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throe

  [throh]
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–noun
1. a violent spasm or pang; paroxysm.
2. a sharp attack of emotion.
3. throes,
a. any violent convulsion or struggle: the throes of battle.
b. the agony of death.
c. the pains of childbirth.
Origin:
1150–1200; ME throwe, alter. of thrawe (-o- from OE thrōwian to suffer, be in pain), OE thrawu; c. ON thrā (in līkthrā leprosy)

Synonyms:
3a. upheaval, tumult, chaos, turmoil.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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throe   (thrō)   
n.  
  1. A severe pang or spasm of pain, as in childbirth. See Synonyms at pain.
  2. throes A condition of agonizing struggle or trouble: a country in the throes of economic collapse.

[Middle English throwe, perhaps alteration of thrawe, from Old English thrawu, genitive of thrēah, pain, affliction.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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.

Prodogious motion felt, and rueful throes. --Milton.

2. A tool for splitting wood into shingles; a frow.

Throe

Throe\, v. i. To struggle in extreme pain; to be in agony; to agonize.

Throe

Throe\, v. t. To put in agony. [R.] --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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throe 
c.1200, throwe "pain, pang of childbirth, agony of death," possibly from O.E. þrawan "twist, turn, writhe" (see throw), or altered from O.E. þrea (gen. þrawe) "affliction, pang, evil, threat" (related to þrowian "to suffer"), from P.Gmc. *thrawo (cf. M.H.G. dro "threat," Ger. drohen "to threaten"). Modern spelling first recorded 1615.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: throe
Pronunciation: 'thrO
Function: noun
: PANG, SPASM —usually used in plural throes> <throes of childbirth>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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throe

see in the throes.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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