thwart

Origin

From Middle English thwerte, from the adjective thwert (“obstinate, perverse”), from Old Norse þvert, neuter of þverr (“transverse”). Cognates The English adjective is cognate with Danish tvær (“sullen, sulky”), Gothic 𐌸𐍅𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌷𐍃 (þwairhs, “angry”), Middle Dutch dwers, dwars (modern Dutch dwars (“crosswise, transverse; slantwise, askew; stubbornly disobedient”)), Norwegian tvert, tvært, Old Frisian þweres, dwers (Saterland Frisian twars, West Frisian dwers, dwerz (“across, to the other side of; beyond”)), Middle Low German dwers, dwars (Low German dwars (“contrary; cross-grained”)), Old English þweorh (“transverse; perverse; angry, cross”), Old High German twer (Middle High German twer, quer, modern German quer (“crosswise; cross”)), Swedish tvär (“across, transverse; of a curve: sharp; immediate, sudden; grumpy, stubborn”). It is related to queer; also Proto-West Germanic *þwerh,