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Origin and history of through

through(prep., adv.)

"from one side or end to the other; from the beginning to the end; to the ultimate," a Middle English metathesis of thurgh, from Old English þurh, from Proto-Germanic *thurx (source also of Old Saxon thuru, Old Frisian thruch, Middle Dutch dore, Dutch door, Old High German thuruh, German durch, Gothic þairh "through"). According to Watkins, this is from PIE root *tere- (2) "to cross over, pass through, overcome."

It was not clearly differentiated from thorough until early Modern English. The spelling thro was common 15c.-18c. The reformed spelling thru (1839) is mainly met in American.

The meaning "up to and including" (from January through December) is attested by 1798, noted in OED (1989) as an American usage. To be through "be finished, have done" is from late 15c. Phrase through and through "entirely, thoroughly" is by early 15c.

through(adj.)

late 15c., "finished, done;" 1520s, "clear, unobstructed, open," from through (prep., adv.). In reference to lines of travel, tickets, passengers, etc., "going with little or no interruption," by 1845. Of a telephone call or caller, "connected," by 1929. Through-traffic is by 1861.

also from late 15c.

Entries linking to through

thorough(adj.)

Middle English thoro, thorow, "perfect, complete," mid-13c., a two-syllable stressed form of thurgh "passing or cutting all the way through," which is an adverb (represented by modern through, "from end to end, from side to side") used as an adjective. The notion in thorough is "going all the way through."

Þurh-, thurgh- was an active word-forming element and prefix in Old English and Middle English, often in making transitive verbs of motion (thurghcomen, thurghgon, thurghfallen, thurghserchen, and compare thoroughfare) or intensive adjectives (thurgh-fin, thurgh-hot, thurgh-stif, thurgh-wet, and compare thoroughgoing). It also often translates Latin per-.

The stressed form of through began to develop in the adverb in late Old English. The stress and spelling change seems to not directly track with the sense shift. For the form, compare borough from Old English burh, furrow from furh. Related: Thoroughly; thoroughness.

The Old English adverb is attested as þurh, þurg, þuruh, þorh, þorch, þerh. It became through, the common modern form, by transposition. 

breakthrough(n.)

also break-through, "significant or sudden advance," 1918, in a military sense, from the verbal phrase; see break (v.) + through (adv.). The verbal phrase is attested from c. 1400 in the sense "overcome or penetrate a barrier." The meaning "abrupt solution or progress" is from 1930s, on the notion of a successful attack.

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done
past participle of do (v.); from Old English past participle gedon (a vestige of the prefix is in ado). As a past-participle adjective meaning "completed, finished, performed, accomplished" from early 15c. As a word of acceptance of a deal or wager, 1590s. U.S. Southern use of do
pierce
c. 1300 (c. 1200 as a surname), percen, "make a hole in; force one's way through; thrust through with or as with a sharp...or pointed instrument," from Anglo-French perser, Old French percier "pierce, transfix, drive through" (12c., Modern French...probably from Vulgar Latin *pertusiare, frequentative of Latin pertusus, past participle of pertundere "to thrust or bore through...," from per "through" (from PIE root *per- (1) "forward," hence "through") + tundere "to beat, pound," from PIE *tund-, from...
perambulation
Latin perambulationem (nominative perambulatio), noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin perambulare "to walk through..., go through, ramble through," from per "through" (from PIE root *per- (1) "forward," hence "through") + ambulare "to walk...Meaning "act of passing or wandering through or over" is by late 15c....
permeable
early 15c., "passable" (of an area); "penetrable" (of a building)," from Late Latin permeabilis "that can be passed through..., passable," from Latin permeare "to pass through, go over," from per "through" (from PIE root *per- (1) "forward," hence..."through") + meare "to pass," from PIE root *mei- (1) "to change, go, move."...Meaning "capable of being passed through without rupture or displacement" is from 1773, especially of substances permitting...
perspicacious
discernment," 1630s, formed as an adjective to perspicacity, from Latin perspicax "sharp-sighted, having the power of seeing through...; acute," from perspicere "look through, look closely at," from per "through" (from PIE root *per- (1) "forward," hence "...through") + specere "look at" (from PIE root *spek- "to observe")....
perennial
1640s, of plants or leaves, "evergreen" (a sense now obsolete), formed in English from Latin perennis "lasting through the...year (or years)," from per "through" (from PIE root *per- (1) "forward," hence "through") + annus "year" (see annual (adj...The botanical sense of "remaining alive through more than two years" is attested from 1670s; of springs, etc., "lasting or...continuing without cessation through a year or many years," by 1703....
perspiration
1610s, "a breathing through," a sense now obsolete, from French perspiration (1560s), noun of action from perspirer "perspire...," from Latin perspirare "blow or breathe constantly," from per "through" (from PIE root *per- (1) "forward," hence "through...Applied by 1620s to "excretion of invisible moistures through the skin," hence its later use as a euphemism for "sweat" (...
door
"movable barrier, commonly on hinges, for closing a passage into a building, room, or other enclosure," c. 1200, a Middle English merger of two Old English words, both with the general sense of "door, gate": dor (neuter; plural doru) "large door, gate," and duru (fem., plural dur
and
Old English and, ond, originally meaning "thereupon, next," from Proto-Germanic *unda (source also of Old Saxon endi, Old Frisian anda, Middle Dutch ende, Old High German enti, German und, Old Norse enn), from PIE root *en "in." Introductory use (implying connection to something
with
Old English wið "against, opposite, from, toward, by, near," a shortened form related to wiðer, from Proto-Germanic *withro- "against" (source also of Old Saxon withar "against," Old Norse viðr "against, with, toward, at," Middle Dutch, Dutch weder, Dutch weer "again," Gothic wiþ

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