theow
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See also: þeow
English
Etymology
From Middle English theu, thewe (“servant; one bound in service to another, serf; disciple or servant of God; created being; servant of the devil; (figuratively) servant to sin, wealth, etc.”) ,[1] from Old English þēow, þēo (“servant; slave”) , from Proto-West Germanic *þeu (“slave”), from Proto-Germanic *þewaz, *þegwaz (“servant; slave”), from Proto-Indo-European *tekwos (“runner”), from Proto-Indo-European *tekʷ- (“to run; to flow”).[2]
cognates
Noun
theow (plural theows)
- (historical) A bondman or bondwoman; a slave.
- Synonym: thrall
References
- ^ “theu, n.(3)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
- ^ Compare “theow | thew, n. and adj.”, in OED Online
, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2021.
