# thew

> English word · Noun · IPA /θjuː/ · frequency rank #78,195

## Definitions
1. An attractive physical attribute; also, physical, mental, or moral strength or vigour.
2. An aspect of the body which indicates physical strength; hence, muscle and/or sinew; muscular development.
3. A way of behaving; hence, a characteristic, a trait.
4. A good characteristic or habit; a virtue.

## Etymology
From Middle English theu, thew (“way of behaving towards others, bearing, manners; habit, practice; good manners, courtesy; characteristic act; characteristic, trait; custom, tradition; established rule, ordinance; injunction; moral character; (in the plural) set of moral principles, morals; moral quality, virtue or vice; might, power, strength”) [and other forms] (often in the plural form theus, thewes), from Old English þēaw (“general practice of a community, custom, usage; mode of conduct, behaviour, manner; (in the plural) customs, virtue”) [and other forms], from Proto-West Germanic *þauw, from Proto-Germanic *þawwaz (“custom; habit”); further etymology uncertain, tentatively identified by the Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen (Etymological Dictionary of Old High German) as a reflex of an s-less variant of Proto-Indo-European *(s)tāu-, *(s)te- (“to stand; to place”), from *steh₂- (“to stand (up)”).
Cognates
* Old Frisian thāw
* Old High German dau, thau (“coercion; discipline; tuition”)
* Old Saxon thau (“custom, usage; habit”)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/thew