thresh

English

Etymology

From Middle English threschen, thresche, threschyn, threshen, thresshen, tressyn, þreisshe, þresshe, from Old English þerscan, þrexan, from Proto-Germanic *þreskaną (“to thresh; to tread”), from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to rub, turn; to drill, pierce”). Doublet of thrash.

Cognates

Cognate with Dutch dorsen (“to thresh; to thrash”), German and Luxembourgish dreschen (“to thresh; to thrash”), Yiddish דרעשן (dreshn, “to thresh”), Danish tærske (“to thresh”), Faroese treskja (“to thresh”), Icelandic þreskja (“to thresh”), Norwegian Nynorsk treska, treske, treskja, treskje (“to thrash”), Swedish tröska (“to thresh”), Gothic 𐌸𐍂𐌹𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌽 (þriskan, “to thresh”), Finnish rehkiä (“to drudge; to toil”); also Welsh taradr (“auger, wimble; awl, borer; drill”), Latin terō (“to rub or triturate; to wear away or wear out, consume; to tread; to press with a mill; to pass, spend”), Greek τρίβω (trívo, “to grate; to rub”), Albanian tjerr (“to spin”), Belarusian це́рці (cjérci, “to rub; to polish; to pinch; to grind”), Bulgarian три́я (tríja, “to rub; to chafe; to grind”), Czech třít (“to rub; to spawn”), Polish tarć, treć, trzeć, trzyć (“to rub; to shred; to cut; to chafe; to crush; to spawn”), Russian тере́ть (terétʹ, “to rub; to polish; to grind”), Serbo-Croatian тр̏ти, tȑti (“to rub; to cause friction; to scour; to break, crush”), Slovak trieť (“to rub”), Slovene treti (“to crack open; to rub”), Ukrainian те́рти (térty, “to rub; to scrub”), Armenian թուր (tʻur, “sword”), Sogdian ܕܣܦܪܛܪ (dsprtr, “hand towel”), Hittite 𒋻𒌑𒍣 (tar-ú-zi, “to perform a round dance, to dance in twisting manner”), Tocharian A and Tocharian B tärk- (“to allow, let; to let go”), Sanskrit तर्कु (tarku, “spindle”).

Pronunciation

  • enPR: thrĕsh, IPA(key): /θɹɛʃ/
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛʃ

Verb

thresh (third-person singular simple present threshes, present participle threshing, simple past and past participle threshed)

  1. (transitive, agriculture) To separate the grain from the straw or husks (chaff) by mechanical beating, with a flail or machinery, or by driving animals over them.
    1. (intransitive, of a crop) To be so separated, or to be capable of being so separated.
  2. (transitive, literary) To beat soundly, usually with some tool such as a stick or whip; to drub.
  3. (intransitive, literary) To violently toss the limbs about.
    • 1967, J. A. Baker, The Peregrine, page 41:
      The jay fell all lopsidedly and threshing, as though it were having a fit. The ground killed it.
  4. (transitive, literary, usually with 'over') To belabor; to go over repeatedly, especially an argument.
  5. (nautical) To drive through adverse conditions (wind, waves).

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Scots

Noun

thresh

  1. alternative form of thrash (“a rush”)
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