What does thwartly mean?
Thwartly is a rare English adverb meaning crosswise, transversely, or athwart. It typically describes a line, beam, object, or course extending across another rather than following its length. Because the word belongs largely to older, formal, and literary English, it is more often encountered in descriptions of roads, buildings, ships, or objects positioned across something than in ordinary conversation. Modern speakers are more likely to know thwart as a verb meaning to prevent or frustrate a plan, action, or person. That verbal meaning developed from the older spatial idea of setting oneself across another person’s course. Thwartly therefore remains useful chiefly as a precise spatial adverb: it emphasizes a crosswise direction and gives a sentence a slightly archaic, emphatic quality that plain across or athwart may not carry.
adverbIn a crosswise or transverse direction; athwart.
- In a crosswise, transverse, or athwart direction.
"A fallen tree lay thwartly across the country road."
"The old ladder lay thwartly across the footpath."
"The raft drifted thwartly toward the opposite bank."
Unlike the familiar verb thwart, which means to block, thwartly points sideways or across.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does thwartly come from?
Thwartly was formed with the adverbial suffix -ly from thwart. The English base thwart continues Old English þweart, meaning “crosswise” or “transverse,” and belongs to a Germanic family that includes Dutch dwars and German quer. The preposition athwart was formed with a- plus thwart, while the later verbal meaning of thwart, “to obstruct or frustrate,” developed from the idea of setting oneself across someone’s path.
How thwartly is actually used
Thwartly is rare and chiefly literary or archaic in present-day English. It should not be confused with thwartingly, which expresses the modern verb sense of obstructing or frustrating someone.
Easily confused with thwartly
Thwartly means crosswise or athwart, whereas tartly means sharply, pointedly, or sarcastically.