though English · revision 1987

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited, borrowing|attested=c. 1200 (Ormulum)|origins=ine-pro *to-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ðəʊ/, US /ðoʊ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|thohh]] (about 1200, in the Ormulum),^(Barnhart 1988) which partly continues [[ang|þēah]] and is partly [[bor|non|þó]];^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the Norse forms replaced the Old English ones in Middle English.^(COED 2004)^(NODE 1998)^(SOED 2002) Both come from [[gem-pro|*þauh]], cognate with [[ofs|thach]], [[osx|thoh]], [[nl|doch]], [[goh|doh]] (modern [[de|doch]]) and [[got|𐌸𐌰𐌿𐌷|tr=þauh]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) The Germanic word probably joins a demonstrative base, from [[ine-pro|*to-]] (as in [[that]] and [[the]]), with a particle matching [[la|-que|t=and]], so that it first meant “and yet”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Notwithstanding that, conceding that (about 1200).^(Etymonline) Old English ''þēah'', recorded before 899, meant “though, although, even if” and also “however, nevertheless”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==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.^(Etymonline) The adverb “however, nevertheless”, placed after a statement (''she sings well, though''), goes back to Old English,^(Barnhart 1988)^(HTOED) and the colloquial intensive use (''did he, though?'') is from 1905.^(HTOED)^(AHD) The sense “on condition that” was used from Old English until 1711.^(HTOED) [[although|alt=Although]], originally ''all though'', began as an emphatic form of ''though''.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 899 – Old English ''þēah''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 971 – adverb ''þēah''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1200 – ''thohh'' (''Ormulum'').^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1300–1750 – pronunciations ending in -f.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1378 – ''thowgh''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1711 – last record of the sense “on condition that”.^(HTOED)

+ * 1905 – colloquial intensive use.^(HTOED)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Conjunction===

+ # Despite the fact that; [[although]]: ''though it was late, we stayed''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Even if; supposing that.^(AHD)

+ # ''as though'': as if.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # However, nevertheless: ''it was cold, sunny though''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Used for emphasis: ''did she, though?''^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+

+ ==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.^(Wiktionary) The informal spelling ''tho''' is recorded by the SOED.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}