thew · noun1
- Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*(s)tāu-
- Proto-Germanic · inherited from*þawwaz“custom; habit”
- Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*þauw
- Old English · inherited fromþēaw“general practice of a community, custom, usage; mode of conduct, behaviour, manner; (in the plural) customs, virtue”
- Middle English · inherited fromtheu
- English todaythew
From Middle English theu, thew (“way of behaving towards others, bearing, manners; habit, practice; good manners, courtesy; characteristic act; characteristic, trait; custom, tradition; established rule, ordinance; injunction; moral character; (in the plural) set of moral principles, morals; moral quality, virtue or vice; might, power, strength”) [and other forms] (often in the plural form theus, thewes), from Old English þēaw (“general practice of a community, custom, usage; mode of conduct, behaviour, manner; (in the plural) customs, virtue”) [and other forms], from Proto-West Germanic *þauw, from Proto-Germanic *þawwaz (“custom; habit”); further etymology uncertain, tentatively identified by the Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen (Etymological Dictionary of Old High German) as a reflex of an s-less variant of Proto-Indo-European *(s)tāu-, *(s)te- (“to stand; to place”), from *steh₂- (“to stand (up)”). Cognates * Old Frisian thāw * Old High German dau, thau (“coercion; discipline; tuition”) * Old Saxon thau (“custom, usage; habit”)
thew · verb2
- Middle English · inherited fromtheuen
- English todaythew
From Middle English theuen, thewe (“to instruct in morals or values; to teach, train”) [and other forms], from theu, thew (noun) (see etymology 1) + -en (suffix forming the infinitives of verbs).
Thew · proper noun3
- Middle English · derived fromthew“thrall, slave”
- English todayThew
From Middle English thew (“thrall, slave”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.