through

English Online Dictionary. What means through‎? What does through mean?

English

Alternative forms

• thoo (pronunciation spelling)
• thorough (archaic outside of compounds)
• thorow (obsolete)
• thorugh (common)
• thro' (chiefly archaic or poetic)
• throughe (obsolete)
• thru (informal, US)
• thrue (obsolete)

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”). Cognate with Scots throch (“through”), West Frisian troch (“through”), German durch (“through”), Dutch door (“through”), Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌷 (þairh, “through”), Latin trans (“across, over, through”), Albanian tërthor (“through, around”), Welsh tra (“through”). See also thorough.

Pronunciation

• enPR: thro͞o
• (Received Pronunciation, Canada) IPA^(key): /θɹuː/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /θɹu/
• Rhymes: -uː
• Hyphenation: through
• Homophones: threw, thru

Preposition

through

1. From one side or end of (something) to the other.
   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. (in phrases such as 'go through', 'get through' etc.) Indicating that something has been consumed or used up.

   6. Along the course of; used in expressions of progress towards the end of something.

   7. Throughout the duration of.

2. Via or by way of.
   1. By way of (a physical passage).

   2. By way of (an intermediary, agent, medium, etc.).
3. Throughout or across the extent of.

4. Amidst or surrounded by (while moving).
5. (Canada, US) To (or up to) and including, with all intermediate values; to... inclusive; until the end of.

6. By means of.
7. In consequence of; as a result of.

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

through (not comparable)

1. Passing from one side of something to the other.
2. (chiefly US) 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.
7. (soccer) In possession of the ball beyond the last line of defence but not necessarily the goalkeeper; through on goal.
8. (chiefly UK, Commonwealth, Ireland, rare in Canada) (usually followed by "to") Able to progress (to the next stage or a higher level) following success in an exam, sports match, etc.

Derived terms

Adverb

through (not comparable)

1. From one side of something to the other.
   1. By way of the interior.

   2. By way of an opening.

   3. So as to overcome an obstacle and pass beyond it; past.

2. So as to pass a stage in a process and proceed to the next stage or level.

3. From beginning to end, or from the present position to the end.

4. Throughout something; all the way across or into.

5. (mostly in the phrase 'get through') So as to connect or reach.

Derived terms

For adverb-derived terms, see intransitive uses of preposition-derived terms above (get through, go through etc.).

Translations

References

• Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "Bounded landmarks", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition, Cambridge University Press, 2003, 0-521-81430 8

Etymology 2

From Middle English thrugh, þrouȝ, throgh, from Old English þrūh (“trough, conduit, pipe; box, chest; coffin, tomb”), from Proto-Germanic *þrūhs (“excavated trunk, trough”), from Proto-Indo-European *terh₃u- (“to rub, turn, drill, bore”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /θɹʌf/, /θɹuː/
• Rhymes: -ʌf, -uː
• Hyphenation: through

Noun

through (plural throughs)

1. (obsolete) 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.