different between beneath vs through

English

Alternative forms

• beneathe (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English benethe, from Old English bineoþan (“beneath, under, below”), equivalent to be- +? neath. Cognate with Low German benedden (“beneath”), Dutch beneden (“beneath, under, down”), obsolete German benieden (“below”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /b??ni??/
• Rhymes: -i??

Adverb

beneath

1. Below or underneath.

Translations

Preposition

beneath

1. Below.
   • 1718, Alexander Pope, epitaph to Nicholas Rowe

     Beneath a rude and nameless stone he lies.
2. In a position that is lower in rank, dignity, etc.
   • a. 1730, Francis Atterbury, in The Grub-Street Journal, Volume 1

     He will do nothing that is beneath his high station.

3. Covered up or concealed by something.

Translations

English

Alternative forms

• thoo (eye dialect)
• thorough (obsolete, except in compounds such as thoroughfare)
• thorow (obsolete)
• thro' (abbreviation)
• throughe (obsolete)
• thru (US, colloquial)
• thrue (obsolete)

Etymology 1

From Middle English thrugh, thruch, thruh, metathetic variants of thurgh, thurh, from Old English þorh, þurh, þerh, þærh (“through, for, during, by, by means of, by use of, because of, in consequence of”), from Proto-Germanic *þurhw (“through”), from Proto-Indo-European *tr?h?k?e, suffixed zero-grade from *terh?- (“to pass through”) + *-k?e (“and”). Cognate with Scots throch (“through”), West Frisian troch (“through”), Dutch door (“through”), German durch (“through”), Gothic ???????????????????? (þairh, “through”), Latin trans (“across, over, through”), Albanian tërthor (“through, around”), Welsh tra (“through”). See also thorough.

Pronunciation

• enPR: thro?o
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??u?/, [??????]
• (General American) IPA^(key): /??u/, [?????u]
• Hyphenation: through
• Homophones: threw, thru

Preposition

through

1. From one side of an opening to the other.
2. Entering, then later leaving.
   • Turning back, then, toward the basement staircase, she began to grope her way through blinding darkness, but had taken only a few uncertain steps when, of a sudden, she stopped short and for a little stood like a stricken thing, quite motionless save that she quaked to her very marrow in the grasp of a great and enervating fear.
3. Surrounded by (while moving).
4. By means of.
5. In consequence of; as a result of.
   • 2012, Dimitri Yanuli, You Might Be Right, but You Ain't Right with the Word of God

     Our minds and hearts are corrupted with the Adamic virus at birth, and through a lifetime of sin and tragedy, our hearts and thoughts get more evil and more corrupted as we experience life's tragedies.

6. (Canada, US) To (or up to) and including, with all intermediate values.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Adjective

through (not comparable)

1. Passing from one side of something to the other.
   • 1994, Don A. Halperin, G. Thomas Bible, Principles of Timber Design for Architects and Builders (page 137)

     It is possible to use a through bolt so that the bolt will be loaded axially, but usually axial loads are only components of the total load on the bolt.

2. Finished; complete.

3. Without a future; done for.

4. No longer interested; wearied or turned off by experience.

   • “I'm through with all pawn-games,” I laughed. “Come, let us have a game of lansquenet. Either I will take a farewell fall out of you or you will have your sevenfold revenge”.
5. Proceeding from origin to destination without delay due to change of equipment.

6. (soccer) In possession of the ball beyond the last line of defence but not necessarily the goalkeeper; through on goal.
   • 2015, Steve Grossi, SWFL1: Missed Chances See Swifts Relinquish Top Spot

     With the Swifts calling for offside the striker was through and only a great save from McIlravey prevented the opener.

Adverb

through (not comparable)

1. From one side to the other by way of the interior.

   The arrow went straight through.

2. From one end to the other.

   Others slept; he worked straight through.

   She read the letter through.

3. To the end.

   He said he would see it through.

4. Completely.

   Leave the yarn in the dye overnight so the color soaks through.

5. Out into the open.

   The American army broke through at St. Lo.

Noun

through (plural throughs)

1. A large slab of stone laid in a dry-stone wall from one side to the other; a perpend.

Translations

References

• Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "Bounded landmarks", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition, Cambridge University Press, 2003, 0-521-81430 8

Etymology 2

From Middle English thrugh, þrou?, throgh, from Old English þr?h (“trough, conduit, pipe; box, chest; coffin, tomb”), from Proto-Germanic *þr?hs (“excavated trunk, trough”), from Proto-Indo-European *terh?u- (“to rub, turn, drill, bore”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???f/, /??u?/
• Hyphenation: through

Noun

through (plural throughs)

1. (obsolete) A coffin, sarcophagus or tomb of stone; a large slab of stone laid on a tomb.