Meanings
tho1
tho2
- dialectalnot comparableThen; thereupon.
1642, Henry More, Song Soulː Tho I gan closely on his person look.
3 more examples
1481, William Caxton, The History Reynard the Foxː Tho went I near and found Master Reynard, that had left that he first read and sang, and began to play his old play.
Tho to a hill his faynting flocke he ledde.
1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], “Ianuarye. Ægloga Prima.”, in The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Hugh Singleton, […], →OCLCTho, her avizing of the vertues rare / Which thereof spoken were, she gan againe / Her to bethink of that mote to her selfe pertaine.
1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC
- dialectalWhen.
tho3
- nonstandardnot comparableNonstandard spelling of though.
I wonder now when I will find time to read it but it is a treasure anyway tho heavy in my knapsack, […]
2009, John Hough, Seen the Glory: A Novel of the Battle of Gettysburg, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 1211 more example
The English are told as children that maize is food for pigs, and tho Americans eat maizebread with pleasure and have recently done so to a huge extent in order to make possible exports of wheat to Europe, the English persist in their unfounded prejudice against it.
1919 September 6, “Wanted: A Nutrition Laboratory”, in The Literary Digest, volume 62, number 10 (1533 overall), New York, N.Y.; London: Funk & Wagnalls Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, “Science and Invention” section, page 114, column 2
THO4
- abbreviationinitialismuncountableInitialism of tritiated water (“³H-¹H-O, tritium-protium water”)
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna branch of the Tai languages, spoken in central and northeast Vietnam, near China border, Cao Bang, Lang Son, Bac Giang, Bac Kan, Thai Nguyen, Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Yen Bai, and Hai Duong provinces, Bac Thai, Quang Ninh, Ha Bac, south in Lam Dong Province,Tung Nghia and Song Mao and possibly in Laos
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
tho · article, pronoun
- Proto-Indo-European*to-
- Proto-Germanic*þai“those”
- Proto-West Germanic*þai
- Old Englishþā“the, those”
- Middle Englishtho
- Englishtho
From Middle English tho, tha, from Old English þā (“the, those”, plural), from Proto-West Germanic *þai, from Proto-Germanic *þai (“those”), from Proto-Indo-European *to-, *só (“that”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian do (“the”, plural). Doublet of they.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →tho · adverb, conjunction
- Proto-Indo-European*to-
- Proto-Germanic*þa-“that”
- Old Englishþā“then, when”
- Middle Englishtho
- Englishtho
From Middle English tho, tha, from Old English þā (“then, when”), from Proto-Germanic *þa- (“that”), from Proto-Indo-European *to-, *só (“that”). See also German da (“then, thereupon”).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →tho · adverb
Simplified reform spelling. Popular in American English in the earlier 20th century. Like thru, it failed to establish itself fully, but remains in informal contexts or where brevity is needed. Compare tho'.
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with tho
All rhymes →Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
tho. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tho
“tho.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tho. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tho,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tho.
Source: tho on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.