A throne is the ceremonial seat of a monarch. Thrown is the past participle of throw — the ball was thrown. They sound identical, and only one of them is a chair. Heir to the throne; thrown out of the bar.
The core difference
- throne — a noun: the chair of a monarch, pope or bishop; the position of being sovereign. Ascend the throne, the power behind the throne, a game of thrones.
- thrown — the past participle of throw: sent through the air; got rid of; taken aback. He has thrown the ball, thrown away, thrown by the question.
The tell
One is a thing, the other is something that happened. If you can put the or a in front, it is the chair: the throne. If was, has or been comes before it, it is the verb: was thrown. The spelling hook: thrown ends in own, like its cousins grown and blown, all past participles.
In use
- throne — The queen sat on the throne for the ceremony. He was third in line to the throne.
- thrown — The rider was thrown from the horse. The question had thrown her completely.
Common slips
- he was throne out of the club → he was thrown out of the club
- the king's thrown → the king's throne
Throne is a chair; thrown is what was thrown.
Where the words come from
Throne is from Greek thronos, "an elevated seat", through Latin and Old French. Thrown is native English: the past participle of throw, from Old English thrawan, "to twist, to turn" — which is why a potter throws a pot on a turning wheel. The two have no connection beyond their sound.
