though English · revision 1998

− 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)

− 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)