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throe (n.)

c. 1200, throwe "pain, pang of childbirth, agony of death," of uncertain origin, possibly from Old English þrawan "twist, turn, writhe" (see throw (v.)), or altered from Old English þrea (genitive þrawe) "affliction, pang, evil; threat, persecution" (related to þrowian "to suffer"), from Proto-Germanic *thrawo (source also of Middle High German dro "threat," German drohen "to threaten"). Modern spelling first recorded 1610s. Related: Throes.

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Definitions of throe from WordNet

throe (n.)
severe spasm of pain;
the throes of dying
the throes of childbirth
throe (n.)
hard or painful trouble or struggle;
a country in the throes of economic collapse
From wordnet.princeton.edu