Thew
/θjuː/noun
A sinew, tendon, or muscular strength, especially in poetic or archaic usage.
Did you know?In Old English, *þēaw* meant a custom or habit, but *thew* developed separately from a Germanic root for ‘strength’ and survived mainly in poetic language, where it evokes the body as a weaponized machine.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*teu-
“to swell, be strong, or be vigorous”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*þeuhwaz
“strength, sinew, muscular power”
Old English
OE
þēaw
“custom, behavior, habit”
Middle English
ME
thew
“sinew; bodily strength or muscular power”
Modern English
English
thew
“a sinew or muscular strength, chiefly in literary or archaic use”