Where does “thru” come from?

thru (English) comes from English through, from Middle English thrugh, from Old English þurh, from Proto-Germanic þurhw, from Proto-Indo-European tr̥h₂kʷe, from Proto-Indo-European terh₂- — to cross over, pass through, overcome.

thru (English): Rare spelling of through; Eye dialect spelling of...

Definitions

  1. Rare spelling of through; Eye dialect spelling of...

Ancestry of “thru”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishthroughFrom one side of an opening to the other;...
2Middle Englishthrugh—
3Old EnglishþurhAPI; through; by means of: by, through, via
4Proto-Germanicþurhwthrough
5Proto-Indo-Europeantr̥h₂kʷe—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanterh₂-to cross over, pass through, overcome

Words derived from “thru”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European terh₂- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European tr̥h₂kʷe →Every word from Proto-Germanic þurhw →