Standard Lemma guide

tho

adv · article · conj · noun · pron · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ðəʊ/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ðoʊ/
  • rhymes with -əʊ
  • West-Country: /ðə/
  • homophone: the
  • CMU ARPABET: DH OW1 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adv

Meaning 1

Then; thereupon.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: dialectal, not-comparable

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.
  • 1642, Henry More, Song Soulː Tho I gan closely on his person look.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adv

Meaning 2

Nonstandard spelling of though.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: alt-of, nonstandard, not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

article

Meaning 3

The (plural form); those.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: West-Country, obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

conj

Meaning 4

When.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: dialectal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

Initialism of tritiated water (“3H-1H-O, tritium-protium water”)

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

pron

Meaning 6

Those; they.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

a branch of the Tai languages

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: Tai

History

Etymology

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”).

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'.

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.