Basic Details
Word: Throne
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: The special chair a king or queen sits on at ceremonies; also the position of being king or queen.
Synonyms: crown
Sounds like: thrown (sent through the air by hand; past participle of throw)
Word origin: From Greek thronos, a high seat, through Latin and Old French.
How to Spell Throne
Syllables: throne
Tricky part: It sounds exactly like thrown, the past participle of throw. The long o is spelt o with a silent e at the end, not oa or ow.
Watch out for: throan, thron, throwne
Memory tip: A throne is One special seat: the letters o-n-e sit at the end of thr-one.
Idioms and Phrases
- the power behind the throne: a person who secretly controls a ruler or leader Example: "Everyone knew the old minister was the power behind the throne."
Usage Examples
Example 1: The golden throne of the Mysore kings is brought out only during Dasara.
Example 2: The young prince came to the throne when he was just twelve.
Example 3: At the museum, we were not allowed to step beyond the rope around the throne.
Fun Fact
The jewelled Peacock Throne of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan was carried off to Persia by Nadir Shah after he sacked Delhi in 1739.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
One word in this sentence is misspelt. Find it:
After the old king died, his daughter took the throan in a grand ceremony attended by nobles from every corner of the kingdom.
a) ceremony
b) corner
c) attended
d) throan
Show answer
d) throan. The long o in this word comes from the silent e at the end, as in stone and bone.
Word Connection
Choose the word closest in meaning to throne as used in the sentence:
The eldest son was next in line to the throne of the small hill kingdom.
a) palace
b) crown
c) treasury
d) army
Show answer
b) crown. Here the throne stands for royal power, and so does the crown; a palace is only where the ruler lives.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the meaning of the only correctly spelt word:
1. throne 2. dinasty 3. coronnation 4. monnarch
a) the ceremony of crowning a new ruler
b) a line of rulers from the same family
c) a king or queen who rules a country
d) the special seat of a king or queen
Show answer
d) the special seat of a king or queen. Monarch and coronation each have one n, and dynasty starts with dy, so throne is the correct one.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Choose the pair that fills the blanks: The ball was ____ over the wall, and the queen sat on her ____.
a) throne, throne
b) thrown, thrown
c) thrown, throne
d) throne, thrown
Show answer
c) thrown, throne
2. A king who gives up the throne ____.
a) buys a new chair
b) wins a great war
c) builds another palace
d) stops being king
Show answer
d) stops being king
