Thresh
/θrɛʃ/noun
To beat or separate grain from its husks, or to move or work slowly and laboriously.
Did you know?Thresh is an old Germanic word tied to the physical act of beating grain, and its deep root also survives in words like thrash and threshing-floor, where labor was once so violent it shaped the language itself.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ter-
“to rub, grind, or wear down”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*þreskaną
“to thresh, beat grain”
Old English
OE
þerscan
“to thresh, beat out grain”
Middle English
ME
threschen
“to thresh grain by beating”
Modern English
English
thresh
“to separate grain from husks by beating; later, to move or work laboriously”