sky, And sends his blessing thro’.
1798. Coleridge, Anc. Mar., I. xvii. The Ice did split with a Thunder-fit; The Helmsman steer’d us thro’!
1850. Leitch, trans. C. O. Müller’s Anc. Art (ed. 2), § 337. A … garment … drawn … over the right arm, or else through beneath it towards the left arm.
b. In reference to travel or conveyance: Along the whole distance; all the way; to the end of the journey; to the destination.
[a. 1425. Cursor M., 11741 (Trin.). Or þritty dayes Iourney þro Þou shal haue but a day to go [earlier MSS. lang … gang].]
1617. J. Bargrave, in Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.), I. 198. His packets sometimes fail when private letters go through.
1692. Luttrell, Brief Rel. (1857), II. 376. He was accompanied part of the way by the queen … and Essex, who went thro’.
1732. Pope, Ess. Man, II. 274. Hope travels thro,’ nor quits us when we die.
1858. Penny Cycl., 2nd Suppl., 565/2. A man may now ‘book through’ from London to so many continental cities.
1858. Hawthorne, Fr. & It. Note-Bks. (1872), I. 3. The great bulk of our luggage had been registered through to Paris.
Mod. The train goes through to Edinburgh.
c. In reference to size: As measured from side to side; in diameter.
a. 1687. Petty, Treat. Naval Philos., I. iv. § 5. A Mast above 30 inches through.
2. From beginning to end (of a time, course of action, life, trial, book, etc.); to the end or purposed accomplishment: cf. I. 4, 5.
a. 1175. Cott. Hom., 237. He wes acende of þe clene mede þe efer þurh lefede mede.
1456. Sir G. Haye, Law Arms (S.T.S.), 85. Traistand in God, and in his gude rycht to bring him throuch.
1556. N. C. Wills (Surtees, 1908), 239. Iff he helpe my executors through for the making of my accompte with the King.
1611. Shaks., Cymb., V. v. 382. When shall I heare all through?
1790. Burke, Fr. Rev., 133. Who now reads Bolingbroke? Who ever read him through?
1865. Swinburne, Chastelard, I. i. (1894), 9. She must weep If she sing through.
1891. Law Times, XCII. 18/2. Having heard the case through and seen the witnesses.
3. Predicatively, after the verb to be, indicating a position, point, or condition ultimately arrived at. a. lit. Having penetrated or traversed a body or space. b. More usually fig. Having completed or accomplished an action or process (spec. having passed an examination); completed, as an action, etc.; finished, at an end, ‘done.’ To be through with, to have finished or completed; to have done with, have no further dealings with; also, to have arranged matters or come to an agreement with (a person) (now dial.): cf. quot. a. 1500 s.v. THOROUGH a. 2.
1481–90. Howard Househ. Bks. (Roxb.), 480. My Lord is throughe with his servaunt Robert Worsley, for certayn men … to be ready at all tymes at my Lordes wages.
1597. Shaks., 2 Hen. IV., I. ii. 45. If a man is through with them in honest Taking-up, then they must stand vpon Securitie. Ibid. (1607), Cor., II. iii. 130. I am halfe through, The one part suffered, the other will I doe.
1840. R. H. Dana, Bef. Mast, xix. 57. We had just so much work to do, and when that was through, the time was our own.
1866. Belgravia, Nov., 76. The examiners … are now consulting together as to who is ‘through’ and who is ‘plucked.’
1869. Lonsdale Gloss., To be through with any one, to complete a bargain with him.
1896. Daily News, 18 July, 3/1. [He] did not arrive till the speech was half through.
1901. K. Steuart, By Allan Water, ii. 63. All knew that James Steuart was ‘far through’ [= near the end of his life].
Mod. I saw the train enter the tunnel; it must be through now.
4. Qualifying adjs. and pa. pples.: Through the whole extent, substance, or thickness; throughout; hence, entirely, completely, thoroughly. † a. Standing before a pple. or adj.; = THOROUGH adv. 4. Obs.
Formerly often hyphened to the following word; cf. THROUGH- in comb. 1.
a. 1240. [see THOROUGH B. II. 4].
c. 1440. Anc. Cookery, in Househ. Ord. (1790), 459. When thai byn thurgh hot, take hom up with a skymmour.
1472. in Swayne, Sarum Churchw. Acc. (1896), 2. j playne Chalice with his patent both through gilte.
1578. Lyte, Dodoens, V. lxxx. 651. The grapes be through ripe in September.
1594. Nashe, Unfort. Trav., 31. To haue him stand in the raine till he was through wet.
1596. Dalrymple, trans. Leslie’s Hist. Scot. (S.T.S.), I. 32. In wintir quhen thay ar throuch fatt.
1631. Heywood, 2nd Pt. Maid of West, III. i. Through satiate with the pleasures of this night.
1639. Fuller, Holy War, III. xxvi. (1647), 156. Once through-hot long in cooling.
1665. Manley, Grotius’ Low C. Warres, 762. Materials being now through dry by the heat of the weather.
[1692–1853: see THOROUGH B. II. 4.]
1901. Hayden, Round Our Vill., 154 (E.D.D.). Come in, you must be through wet.
b. Now regularly after the adj. or pple., and only in reference to physical condition, as wet through (see also WET).
a. 1766. Mrs. F. Sheridan, Sidney Bidulph, IV. 53. He had been wet quite through.
1821. Clare, Vill. Minstr., I. 165. Thy … trunk is nearly rotten through.
c. 1825. Houlston Juv. Tracts, Forethought, 3. It is of no use to put up your umbrella when you are wet through.
1892. G. Hake, Mem. 80 Years, lxiii. 259. The natives get hot-through in the … spring and summer months.
Mod. This is a cold room; I am chilled through. It is barely warmed through.
5. Through and through: a. With repeated or complete penetration; through the whole thickness or substance; completely from beginning to end; right through, entirely through.
1470–85. [see THOROUGH B. II. 5].
1611. Shaks., Wint. T., IV. iv. 112. You’ld be so leane, that blasts of Ianuary Would blow you through and through.
c. 1643. Ld. Herbert, Autobiog. (1824), 19. The English shot her [the Spanish ship] through and through so often that she run herself aground.
1709. Lond. Gaz., No. 4521/2. Having our Ship’s Sides in a great many places shot through and through.
1894. Sir J. Astley, Fifty Yrs. Life, I. 166. We were all wet through and through.
b. In all points or respects; thoroughly, wholly, entirely, out and out.
c. 1410. Chron. Eng. (Ritson), 554. An holi wommon thourh ant thourh.
1531. in Hall, Chron., Hen. VIII. (1548), 197. We … searched and examined through and through … bothe the bookes of holy scripture, and also the moste approued interpreters of the same.
1600. Shaks., A. Y. L., II. vii. 59. I will through and through Cleanse the foule bodie of th’ infected world.
1746. Francis, trans. Hor., Sat., I. ix. 134. One who knew My sweet Companion through and through.
1888. Rhys, Hibbert Lect., 458. The Thorsteinn story … not corresponding through and through to any of the Celtic ones.
1894. Roosevelt, in Forum (N.Y.), July, 557. They must act as Americans, through and through, in spirit and hope and purpose.
6. After an auxiliary vb., with ellipsis of go, get, pass, etc., in lit or fig. senses (see above); thus functioning as a verb in the infinitive. (See also THROUGH v. 2.)
1423. James I., Kingis Q., lxiii. Bot, hert! quhere as the body may noght throu, Folow thy hevin!
c. 1470. Henryson, Mor. Fab., x. (Fox & Wolf), xiii. This will not throw, but greit coist and expence.
1573, 1670. [see THOROUGH B. II. 6].
1644. Nye, Gunnery (1670), 20. If you cannot sift it through the sieve, beat that again into powder which will not through.
1906. Marj. Bowen, Viper of Milan, xxi. We must pass, we must through this moment.
