From LateMiddle Englishathwert,athirt,[1] froma-(prefix meaning ‘in the direction of, toward’)[2] +thwert(“crosswise; (cooking) across the grain”,adverb).Thwert is derived fromthwert(“crosswise, transverse; counter, opposing; contrary, obstinate, stubborn”,adjective),[3] borrowed fromOld Norseþvert(“across, athwart”), originally theneuter form ofþverr(“across, transverse”),[4] fromProto-Germanic*þwerhaz(“cross; adverse”) (altered or influenced byProto-Germanic*þweraną(“to stir; to swirl; to turn”)), fromProto-Germanic*þerh-, probably fromProto-Indo-European*terkʷ-(“to spin; to turn”). The English word is analysable asa-(prefix meaning ‘in the direction of, toward’) +thwart(“placed or situated across something else”).[5]
athwart (comparativemoreathwart,superlativemostathwart)(nautical)
- Fromside to side, often in anobliquemanner;across orover.
- Synonyms:(obsolete)overthwart,transversely
Above, the stars appeared to move slowlyathwart.
We placed one log on the ground, and anotherathwart, forming a crude cross.
1611, Thomas Coryate [i.e.,Thomas Coryat], “My Obseruations of Padua”, inCoryats Crudities Hastily Gobled Vp in Five Moneths Trauells […], London: […] W[illiam] S[tansby for the author],→OCLC,pages133–134, lines9–16:In the fore part of his garment vvhich couered his breaſt he vvore pretie taſſels inſteed of buttons, like to thoſe that our Engliſh Souldiers doe vveare about their bandeleers, in vvhich they put their gunnepovvder. Theſe taſſels came dovvneathvvart ouer his breaſt; truely I did invvardly reioyce to ſee his pourtraiture.
1650,Thomas Browne, “Of the Same[i.e., the Blacknesse of Negroes]”, inPseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […],→OCLC, 6th book,page282:Thus the Aſſe having a peculiar mark of a croſſe made by a black liſt down his back, and anotherathwart, or at right angles down his ſhoulders; common opinion aſcribes this figure unto a peculiar ſignation; ſince that beaſt had the honour to bear our Saviour on his back.
1796,S[amuel] T[aylor] Coleridge, “Lines on a Friend who Died of a Frenzy Fever Induced by Calumnious Reports”, inPoems on Various Subjects, London: […] G[eorge] G[eorge] and J[ohn] Robinsons, andJ[oseph] Cottle, […],→OCLC,page33:[…]Frenzy, fierce-ey'd child of moping pain, / Darts her hot lightning flaſhathvvart the brain.
1827–1879 (date written),Alfred Tennyson, “Part I”, inThe Lover’s Tale, London:C[harles] Kegan Paul & Co., […], published1879,→OCLC,page10:They come, they crowd upon me all at once— / Moved from the cloud of unforgotten things, / That sometimes on the horizon of the mind / Lies unfolded, often sweepsathwart in storm—[…]
1837,L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “A London Life”, inEthel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London:Henry Colburn, […],→OCLC,page159:But he had left the green wood, and the thousand inspirations of the wild flowers, and the shadows that flitathwart the drooping boughs, for scenes whose inspirations were thought, toil, and suffering.
1886 October –1887 January,H[enry] Rider Haggard, “Walking the Plank”, inShe: A History of Adventure, London:Longmans, Green, and Co., published1887,→OCLC,page268:Just as the first ray of the rising sun shot like a golden arrowathwart this storied desolation we gained the further gateway of the outer wall,[…]
1899 February,Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, inBlackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […],→OCLC, part I,page204, column 2:He shuffledathwart, keeping one eye ahead vigilantly.
- Across thepath of something, so as toimpedeprogress.
a fleet standingathwart our course
2021 March 26, Richard Meade,Bigger ships create bigger problems[1]:One of the world’s largest containerships wedgedathwart the Suez Canal has offered the shipping industry a timely reminder that super-sized ships can create super-sized problems
2021 May 25, “A giant container ship accidentally blocks the Suez Canal”, inThe Economist[2], London:The Economist Group,→ISSN,→OCLC:One of the world’s largest container ships was wedgedathwart the Suez Canal on March 23rd, blown off course by high winds.- (Can wearchive thisURL?)
2021 March 25, Amanda Mull, “The Big, Stuck Boat Is Glorious: The Ever Given is very big and very stuck.”, inThe Atlantic[3], Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group,→ISSN,→OCLC:The Ever Given is standingathwart one of the most important shipping lanes in the world, yelling “Oops!” She is ruining everything, and at least for the moment, she cannot be (un)stopped.- (Can wearchive thisURL?)
1791,Homer, “[The Iliad.] Book III.”, inW[illiam] Cowper, transl.,The Iliad and Odyssey of Homer, Translated into Blank Verse, […], volume I, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […],→OCLC,page69, lines90–92:[W]ith his ſpear / Advancedathvvart puſh'd back the Trojan van, / And all ſtood faſt.
- (figuratively)Against theanticipated orappropriatecourse of something;improperly,perversely,wrongly.
- Synonyms:awry,crosswise
c.1597 (date written), [William Shakespeare],The History of Henrie the Fourth; […], quarto edition, London: […] P[eter] S[hort] forAndrew Wise, […], published1598,→OCLC,[Act I, scene i]:[A]llathvvart there came / A poſt from VVales, loden vvith heauy nevves,[…]
c.1603–1604 (date written),William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, andEd[ward] Blount, published1623,→OCLC,[Act I, scene iii],page63, column 2:The Baby beates the Nurſe, and quiteathvvart / Goes all decorum.
from side to side, often in an oblique manner
—see alsoacrossacross the path of something, so as to impede progress
athwart
- From oneside to the other side of;across.
- Synonym:(obsolete)overthwart
The stars moved slowlyathwart the sky.
1590,Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto III”, inThe Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] forWilliam Ponsonbie,→OCLC, stanza 29,page226:Knit vvith a golden bauldricke, vvhich forelay /Athvvart her ſnovvy breſt, and did diuide / Her daintie paps;[…]
c.1595–1596 (date written), W. Shakespere [i.e.,William Shakespeare],A Pleasant Conceited Comedie Called, Loues Labors Lost. […] (First Quarto), London: […] W[illiam] W[hite] forCut[h]bert Burby, published1598,→OCLC; republished asShakspere’s Loves Labours Lost (Shakspere-Quarto Facsimiles;no. 5), London: W[illiam] Griggs, […],[1880],→OCLC,[Act IV, scene iii]:Did neuer Sonnet for her ſake compile, / Nor neuer lay his vvreathed armesathvvart / His louing boſome, to keepe dovvne his hart.
1736,Alexander Pope, “The Rape of the Lock […]”, inThe Works of Alexander Pope Esq. […], volume I, London: […] J[ohn] and P[aul] Knapton, H. Lintot,J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, and S. Draper, published1751,→OCLC, canto II,page142, lines75–76 and 81–82:Ye knovv the ſpheres and various taſks aſſign'd / By lavvs eternal to th' aërial kind. /[…] / Some leſs refin'd, beneath the moon's pale light / Purſue the ſtars that ſhootathvvart the night,[…]
1797,S[amuel] T[aylor] Coleridge, “Kubla Khan: Or A Vision in a Dream”, inChristabel: Kubla Khan, a Vision: The Pains of Sleep, London: […] John Murray, […], byWilliam Bulmer and Co. […], published1816,→OCLC,page56:But oh that deep romantic chasm which slanted / Down the green hillathwart a cedarn cover! / A savage place! as holy and inchanted / As e'er beneath a waning moon was haunted / By woman wailing for her demon-lover!
1907 August,Robert W[illiam] Chambers, “Afterglow”, inThe Younger Set, New York, N.Y.:D. Appleton & Company,→OCLC,page168:Breezes blowing from beds of iris quickened her breath with their perfume; she saw the tufted lilacs sway in the wind, and the streamers of mauve-tinted wistaria swinging, all a-glisten with golden bees; she saw a crimson cardinal winging through the foliage, and amorous tanagers flashing like scarlet flamesathwart the pines.
- Across thecourse orpath of, so as tomeet; hence(figuratively), to theattention of.
1642,Thomas Fuller, “The True Church Antiquary”, inThe Holy State, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Roger Daniel for John Williams, […],→OCLC, book II, paragraph 5,page71:For here our ſouls hath but one eye (the Apoſtle ſaith,vve knovv in part) be not proud if that chance to comeathvvart thy ſeeing ſide, vvhich meets with the blind ſide of another.
1794 December 24 (date written),S[amuel] T[aylor] Coleridge, “Religious Musings. A Desultory Poem, Written on the Christmas Eve of 1794.”, inPoems, […], 2nd edition, London: […] N. Briggs, forJ[oseph] Cottle, […], and Messrs.Robinsons, […], published1797,→OCLC,page145, lines383–384:O Years! the blest preeminence of Saints! / Ye sweepathwart my gaze, so heavenly-bright,[…]
- Across the course or path of, so as tooppose.
1667,John Milton, “Book II”, inParadise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […];[a]nd by Robert Boulter […];[a]nd Matthias Walker, […],→OCLC; republished asParadise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […],1873,→OCLC, lines681–684:VVhence and vvhat art thou, execrable ſhape, / That dar'ſt, though grim and terrible, advance / Thy miſcreated Frontathvvart my vvay / To yonder Gates?
1748, [Tobias Smollett], chapter III, inThe Adventures of Roderick Random. […], volume I, London: […] [William Strahan] for J[ohn] Osborn […],→OCLC,page14:Lookée, you lubberly ſon of a vv——e, if you comeathvvart me, 'vvare your ginger-bread-vvork.
1902, William James, “Lectures XIV and XV: The Value of Saintliness”, inThe Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature […] , New York, N.Y.; London:Longmans, Green, and Co. […],→OCLC,page330:It is the voice of human experience within us, judging and condemning all gods that standathwart the pathway along which it feels itself to be advancing.
2005,Tony Judt, “The Spectre of Revolution”, inPostwar: A History of Europe Since 1945, New York, N.Y.:The Penguin Press,→ISBN,page395:The new fashions were perforce addressed to the more prosperous young: the children of Europe’s white middle-class, who could afford records, concerts, shoes, clothes, make-up and modish hair-styling. But the presentation of these wares cut ostentatiouslyathwart conventional lines.
- (figuratively)
- Across;through.
1712 (date written),[Joseph] Addison,Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published1713,→OCLC, Act III, scene i,page37:And novv,athvvart the Terrors that thy Vovv / Has planted round thee, thou appear'ſt more fair, / More amiable, and riſeſt in thy Charms.
1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe],The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […],→OCLC,page19:About three in the Afternoon he came up vvith us, and bringing too by Miſtake, juſtathvvart our Quarter, inſtead ofathvvart our Stern, as he intended, vve brought 8 of our Guns to bear on that Side, and pour'd in a Broadſide upon him, vvhich made him ſheer off again, after returning our Fire, and pouring in alſo his ſmall Shot from near 200 Men vvhich he had on Board.
2014 September 7,Natalie Angier, “The Moon comes around again[print version: Revisiting a moon that still has secrets to reveal: Supermoon revives interest in its violent origins and hidden face,International New York Times, 10 September 2014, page 8]”, inThe New York Times[4], New York, N.Y.:The New York Times Company,→ISSN,→OCLC, archived fromthe original on22 June 2022:And should the moon happen to hit its ever-shifting orbital perigee at the same time that it liesathwart from the sun, we are treated to a so-called supermoon, a full moon that can seem close enough to embrace – as much as 12 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than the average full moon.
- Opposed to.
1862,Thomas Carlyle, “Carnival Phenomena in War-time”, inHistory of Friedrich II. of Prussia, CalledFrederick the Great, volume III, London:Chapman and Hall, […],→OCLC, book XIV,pages645–646:[S]he,athwart many impediments, An ardent rider, often on horseback, at paces furiously swift; her beautiful face tanned by the weather. Very devout too; honest to be bone,athwart all her prejudices.
- (nautical) Across theline of aship's course, or across itsdeck.
The damaged mainmast fellathwart the deck, destroying the ship’s boat.
1864 May –1865 November,Charles Dickens, “The Same Respected Friend in More Aspects than One”, inOur Mutual Friend. […], volume II, London:Chapman and Hall, […], published1865,→OCLC, book the third (A Long Lane),page19:[H]e [a boat] come rightathwart the steamer's bows and she cut him in two.
from one side to the other side of
—see alsoacrossacross the course or path of, so as to meet; (figuratively) to the attention of
across the path or course of, so as to oppose
across the line of a ship’s course, or across its deck
- ^“athwert,adv.”, inMED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.:University of Michigan,2007.
- ^“a-,pref.(2), in adverbs”, inMED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.:University of Michigan,2007.
- ^“thwert,adj.”, inMED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.:University of Michigan,2007.
- ^“thwart,adv.,prep., andadj.”, inOED Online
, Oxford:Oxford University Press,1912;“thwart,prep. andadv.”, inLexico,Dictionary.com;Oxford University Press,2019–2022. - ^“athwart,adv. andprep.”, inOED Online, Oxford:Oxford University Press, December 2021;“athwart,prep. andadv.”, inLexico,Dictionary.com;Oxford University Press,2019–2022.
, Oxford:Oxford University Press,1912;“thwart,prep. andadv.”, inLexico,Dictionary.com;Oxford University Press,2019–2022.