threshold 
atious in inflection), mod. tlirogknl(ir(also threps- 
Igoldr, simulating tlirep, a ledge) = Sw. troskel, 
dial. traskuld = Norw. treskald, treskaU, treskjel, 
treskcl = Dan. tserskel, threshold; the variations 
of form indicate that the terminal element was 
not understood; it is prob. therefore a some- 
what disguised form of a suffix, the formation 
being prob. < AS. 'threscan, tlierscan, thresh, 
tread, trample, + -old, corruptly -wold, a trans- 
posed form of an old formative -o-tlilo-, ap- 
pearing also as -thol, -thel; the lit. sense being 
then 'that which is trodden on,' i. e. 'a tread' 
(cf. tread, the part of a step or stair that is 
trodden on), thcrscan, thresh, being taken in 
the sense 'tread, trample' (as in Goth.). In 
the common view the second element -wold is 
supposed to stand for AS. weald, North, wald, 
wood, and the compound to mean 'a piece of 
wood trodden on' ; but AS. weald does not mean 
' wood, timber' (the proper sense being ' a wood, 
a forest' : see wold 1 ), and it would not take the 
form -wold, much less -old, in the AS. period, 
except by corruption (it is possible, however, 
that some thought of weald led to the otherwise 
unexplained alteration of -old to -wold); more- 
over, the element corresponding to weald does 
not appear in the other Teut. forms. A third 
view explains the threshold as orig. "a thresh- 
ing-floor, because in ancient times the floor at 
the entrance was used for threshing" (Cleasby 
and Vigfusson); but the threshing could not 
have been accomplished on the narrow sills 
which form thresholds, and it was only in com- 
paratively few houses that threshing was done 
at all.] 1. The plank, stone, or piece of timber 
which lies at the bottom of a door, or under 
it, particularly the door of a dwelling-house, 
church, temple, or other building; a door-sill; 
hence, entrance; gate; door. 
Ther with the nyghtspel seyde he anon rightes 
On foure halves of the hous aboute, 
And on the thresshfold of the dore withoute. 
Chaucer, Miller's Tale, 1. 296. 
Still at hell's dark threshold to have sat watch. 
Milton, P. L., x. 594. 
Forward leaped she o'er the threshold, 
Eager as a glancing surf. Lowell, The Captive. 
2. Hence, the place or point of entering or be- 
ginning; outset: as, he is now at the threshold 
of his argument. 
The fair new forms 
That float about the threshold of an age, 
Like truths of Science waiting to be caught. 
Tennyson, Golden Year. 
3. In psychol., the limit below which a given 
stimulus, or the difference between two stim- 
uli, ceases to be perceptible. Compare schwelle. 
Dweller on the threshold. See dweller. Stimulus 
threshold. See stimulus. 
threshwoldt, thresshfoldt, n. Middle English 
forms of threshold. 
Threskiornis (thres-ki-6r'nis), n. [NL. (G. R. 
Gray, 1841 or 1842), also, by error, Thereschiornis 
(Brehm, 1855), < Gr. Bpriansia, dpijama, worship, 
< tpqaicefxtv. hold in religious awe, venerate, < 
Bprjanoi;, religious, + opvig, bird.] A genus of 
ibises, or a section of the genus Ibis, based on 
the sacred ibis of Egypt, commonly called Ibis 
religiosa, but named T. lethiopicus by Gray, who 
restricted Ibis itself to certain American forms 
(after Moehriug, 1752). As Moehring is inadmissible 
in binomial nomenclature, most authors use Ibii for this 
genus, of which Threskiornis thus becomes a strict syn- 
onym. The species named is one of the most famous of 
birds, venerated by the ancient Egyptians on theological 
grounds, and in a new light awesome to modern Britons 
as the vahan or vehicle of the British Ornithologists' 
Union. It is white, with bill, head, and upper part of the 
neck black, and a large black train of decomposed fea- 
thers overrides the tail. This bird is the prototype of 
the ibis-headed deities frequently represented in Egyptian 
religious art. 
threstet, . A Middle English form of thrust 1 . 
threstillt, n. An obsolete form of throstle. 
threstle (thres'l), n. [A corruption of trestle 1 , 
appar. simulating three (cf. thribble, for treble, 
triple).] In her., a three-legged stool. Compare 
trestle 1 , 3. 
threstulet, n. An old form of trestle. 
threswoldt, . A Middle English form of thresh- 
old, Chaucer. 
threte. A Middle English form of threat. 
threttenet, a. An obsolete form of thirteen. 
thretty, a. An obsolete or dialectal form of 
thirty. 
threvet, ". A Middle English variant of thrave. 
threw (thro). Preterit of throw 1 . 
threyet, adv. A Middle English form of thrie$. 
thribble (thrib'l), a. [A dial. var. of triple, 
treble, simulating three, thrice.'] Treble ; triple 
threefold. [Prov. Eng.] 
6310 
thrice (thris), ode. [< ME. thries, thryes, thrives 
(= MHG. dries), with adv. gen. -es, < thrie, three : 
see time 2 . Cf. once 1 , twice.] 1. Three times. 
And in that same Gardyn Seynt Petre denyed oure Lord 
thryes. Mandeville, Travels, p. 13. 
JVince-blessed they that master so their blood. 
Shak., M. N. D., i. 1. 74. 
Thrice he assay'd, and thrice, in spite of scorn, 
Tears such as angels weep burst forth. 
Milton, P. L., i. 619. 
2. Hence, iii a general sense, repeatedly; em- 
phatically; fully. 
Thrice is he armed that hath his quarrel just. 
Shak., 2 Hen. VI., iii. 2. 233. 
thrice-COCk (thiis'kok), . [A corruption of 
* thrush-cock.] The mistlethrush. [Prov. Eng.] 
thrid 1 ! (thrid), n. [A var. of thread through 
the form tlireed, the long ee being shortened as 
in breeches, threepence, been, etc.] Same as 
thread. 
And make his bridle a bottom of thrid, 
To roll up how many miles you have rid. 
B. Jonson, Masque of Queens. 
thrid 1 (thrid), v. t. ; pret. and pp. thridded, ppr. 
thridding. Same as thread. [Obsolete or ar- 
chaic.] 
Uncle, good uncle, see ! the thin starv'd rascal, 
The eating Roman, see where he thrids the thickets ! 
Fletcher, Bondnca, iv. 2. 
"Glory to God," she sang, and past afar, 
Thridding the sombre boskage of the wood. 
Tennyson, Fair Women. 
thrid 2 (thrid), a. A Middle English or dialectal 
form of third 1 . 
thridace (thrid'as), n. [F., < NL. thridacium, 
q. v.] Same as thridacium. 
thridacium (thri-da'si-um), n. [NL., < L. thri- 
dax (-oc-), < Gr. BpiSal- (-an-), Attic ffpiSaKhr/, let- 
tuce.] The inspissated juice of lettuce, differ- 
ing from lactucarium in being obtained by ex- 
pression instead of incision, and in not being 
concreted. In England it is derived from Lactuca m- 
rosa, wild lettuce, in France from garden lettuce ; the lat- 
ter article is sometimes called French lactucarium. 
thriddet, a. Third. Chaucer. 
thriddent. a. Same as threaden. 
thriddendelet, Same as thirdendeal. 
thrie 1 !, A Middle English form of three. 
thrie 2 t, thryet, adv. [ME., also threye, threowe, 
thrien, < AS. thritca, thrywa, thriga(= OS. thriwo 
thriio = OFries. thria, thrija), three times, < 
thred, thrie, three: see three.] Three times; 
thrice. 
This nyght thrye 
To goode mote it tome of you I mette. 
Chaucer, Troilus, ii. 89. 
Fetter, I saye thee sickerlye, 
Or the cocke have crowen thrye 
Thou shalle forsake my companye. 
Chester Plays, ii. 26. (HalliweU.) 
thriest, adv. A Middle English form of thrice. 
Chaucer. 
thrifallow (thri'fal-6), v. t. [Also thryfallow, 
trif allow; < ME. thrie, thrye, thrice (see Wine 2 ), 
+ fallow*. Cf . twifallow.] To plow or fallow 
for the third time before sowing. Tusser. 
thrift (thrift), n. [< ME. thrift, < Icel. thrift 
(= Sw. Dan. drift), thrift, < thrifa (refl. thri- 
faslc), thrive : see thrive.] If. The condition 
of one who thrives; luck; fortune; success; 
prosperity. 
"Goode thrift have ye," quod Eleyne the queene. 
Chaucer, Troilus, ii. 1687. 
No, let the candied tongue lick absurd pomp, 
And crook the pregnant hinges of the knee 
Where thrift may follow fawning. 
Shak., Hamlet, iii. 2. 67. 
2. Frugality; economical management ; econo- 
my ; good husbandry. 
The rest, . . . willing to fall to thrift, prove very good 
husbands. Spenser, State of Ireland. 
It is one degree of thrift ... to bring our debts into 
as few hands as we can. Donne, Sermons, ix. 
3. [A particular use, with ref. to vigorous 
growth.] A plant of the genus Armeria, of the 
order Plumbagineee, a genus much resembling 
Statice, the marsh-rosemary, except that the 
flowers are gathered into globular heads. The 
common thrift is A. mlgaris (A. maritima), a plant 
abounding on the shores, also in the mountains, of the 
northern Old World, found also on the western coast of 
North America, and appearing again in the southern hem- 
isphere beyond the tropics. It grows in tufts of several 
leafless stalks from a rosette of many narrow radical 
leaves. The flowers are pink or sometimes white, dis- 
posed in dense heads. The plant is often cultivated for 
borders. Old or local names are lady's^unhian, sea-pink, 
the Mediterranean region, is highly recommended 'for 
gardens, but is somewhat tender. 
thrill 
Their slender household fortunes (for the man 
Had risk'd his little), like the little thrift, 
Tremhled in perilous places o'er a deep. 
Tennyson, Sea Dreams. 
4. Same as thrift-box Lavender thrift, a name 
for species of Statice, especially S. Limonium.fiickly 
thrift, a plant of the genus Acantholimon, of the Plum- 
bagitiex, of which some species, as A. glurnaceum, are 
choice border-plants. TO bid good thriftt, to wish well 
to ; congratulate. Chaucer. Syn. 2. Frugality, etc. See 
economy. 
thrift-box (thrift'boks), n. A small box for 
keeping savings; a money-box. Also called 
appren tice-box. 
thriftily (thrif ti-li), adv. [< ME. thriftily; < 
thrifty + -/# 2 .] 1. In a thrif ty manner ; fru- 
gally; carefully; with the carefulness and pru- 
dence which characterize good husbandry; 
economically. 
Hee hurd tell of a towne thriftily walled, 
A citie sett by peece with full siker wardes. 
AKsaunder of Macedoine (E. E. T. S.), 1. 1208. 
2f. Punctiliously; politely. 
A yong clerk romynge by hymself they mette, 
Which that in Latin thriftily hem grette. 
Chaucer, Franklin's Tale, 1. 446. 
thriftiness (thrif 'ti-nes), . [< thrifty + -ness.] 
The character of being thrifty; frugality; good 
husbandry. 
Indeed I wonder'd that your wary thriftiness, 
Not wont to drop one penny in a quarter 
Idly, would part with such a sum so easily. 
Tomkis ('/), Albumazar, iii. 1. 
thriftless (thrift'les), . [< thrift + -less.] 1. 
Having no thrift, frugality, or good manage- 
ment ; profuse ; extravagant. 
He shall spend mine honour with his shame, 
As thriftless sons their scraping fathers' gold. 
Shak., Rich. II., v. 3. 69. 
She had a vocation to hold in check his thriftless pro- 
pensities. E. Eggleston, The Graysons, xxiv. 
2f. Producing no gain ; unprofitable. 
What thriftless sighs shall poor Olivia breathe ! 
Shak., T. N., ii. 2. 40. 
thriftlessly (thrift'les-li), adv. [< thriftless + 
-ly 2 .] In a thriftless manner ; extravagantly. 
thriftlessness (thrift'les-nes), . The quality 
or state of being thriftless. 
thrifty (thrif 'ti), a. [< ME. thrifty (= Sw. Dan. 
driftig); < thrift + -y 1 .} 1. Characterized by 
thrift; frugal; sparing; careful; economical; 
saving; using economy and good management. 
Thou dost impudently to make a thrifty purchase of 
boldnesse to thy selfe out of the painfull merits of other 
men. Milton, Church-Government, ii., Int. 
Thrifty housewives and industrious spinsters. 
Irving, Knickerbocker, p. K3. 
2. Thriving; flourishing; successful; prosper- 
ous; fortunate. 
He is as wys, discret, and as secree 
As any man I woot of his degree, 
And therto manly and eek servisable, 
And for to been a thrifty man right able. 
Chaucer, Merchant's Tale, 1. 668. 
The houses were large and comfortable, and the people 
had a thrifty, prosperous, and satisfied air. 
S. Taylor, Northern Travel, p. 44. 
3f. Well-husbanded. 
I have five hundred crowns, 
The thrifty hire I saved under your father. 
Shak., As you Like it, ii. 3. 39. 
Keep them from wronging others, or neglect 
Of duty in themselves ; correct the blood 
With thrifty bits and labour. 
Fletcher, Faithful Shepherdess, v. 5. 
4f. Showing marks of thrif t ; expensive; rich. 
Why is my neighebores wyf so gay? 
She is honoured over al ther she gooth ; 
I sitte at hoom, I have no thrifty clooth. 
Chaucer, Prol. to Wife of Bath's Tale, 1. 238.- 
5f. Useful; profitable. 
Good men, herkeneth everich on, 
This was a thrifty tale for the nones. 
Chaucer, Prol. to Shipman's Tale, 1. 3. 
= Syn. 1. See economy. 
thrill 1 (thril), v. [< ME. thrillen, thryllen, a 
transposed form of thirlen, thyrlen, E. thirl: see 
thirl 1 . Cf. trilll, drill 1 .] I. trans. If. To 
bore; pierce; perforate; drill; thirl. Compare 
thirfl-, 1. 
He cowde his comyng not forbere, 
Though ye him thrilled with a spere. 
Rom. of the Rose, 1. 7634. 
2. To penetrate or permeate with a sudden 
wave of feeling, as of pleasure, pity, remorse, 
etc.; affect or fill with a tingling emotion or 
sensation. Compare thirl 1 , 2. 
A servant that he bred, thritt'd with remorse, 
Opposed against the act. Shak., Lear, iv. 2. 73. 
How calm a moment may precede 
One that shall thrill the world forever! 
A. Dommett, Christmas Hymn. 
His deep voice thrillrd the awe-struck, listening folk. 
William Morris, Earthly Paradise, I. 415. 
