throe

Noun

WordNet 3.0

Noun (2)

  1. severe spasm of pain“the throes of dying”“the throes of childbirth”
  2. hard or painful trouble or struggle“a country in the throes of economic collapse”
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Throe \Throe\, n. [OE. [thorn]rowe, [thorn]rawe, AS. [thorn]re['a] a threatening, oppression, suffering, perhaps influenced by Icel. [thorn]r[=a] a throe, a pang, a longing; cf. AS. [thorn]reowian to suffer.]

1.Extreme pain; violent pang; anguish; agony; especially, one of the pangs of travail in childbirth, or purturition. [1913 Webster]

Prodogious motion felt, and rueful throes.— Milton.[1913 Webster]

2.A tool for splitting wood into shingles; a frow. [1913 Webster]

Throe \Throe\, v. i. To struggle in extreme pain; to be in agony; to agonize. [1913 Webster]
Throe \Throe\, v. t. To put in agony. [R.] --Shak. [1913 Webster]
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