Word of the Day

: January 20, 2016

thew

noun THOO

What It Means

1 a : muscular power or development 

b : strength, vitality

2 : muscle, sinew — usually used in plural

thew in Context

"In Rocco's melodramatically murky illustrations, men and women alike display rippling thews and plenty of skin as they battle ravening monsters." — Kirkus Reviews, 22 July 2015

"As soon as his right arm received thew and sinew he learned to draw the long bow and speed a true arrow." — J. Walker McSpadden, Robin Hood and His Merry Outlaws, 1923

Did You Know?

Thew has had a long, difficult past during which it discovered its strengths and weaknesses. In Middle English it carried a number of meanings, referring to a custom, habit, personal quality, or virtue. The word began to tire in the 16th century but was soon revitalized with a new meaning: it began to be used specifically for the quality of physical strength and later for the muscles demonstrating that quality. In time, the word buddied up with sinew in both literal and figurative turns of phrase, as in "the thews and sinews of my body ached" and "their love affair was the thew and sinew of the story."