though

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ðəʊ/, US /ðoʊ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English thohh (about 1200, in the Ormulum),^[2] which partly continues Old English þēah and is partly borrowed from Old Norse þó;^[3][2] the Norse forms replaced the Old English ones in Middle English.^[4][5][6] Both come from Proto-Germanic *þauh, cognate with Old Frisian thach, Old Saxon thoh, Dutch doch, Old High German doh (modern German doch) and Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐌿𐌷 (þauh).^[3][2][6] The Germanic word probably joins a demonstrative base, from Proto-Indo-European *to- (as in that and the), with a particle matching Latin -que (“and”), so that it first meant “and yet”.^[2][7][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Notwithstanding that, conceding that (about 1200).^[3] Old English þēah, recorded before 899, meant “though, although, even if” and also “however, nevertheless”.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The final -gh did not come to be pronounced -f, as in laugh and tough, although a pronunciation ending in -f existed from about 1300 to 1750 and survives in dialects.^[3] The adverb “however, nevertheless”, placed after a statement (she sings well, though), goes back to Old English,^[2][8] and the colloquial intensive use (did he, though?) is from 1905.^[8][9] The sense “on condition that” was used from Old English until 1711.^[8] Although, originally all though, began as an emphatic form of though.^[10]

Timeline

• before 899 – Old English þēah.^[2]
• 971 – adverb þēah.^[2]
• c. 1200 – thohh (Ormulum).^[2][3]
• c. 1300–1750 – pronunciations ending in -f.^[3]
• c. 1378 – thowgh.^[2]
• 1711 – last record of the sense “on condition that”.^[8]
• 1905 – colloquial intensive use.^[8]

Modern meaning

Conjunction

1. Despite the fact that; although: though it was late, we stayed.
2. Even if; supposing that.
3. as though: as if.

Adverb

1. However, nevertheless: it was cold, sunny though.
2. Used for emphasis: did she, though?

Word family

• although

Related words

• that
• the

Usage notes

RHWU notes a traditional objection among some conservatives to using though for although as a conjunction, but finds nothing in current usage to justify the distinction.^[10] The informal spelling tho' is recorded by the SOED.^[6]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c d e Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
10. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House