Thwart definition
They thwarted her plans.
An example of thwart is when you catch your kids in the process of sneaking out.
The fisherman sat on the aft thwart to row.
Origin of thwart
- Middle English thwerten from thwert across from Old Norse thvert neuter of thverr transverse terkw- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- From Old Norse þvert "˜across', originally neut. of thverr (transverse, across), cognates include Old English þweorh (transverse, perverse, angry, cross), Danish tvær, Gothic 𐌸𐍅𐌰𐌹𐍂𐍃 (þwaírs, “angry"), Dutch dwars (cross-grained, contrary), German quer, from Proto-Germanic *þwerhaz, altered by influence of Proto-Germanic *þweranÄ… (to turn) from Proto-Germanic *þerh-, from Proto-Indo-European *twork-/*twerk- (twist).
From Wiktionary