Where does “thru” come from?

Through comes from Middle English thrugh and thurgh, from Old English þuruh, from Proto-Germanic þurhw, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European terh₂-, a root meaning to cross or pierce.

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- →