α. 1600s thorow road, 1800s thorough road.
β. 1800s– through road.
through roadn.
/ˈθruː rəʊd/, U.S. /ˈθru ˌroʊd/ 1. A road that passes through one or more cities, towns, or villages; esp. one which serves as a route for through traffic (through traffic n. 2); a main road within a built-up area. Cf. no through road n.In quot. a1661 attributive.
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a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) London 224 He built at Buntingford (a thorow-road market..) a neat and strong Chappel.
1853 Morning Chron. 28 Mar. 3/6 The many streets now abutting on the shore could by means of cast-iron archways be put in connection with the main through road.
1863 Freeman's Jrnl. (Dublin) 20 Feb. This market..would have two thorough roads running through it.
1882 Times of India 25 Nov. 3/3 My intention was to continue this as a through road as far as the Falkland Road garden by widening existing streets.
1929 Boston Sunday Globe 13 Oct. (Editorial & News Feature section) 12/7 Wainwright patrols the Needham through-roads to Dedham, Wellesley and Woonsocket.
1952 E. L. Leeming Road Engin. (ed. 3) x. 115 Left exit and left entrance turns should be either on the major roads or on those which best assist traffic to leave both the through roads.
2016 Littlehampton Gaz. (Nexis) 21 Oct. What baffles me is they patch busy through roads and resurface non-through roads.
2. Originally and chiefly U.S. A railroad that provides a direct connection between two major destinations. Now rare.
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1848 Hartford (Connecticut) Daily Courant 19 Feb. Willimantic..was rejoiced to listen to his friend from Hartford, in reference to the great through road.
1873 Amer. Ann. Cycl. 1872 581/1 The original intention of the Stanhope charter..could not be construed, even by implication, to give the right of a through-road.
1904 Atlanta Constit. 12 June 4/4 (heading) Business men believe that through road to the Atlantic seaboard would result in better freight rates.
1925 E. Jones & H. B. Vanderblue Railroads ii. 24 Its [sc. the next transmontane lane's] value as a link in the great through road between New Orleans and the eastern cities was soon appreciated.
1932 Slavonic & East European Rev. 11 35 The Russian people finally reached this ocean and made the shortest through road to it for the service of the world in general.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.a1661