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Origin and history of throw

throw(v.)

"to hurl, fling, propel," early 13c., throuen, from Old English þrawan "to twist, turn, writhe, curl," (past tense þreow, past participle þrawen, geþrawen), from Proto-Germanic *threw- (source also of Old Saxon thraian, Middle Dutch dræyen, Dutch draaien, Old High German draen, German drehen "to turn, twist;" not found in Scandinavian or Gothic). This is reconstructed to be from PIE root *tere- (1) "to rub, turn," with derivatives referring to twisting.

Not the usual Old English word for "to throw" (weorpan, related to warp (v.) was common in this sense). The sense evolution may be via the notion of whirling a missile before throwing it. The "twist, turn" senses in the English word survived in dialect and technical use.

As "emit, send forth" beams of light, etc., late 14c. In wrestling, "cast or pull to the ground," c. 1300. As "deliver" (a blow, punch) from late 15c. The sense of "put by force" (as in throw in jail) is attested by 1550s.

Of a horse shedding itself of a rider, from 1530s. Of a domestic animal, "produce offspring, drop, give birth," by 1845. The meaning "confuse, flabbergast" is from 1844.

The transitive meaning "lose (a race, game) deliberately, allow another to win unnecessarily or by prior agreement" is by 1868, U.S. colloquial. To throw (someone) off "confuse by a false scent, put off the right track" is from 1891.

To throw a party was in U.S. college slang by 1916. To throw a switch is by 1930. To throw the book at (someone) is 1932, from notion of judge sentencing a criminal from a law book full of possible punishments.

To throw on "don" (armor, clothes) is from late 14c. To throw off "cast off or away, get rid of hurriedly or forcibly" is by 1610s. To throw up is from early 15c. in reference to a sigh; by 1670s as "give up, resign, abandon, cease to do;" by 1732 as "to vomit." To throw together "put together hastily or roughly" is from 1711.

also from early 13c.

throw(n.)

"act of throwing or flinging," 1520s, from throw (v.); stone's throw, "distance one can cast a stone" as a rough measure of distance is from early 14c. As "a cast of the dice" (hence "risk, venture"), by 1570s. The wrestling sense "act of tossing to the ground" is attested by 1819.

also from 1520s

Entries linking to throw

warp(v.)

"to bend, twist, distort," c. 1400, a sense shift in Middle English werpen "hasten, rush toward; throw, fling, hurl;" from Old English weorpan "to throw, throw away, hit with a missile."

This is from Proto-Germanic *werpanan "to fling by turning the arm" (source also of Old Saxon werpan, Old Norse verpa "to throw," Swedish värpa "to lay eggs," Old Frisian werpa, Middle Low German and Dutch werpen, German werfen, Gothic wairpan "to throw").

The Germanic word is reconstructed to be from PIE *werp- "to turn, wind, bend," from root *wer- (2) "to turn, bend." The prehistoric connection between "turning" and "throwing" is perhaps rotating the arm in the act of throwing; compare Old Church Slavonic vrešti "to throw," from the same PIE root.

In English, the meaning "become crooked or bent" is by late 14c.; the transitive sense of "twist or bend (something) out of shape, give a cast to turn out of straightness or proper shape" is by c. 1400.

Hence the extended or figurative senses of "pervert, distort, turn from rectitude" (judgment, vision, etc.), attested by 1590s; in reference to accounts, facts, by 1717. Related: Warped; warping.

Also, via the old notion of "throw, hurl," the verb in Middle English could mean "expel, cast out; produce (crops); shed horns (of an animal); utter (words, a cry); take off clothing." As "lay a warp in preparation for weaving" it is attested by c. 1300, of a spider.

Nautical warping (1510s) is "working (a vessel) forward by means of a rope fastened to something fixed;" compare warp-rope (late 13c.).

cast(v.)

c. 1200, "throw, throw violently, fling, hurl," from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse kasta "to throw" (cognate with Swedish kasta, Danish kaste, North Frisian kastin), a word of uncertain origin.

The meaning "to form in a mold" is late 15c. In the sense of "to throw" it replaced Old English weorpan (see warp (v.)), and itself largely has been superseded by throw, though cast still is used of fishing lines (17c.) and glances (13c.).

From c. 1300 as "emit, give out;" also "throw to the ground;" also "shed or throw off;" also "calculate, find by reckoning; chart (a course)." From late 14c. as "to calculate astrologically." From late 15c. as "bring forth abortively or prematurely." From 1711 as "distribute the parts (of a play) among the actors." Of votes, from 1840, American English. To cast up is from 1530s as "compute, reckon" (accounts, etc.), late 15c. as "eject, vomit."