Throe (?), n. [OE. þrowe, þrawe, AS. þreá a threatening, oppression, suffering, perhaps influenced by Icel. þrā a throe, a pang, a longing; cf. AS. þreowian to suffer.] 1. Extreme pain; violent pang; anguish; agony; especially, one of the pangs of travail in childbirth, or purturition.
Prodogious motion felt, and rueful throes. Milton.
2. A tool for splitting wood into shingles; a frow.