Threw

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /θɹuː/

Definitions

1. To have propelled an object in a specific direction by applying forces, often with a sudden motion
2. To have launched and sent something airborne by exerting energy or power
3. Moved an object through the air by a quick arm motion as its past action

Etymology: "Threw" is the past tense of "throw", and its surprising feature is that it came from a different verb entirely. Old English had "þrāwan", meaning to turn or twist, and its past tense "þrēow" meant "turned" or "twisted" rather than "hurled". Over the centuries the sense of twisting narrowed and then shifted toward flinging an object, so the past form carried a meaning of motion that was originally about rotation. The verb's roots reach back to Proto-Germanic "þrēaną", which was itself a reduplicated form. Reduplication, repeating part of a root, was a common way Germanic languages marked past tenses, and "þeþrō" shows that pattern. Over time the past tense "þrēow" was carried forward through Middle English as "threw" and eventually became the form we use today.

Synonyms: cast, flung, lobbed, tossed, hurled

Antonyms: caught, held, retained, kept, secured