diff --git a/Demo/metaclasses/Synch.py b/Demo/metaclasses/Synch.py
index 445ce83..e02f88f 100644
--- a/Demo/metaclasses/Synch.py
+++ b/Demo/metaclasses/Synch.py
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 
 """
 
-import thread
+import _thread as thread
 
 # First we need to define a reentrant lock.
 # This is generally useful and should probably be in a standard Python
diff --git a/Demo/pysvr/pysvr.py b/Demo/pysvr/pysvr.py
index b200fad..3e94dbe 100755
--- a/Demo/pysvr/pysvr.py
+++ b/Demo/pysvr/pysvr.py
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 
 """
 
-import sys, os, string, getopt, thread, socket, traceback
+import sys, os, string, getopt, _thread, socket, traceback
 
 PORT = 4000                             # Default port
 
@@ -52,17 +52,17 @@
             conn.close()
             print("Refusing connection from non-local host", addr[0], ".")
             continue
-        thread.start_new_thread(service_thread, (conn, addr))
+        _thread.start_new_thread(service_thread, (conn, addr))
         del conn, addr
 
 def service_thread(conn, addr):
     (caddr, cport) = addr
-    print("Thread %s has connection from %s.\n" % (str(thread.get_ident()),
+    print("Thread %s has connection from %s.\n" % (str(_thread.get_ident()),
                                                    caddr), end=' ')
     stdin = conn.makefile("r")
     stdout = conn.makefile("w", 0)
     run_interpreter(stdin, stdout)
-    print("Thread %s is done.\n" % str(thread.get_ident()), end=' ')
+    print("Thread %s is done.\n" % str(_thread.get_ident()), end=' ')
 
 def run_interpreter(stdin, stdout):
     globals = {}
diff --git a/Demo/threads/Coroutine.py b/Demo/threads/Coroutine.py
index 4a155f8..e7d882d 100644
--- a/Demo/threads/Coroutine.py
+++ b/Demo/threads/Coroutine.py
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@
 #    current implementation consumes a thread for each coroutine that
 #    may be resumed.
 
-import thread
+import _thread as thread
 import sync
 
 class _CoEvent:
diff --git a/Demo/threads/Generator.py b/Demo/threads/Generator.py
index 0cc1bda..38c0c8a 100644
--- a/Demo/threads/Generator.py
+++ b/Demo/threads/Generator.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Generator implementation using threads
 
-import thread
+import _thread as thread
 
 Killed = 'Generator.Killed'
 
diff --git a/Demo/threads/find.py b/Demo/threads/find.py
index 57fe81e..2b4ef7d 100644
--- a/Demo/threads/find.py
+++ b/Demo/threads/find.py
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
 import time
 import os
 from stat import *
-import thread
+import _thread as thread
 
 
 # Work queue class.  Usage:
diff --git a/Demo/threads/sync.py b/Demo/threads/sync.py
index 61e1628..90fff2e 100644
--- a/Demo/threads/sync.py
+++ b/Demo/threads/sync.py
@@ -268,7 +268,7 @@
 #      if there are are no threads waiting to write.  (This is a
 #      weakness of the interface!)
 
-import thread
+import _thread as thread
 
 class condition:
     def __init__(self, lock=None):
diff --git a/Demo/threads/telnet.py b/Demo/threads/telnet.py
index 7366341..dfe4905 100644
--- a/Demo/threads/telnet.py
+++ b/Demo/threads/telnet.py
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 
 import sys, os, time
 from socket import *
-import thread
+import _thread as thread
 
 BUFSIZE = 8*1024
 
diff --git a/Doc/c-api/exceptions.rst b/Doc/c-api/exceptions.rst
index 9c9ee7f..7440dda 100644
--- a/Doc/c-api/exceptions.rst
+++ b/Doc/c-api/exceptions.rst
@@ -351,7 +351,7 @@
    be raised.  It may be called without holding the interpreter lock.
 
    .. % XXX This was described as obsolete, but is used in
-   .. % thread.interrupt_main() (used from IDLE), so it's still needed.
+   .. % _thread.interrupt_main() (used from IDLE), so it's still needed.
 
 
 .. cfunction:: int PySignal_SetWakeupFd(int fd)
diff --git a/Doc/c-api/init.rst b/Doc/c-api/init.rst
index 4bf6445..864991e 100644
--- a/Doc/c-api/init.rst
+++ b/Doc/c-api/init.rst
@@ -539,7 +539,7 @@
    This is a no-op when called for a second time.  It is safe to call this function
    before calling :cfunc:`Py_Initialize`.
 
-   .. index:: module: thread
+   .. index:: module: _thread
 
    When only the main thread exists, no lock operations are needed. This is a
    common situation (most Python programs do not use threads), and the lock
@@ -547,7 +547,7 @@
    initially.  This situation is equivalent to having acquired the lock:  when
    there is only a single thread, all object accesses are safe.  Therefore, when
    this function initializes the lock, it also acquires it.  Before the Python
-   :mod:`thread` module creates a new thread, knowing that either it has the lock
+   :mod:`_thread` module creates a new thread, knowing that either it has the lock
    or the lock hasn't been created yet, it calls :cfunc:`PyEval_InitThreads`.  When
    this call returns, it is guaranteed that the lock has been created and that the
    calling thread has acquired it.
diff --git a/Doc/c-api/typeobj.rst b/Doc/c-api/typeobj.rst
index 9f47516..8ea61b0 100644
--- a/Doc/c-api/typeobj.rst
+++ b/Doc/c-api/typeobj.rst
@@ -488,7 +488,7 @@
    reference cycles. A typical implementation of a :attr:`tp_traverse` function
    simply calls :cfunc:`Py_VISIT` on each of the instance's members that are Python
    objects.  For example, this is function :cfunc:`local_traverse` from the
-   :mod:`thread` extension module::
+   :mod:`_thread` extension module::
 
       static int
       local_traverse(localobject *self, visitproc visit, void *arg)
diff --git a/Doc/library/_dummy_thread.rst b/Doc/library/_dummy_thread.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..62e5708
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Doc/library/_dummy_thread.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+:mod:`_dummy_thread` --- Drop-in replacement for the :mod:`_thread` module
+==========================================================================
+
+.. module:: _dummy_thread
+   :synopsis: Drop-in replacement for the _thread module.
+
+
+This module provides a duplicate interface to the :mod:`_thread` module.  It is
+meant to be imported when the :mod:`_thread` module is not provided on a
+platform.
+
+Suggested usage is::
+
+   try:
+       import _thread
+   except ImportError:
+       import dummy_thread as _thread
+
+Be careful to not use this module where deadlock might occur from a thread being
+created that blocks waiting for another thread to be created.  This often occurs
+with blocking I/O.
+
diff --git a/Doc/library/thread.rst b/Doc/library/_thread.rst
similarity index 94%
rename from Doc/library/thread.rst
rename to Doc/library/_thread.rst
index 31d58e7..95214d6 100644
--- a/Doc/library/thread.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/_thread.rst
@@ -1,9 +1,8 @@
+:mod:`_thread` --- Low-level threading API
+==========================================
 
-:mod:`thread` --- Multiple threads of control
-=============================================
-
-.. module:: thread
-   :synopsis: Create multiple threads of control within one interpreter.
+.. module:: _thread
+   :synopsis: Low-level threading API.
 
 
 .. index::
@@ -25,8 +24,8 @@
 
 The module is optional.  It is supported on Windows, Linux, SGI IRIX, Solaris
 2.x, as well as on systems that have a POSIX thread (a.k.a. "pthread")
-implementation.  For systems lacking the :mod:`thread` module, the
-:mod:`dummy_thread` module is available. It duplicates this module's interface
+implementation.  For systems lacking the :mod:`_thread` module, the
+:mod:`_dummy_thread` module is available. It duplicates this module's interface
 and can be used as a drop-in replacement.
 
 It defines the following constant and functions:
@@ -132,9 +131,9 @@
 In addition to these methods, lock objects can also be used via the
 :keyword:`with` statement, e.g.::
 
-   import thread
+   import _thread
 
-   a_lock = thread.allocate_lock()
+   a_lock = _thread.allocate_lock()
 
    with a_lock:
        print("a_lock is locked while this executes")
diff --git a/Doc/library/dummy_thread.rst b/Doc/library/dummy_thread.rst
deleted file mode 100644
index 0b2cb17..0000000
--- a/Doc/library/dummy_thread.rst
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,23 +0,0 @@
-
-:mod:`dummy_thread` --- Drop-in replacement for the :mod:`thread` module
-========================================================================
-
-.. module:: dummy_thread
-   :synopsis: Drop-in replacement for the thread module.
-
-
-This module provides a duplicate interface to the :mod:`thread` module.  It is
-meant to be imported when the :mod:`thread` module is not provided on a
-platform.
-
-Suggested usage is::
-
-   try:
-       import thread as _thread
-   except ImportError:
-       import dummy_thread as _thread
-
-Be careful to not use this module where deadlock might occur from a thread
-being created that blocks waiting for another thread to be created.  This  often
-occurs with blocking I/O.
-
diff --git a/Doc/library/dummy_threading.rst b/Doc/library/dummy_threading.rst
index 0ffb687..0658df2 100644
--- a/Doc/library/dummy_threading.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/dummy_threading.rst
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-
 :mod:`dummy_threading` --- Drop-in replacement for the :mod:`threading` module
 ==============================================================================
 
@@ -7,17 +6,17 @@
 
 
 This module provides a duplicate interface to the :mod:`threading` module.  It
-is meant to be imported when the :mod:`thread` module is not provided on a
+is meant to be imported when the :mod:`_thread` module is not provided on a
 platform.
 
 Suggested usage is::
 
    try:
-       import threading as _threading
+       import threading
    except ImportError:
-       import dummy_threading as _threading
+       import dummy_threading
 
-Be careful to not use this module where deadlock might occur from a thread
-being created that blocks waiting for another thread to be created.  This  often
-occurs with blocking I/O.
+Be careful to not use this module where deadlock might occur from a thread being
+created that blocks waiting for another thread to be created.  This often occurs
+with blocking I/O.
 
diff --git a/Doc/library/someos.rst b/Doc/library/someos.rst
index 5ee96bc..160ce48 100644
--- a/Doc/library/someos.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/someos.rst
@@ -14,10 +14,10 @@
 .. toctree::
 
    select.rst
-   thread.rst
    threading.rst
-   dummy_thread.rst
    dummy_threading.rst
+   _thread.rst
+   _dummy_thread.rst
    mmap.rst
    readline.rst
    rlcompleter.rst
diff --git a/Doc/library/threading.rst b/Doc/library/threading.rst
index 6be2f62..2381f24 100644
--- a/Doc/library/threading.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/threading.rst
@@ -6,12 +6,11 @@
    :synopsis: Higher-level threading interface.
 
 
-This module constructs higher-level threading interfaces on top of the  lower
-level :mod:`thread` module.
-See also the :mod:`queue` module.
+This module constructs higher-level threading interfaces on top of the lower
+level :mod:`_thread` module.  See also the :mod:`queue` module.
 
 The :mod:`dummy_threading` module is provided for situations where
-:mod:`threading` cannot be used because :mod:`thread` is missing.
+:mod:`threading` cannot be used because :mod:`_thread` is missing.
 
 This module defines the following functions and objects:
 
@@ -170,7 +169,7 @@
 
 A primitive lock is a synchronization primitive that is not owned by a
 particular thread when locked.  In Python, it is currently the lowest level
-synchronization primitive available, implemented directly by the :mod:`thread`
+synchronization primitive available, implemented directly by the :mod:`_thread`
 extension module.
 
 A primitive lock is in one of two states, "locked" or "unlocked". It is created
diff --git a/Include/ceval.h b/Include/ceval.h
index 03eb8cb..f0385cf 100644
--- a/Include/ceval.h
+++ b/Include/ceval.h
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@
    Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS!!!
 
    The function PyEval_InitThreads() should be called only from
-   initthread() in "threadmodule.c".
+   init_thread() in "_threadmodule.c".
 
    Note that not yet all candidates have been converted to use this
    mechanism!
diff --git a/Lib/dummy_thread.py b/Lib/_dummy_thread.py
similarity index 85%
rename from Lib/dummy_thread.py
rename to Lib/_dummy_thread.py
index c131384..352215a 100644
--- a/Lib/dummy_thread.py
+++ b/Lib/_dummy_thread.py
@@ -6,9 +6,9 @@
 Suggested usage is::
 
     try:
-        import thread
+        import _thread
     except ImportError:
-        import dummy_thread as thread
+        import _dummy_thread as _thread
 
 """
 # Exports only things specified by thread documentation;
@@ -20,17 +20,17 @@
 import warnings
 
 class error(Exception):
-    """Dummy implementation of thread.error."""
+    """Dummy implementation of _thread.error."""
 
     def __init__(self, *args):
         self.args = args
 
 def start_new_thread(function, args, kwargs={}):
-    """Dummy implementation of thread.start_new_thread().
+    """Dummy implementation of _thread.start_new_thread().
 
     Compatibility is maintained by making sure that ``args`` is a
     tuple and ``kwargs`` is a dictionary.  If an exception is raised
-    and it is SystemExit (which can be done by thread.exit()) it is
+    and it is SystemExit (which can be done by _thread.exit()) it is
     caught and nothing is done; all other exceptions are printed out
     by using traceback.print_exc().
 
@@ -57,34 +57,34 @@
         raise KeyboardInterrupt
 
 def exit():
-    """Dummy implementation of thread.exit()."""
+    """Dummy implementation of _thread.exit()."""
     raise SystemExit
 
 def get_ident():
-    """Dummy implementation of thread.get_ident().
+    """Dummy implementation of _thread.get_ident().
 
-    Since this module should only be used when threadmodule is not
+    Since this module should only be used when _threadmodule is not
     available, it is safe to assume that the current process is the
     only thread.  Thus a constant can be safely returned.
     """
     return -1
 
 def allocate_lock():
-    """Dummy implementation of thread.allocate_lock()."""
+    """Dummy implementation of _thread.allocate_lock()."""
     return LockType()
 
 def stack_size(size=None):
-    """Dummy implementation of thread.stack_size()."""
+    """Dummy implementation of _thread.stack_size()."""
     if size is not None:
         raise error("setting thread stack size not supported")
     return 0
 
 class LockType(object):
-    """Class implementing dummy implementation of thread.LockType.
+    """Class implementing dummy implementation of _thread.LockType.
 
     Compatibility is maintained by maintaining self.locked_status
     which is a boolean that stores the state of the lock.  Pickling of
-    the lock, though, should not be done since if the thread module is
+    the lock, though, should not be done since if the _thread module is
     then used with an unpickled ``lock()`` from here problems could
     occur from this class not having atomic methods.
 
diff --git a/Lib/_strptime.py b/Lib/_strptime.py
index b323e8f..c3568b0 100644
--- a/Lib/_strptime.py
+++ b/Lib/_strptime.py
@@ -18,9 +18,9 @@
 from re import escape as re_escape
 from datetime import date as datetime_date
 try:
-    from thread import allocate_lock as _thread_allocate_lock
+    from _thread import allocate_lock as _thread_allocate_lock
 except:
-    from dummy_thread import allocate_lock as _thread_allocate_lock
+    from _dummy_thread import allocate_lock as _thread_allocate_lock
 
 __all__ = []
 
diff --git a/Lib/bsddb/__init__.py b/Lib/bsddb/__init__.py
index b2786d3..0e68219 100644
--- a/Lib/bsddb/__init__.py
+++ b/Lib/bsddb/__init__.py
@@ -526,8 +526,8 @@
 # BerkeleyDB was too.
 
 try:
-    import thread
-    del thread
+    import _thread
+    del _thread
     if db.version() < (3, 3, 0):
         db.DB_THREAD = 0
 except ImportError:
diff --git a/Lib/dummy_threading.py b/Lib/dummy_threading.py
index 81028a3..1bb7eee 100644
--- a/Lib/dummy_threading.py
+++ b/Lib/dummy_threading.py
@@ -3,12 +3,12 @@
 The module ``_dummy_threading`` is added to ``sys.modules`` in order
 to not have ``threading`` considered imported.  Had ``threading`` been
 directly imported it would have made all subsequent imports succeed
-regardless of whether ``thread`` was available which is not desired.
+regardless of whether ``_thread`` was available which is not desired.
 
 """
 from sys import modules as sys_modules
 
-import dummy_thread
+import _dummy_thread
 
 # Declaring now so as to not have to nest ``try``s to get proper clean-up.
 holding_thread = False
@@ -16,15 +16,15 @@
 holding__threading_local = False
 
 try:
-    # Could have checked if ``thread`` was not in sys.modules and gone
+    # Could have checked if ``_thread`` was not in sys.modules and gone
     # a different route, but decided to mirror technique used with
     # ``threading`` below.
-    if 'thread' in sys_modules:
-        held_thread = sys_modules['thread']
+    if '_thread' in sys_modules:
+        held_thread = sys_modules['_thread']
         holding_thread = True
-    # Must have some module named ``thread`` that implements its API
+    # Must have some module named ``_thread`` that implements its API
     # in order to initially import ``threading``.
-    sys_modules['thread'] = sys_modules['dummy_thread']
+    sys_modules['_thread'] = sys_modules['_dummy_thread']
 
     if 'threading' in sys_modules:
         # If ``threading`` is already imported, might as well prevent
@@ -68,11 +68,11 @@
 
     # Put back ``thread`` if we overwrote, else del the entry we made
     if holding_thread:
-        sys_modules['thread'] = held_thread
+        sys_modules['_thread'] = held_thread
         del held_thread
     else:
-        del sys_modules['thread']
+        del sys_modules['_thread']
     del holding_thread
 
-    del dummy_thread
+    del _dummy_thread
     del sys_modules
diff --git a/Lib/idlelib/run.py b/Lib/idlelib/run.py
index c9f5010..7a662c9 100644
--- a/Lib/idlelib/run.py
+++ b/Lib/idlelib/run.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 import time
 import socket
 import traceback
-import thread
+import _thread as thread
 import threading
 import queue
 
diff --git a/Lib/logging/__init__.py b/Lib/logging/__init__.py
index 92ab502..99e813b 100644
--- a/Lib/logging/__init__.py
+++ b/Lib/logging/__init__.py
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@
     codecs = None
 
 try:
-    import thread
+    import _thread as thread
     import threading
 except ImportError:
     thread = None
diff --git a/Lib/logging/config.py b/Lib/logging/config.py
index 006d669..73f3ecc 100644
--- a/Lib/logging/config.py
+++ b/Lib/logging/config.py
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
 import sys, logging, logging.handlers, socket, struct, os, traceback
 
 try:
-    import thread
+    import _thread as thread
     import threading
 except ImportError:
     thread = None
diff --git a/Lib/mimetools.py b/Lib/mimetools.py
index 0112f48..3ea5e1b 100644
--- a/Lib/mimetools.py
+++ b/Lib/mimetools.py
@@ -96,11 +96,11 @@
 # -----------------
 
 try:
-    import thread
+    import _thread
 except ImportError:
-    import dummy_thread as thread
-_counter_lock = thread.allocate_lock()
-del thread
+    import _dummy_thread as _thread
+_counter_lock = _thread.allocate_lock()
+del _thread
 
 _counter = 0
 def _get_next_counter():
diff --git a/Lib/pydoc.py b/Lib/pydoc.py
index 57bd5e2..140e1d8 100755
--- a/Lib/pydoc.py
+++ b/Lib/pydoc.py
@@ -347,7 +347,7 @@
         if (isinstance(object, type(os)) and
             (object.__name__ in ('errno', 'exceptions', 'gc', 'imp',
                                  'marshal', 'posix', 'signal', 'sys',
-                                 'thread', 'zipimport') or
+                                 '_thread', 'zipimport') or
              (file.startswith(basedir) and
               not file.startswith(os.path.join(basedir, 'site-packages'))))):
             if docloc.startswith("http://"):
diff --git a/Lib/telnetlib.py b/Lib/telnetlib.py
index db37200..33029e1 100644
--- a/Lib/telnetlib.py
+++ b/Lib/telnetlib.py
@@ -548,8 +548,8 @@
 
     def mt_interact(self):
         """Multithreaded version of interact()."""
-        import thread
-        thread.start_new_thread(self.listener, ())
+        import _thread
+        _thread.start_new_thread(self.listener, ())
         while 1:
             line = sys.stdin.readline()
             if not line:
diff --git a/Lib/tempfile.py b/Lib/tempfile.py
index 1041c14..2caa56a 100644
--- a/Lib/tempfile.py
+++ b/Lib/tempfile.py
@@ -52,9 +52,9 @@
 
 
 try:
-    import thread as _thread
+    import _thread
 except ImportError:
-    import dummy_thread as _thread
+    import _dummy_thread as _thread
 _allocate_lock = _thread.allocate_lock
 
 _text_openflags = _os.O_RDWR | _os.O_CREAT | _os.O_EXCL
diff --git a/Lib/test/crashers/multithreaded_close.py b/Lib/test/crashers/multithreaded_close.py
index 5224341..f862d28 100644
--- a/Lib/test/crashers/multithreaded_close.py
+++ b/Lib/test/crashers/multithreaded_close.py
@@ -6,9 +6,9 @@
 # http://bugs.python.org/issue595601
 # http://bugs.python.org/issue815646
 
-import thread
+import _thread
 
 while 1:
     f = open("multithreaded_close.tmp", "w")
-    thread.start_new_thread(f.close, ())
+    _thread.start_new_thread(f.close, ())
     f.close()
diff --git a/Lib/test/fork_wait.py b/Lib/test/fork_wait.py
index 678e3c4..03a4d6f 100644
--- a/Lib/test/fork_wait.py
+++ b/Lib/test/fork_wait.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 active threads survive in the child after a fork(); this is an error.
 """
 
-import os, sys, time, thread, unittest
+import os, sys, time, _thread, unittest
 
 LONGSLEEP = 2
 SHORTSLEEP = 0.5
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@
 
     def test_wait(self):
         for i in range(NUM_THREADS):
-            thread.start_new(self.f, (i,))
+            _thread.start_new(self.f, (i,))
 
         time.sleep(LONGSLEEP)
 
diff --git a/Lib/test/test___all__.py b/Lib/test/test___all__.py
index c58aead..615f6c5 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test___all__.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test___all__.py
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@
         self.check_all("dircache")
         self.check_all("dis")
         self.check_all("doctest")
-        self.check_all("dummy_thread")
+        self.check_all("_dummy_thread")
         self.check_all("dummy_threading")
         self.check_all("filecmp")
         self.check_all("fileinput")
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_asynchat.py b/Lib/test/test_asynchat.py
index 4d49f58..082fde9 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_asynchat.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_asynchat.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # test asynchat -- requires threading
 
-import thread # If this fails, we can't test this module
+import _thread as thread # If this fails, we can't test this module
 import asyncore, asynchat, socket, threading, time
 import unittest
 import sys
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_capi.py b/Lib/test/test_capi.py
index df5ce0b..6c87645 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_capi.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_capi.py
@@ -22,13 +22,13 @@
         idents = []
 
         def callback():
-            idents.append(thread.get_ident())
+            idents.append(_thread.get_ident())
 
         _testcapi._test_thread_state(callback)
         a = b = callback
         time.sleep(1)
         # Check our main thread is in the list exactly 3 times.
-        if idents.count(thread.get_ident()) != 3:
+        if idents.count(_thread.get_ident()) != 3:
             raise support.TestFailed(
                         "Couldn't find main thread correctly in the list")
 
@@ -39,11 +39,11 @@
         have_thread_state = False
 
     if have_thread_state:
-        import thread
+        import _thread
         import time
         TestThreadState()
         import threading
-        t=threading.Thread(target=TestThreadState)
+        t = threading.Thread(target=TestThreadState)
         t.start()
         t.join()
 
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_dummy_thread.py b/Lib/test/test_dummy_thread.py
index 585711f..5b7db18 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_dummy_thread.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_dummy_thread.py
@@ -5,15 +5,15 @@
 implementation as its sole argument.
 
 """
-import dummy_thread as _thread
+import _dummy_thread as _thread
 import time
 import queue
 import random
 import unittest
 from test import support
 
-DELAY = 0 # Set > 0 when testing a module other than dummy_thread, such as
-          # the 'thread' module.
+DELAY = 0 # Set > 0 when testing a module other than _dummy_thread, such as
+          # the '_thread' module.
 
 class LockTests(unittest.TestCase):
     """Test lock objects."""
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_socket.py b/Lib/test/test_socket.py
index 349548f..d12968c 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_socket.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_socket.py
@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@
 import errno
 import socket
 import select
-import thread, threading
+import _thread as thread
+import threading
 import time
 import traceback
 import queue
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_sys.py b/Lib/test/test_sys.py
index 7c66e0d..231b460 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_sys.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_sys.py
@@ -191,7 +191,7 @@
     def test_current_frames(self):
         have_threads = True
         try:
-            import thread
+            import _thread
         except ImportError:
             have_threads = False
 
@@ -202,7 +202,7 @@
 
     # Test sys._current_frames() in a WITH_THREADS build.
     def current_frames_with_threads(self):
-        import threading, thread
+        import threading, _thread
         import traceback
 
         # Spawn a thread that blocks at a known place.  Then the main
@@ -216,7 +216,7 @@
             g456()
 
         def g456():
-            thread_info.append(thread.get_ident())
+            thread_info.append(_thread.get_ident())
             entered_g.set()
             leave_g.wait()
 
@@ -232,7 +232,7 @@
 
         d = sys._current_frames()
 
-        main_id = thread.get_ident()
+        main_id = _thread.get_ident()
         self.assert_(main_id in d)
         self.assert_(thread_id in d)
 
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_thread.py b/Lib/test/test_thread.py
index cff9f81..84d5a9d 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_thread.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_thread.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 import unittest
 import random
 from test import support
-import thread
+import _thread as thread
 import time
 
 
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_threaded_import.py b/Lib/test/test_threaded_import.py
index fbe479c..67d1505 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_threaded_import.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_threaded_import.py
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 # complains several times about module random having no attribute
 # randrange, and then Python hangs.
 
-import thread
+import _thread as thread
 from test.support import verbose, TestSkipped, TestFailed
 
 critical_section = thread.allocate_lock()
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_threadedtempfile.py b/Lib/test/test_threadedtempfile.py
index fb122d0..d93b382 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_threadedtempfile.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_threadedtempfile.py
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
 NUM_THREADS = 20
 FILES_PER_THREAD = 50
 
-import thread # If this fails, we can't test this module
+import _thread as thread # If this fails, we can't test this module
 import threading
 import tempfile
 
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_threading.py b/Lib/test/test_threading.py
index 9582dde..3c09b0b 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_threading.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_threading.py
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 import random
 import sys
 import threading
-import thread
+import _thread
 import time
 import unittest
 import weakref
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@
             print('with 256kB thread stack size...')
         try:
             threading.stack_size(262144)
-        except thread.error:
+        except _thread.error:
             if verbose:
                 print('platform does not support changing thread stack size')
             return
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@
             print('with 1MB thread stack size...')
         try:
             threading.stack_size(0x100000)
-        except thread.error:
+        except _thread.error:
             if verbose:
                 print('platform does not support changing thread stack size')
             return
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@
 
         mutex = threading.Lock()
         mutex.acquire()
-        tid = thread.start_new_thread(f, (mutex,))
+        tid = _thread.start_new_thread(f, (mutex,))
         # Wait for the thread to finish.
         mutex.acquire()
         self.assert_(tid in threading._active)
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@
 
         class Worker(threading.Thread):
             def run(self):
-                self.id = thread.get_ident()
+                self.id = _thread.get_ident()
                 self.finished = False
 
                 try:
@@ -211,10 +211,10 @@
 
         import subprocess
         rc = subprocess.call([sys.executable, "-c", """if 1:
-            import ctypes, sys, time, thread
+            import ctypes, sys, time, _thread
 
             # This lock is used as a simple event variable.
-            ready = thread.allocate_lock()
+            ready = _thread.allocate_lock()
             ready.acquire()
 
             # Module globals are cleared before __del__ is run
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@
                 ready.release()
                 time.sleep(100)
 
-            thread.start_new_thread(waitingThread, ())
+            _thread.start_new_thread(waitingThread, ())
             ready.acquire()  # Be sure the other thread is waiting.
             sys.exit(42)
             """])
@@ -357,7 +357,7 @@
 
 def test_main():
     test.support.run_unittest(ThreadTests,
-                                   ThreadingExceptionTests)
+                              ThreadingExceptionTests)
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     test_main()
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_threadsignals.py b/Lib/test/test_threadsignals.py
index cbed42c..14bd3b7 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_threadsignals.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_threadsignals.py
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 """PyUnit testing that threads honor our signal semantics"""
 
 import unittest
-import thread
+import _thread as thread
 import signal
 import os
 import sys
diff --git a/Lib/threading.py b/Lib/threading.py
index be97807..673d88e 100644
--- a/Lib/threading.py
+++ b/Lib/threading.py
@@ -1,12 +1,7 @@
 """Thread module emulating a subset of Java's threading model."""
 
 import sys as _sys
-
-try:
-    import thread
-except ImportError:
-    del _sys.modules[__name__]
-    raise
+import _thread
 
 from time import time as _time, sleep as _sleep
 from traceback import format_exc as _format_exc
@@ -17,11 +12,11 @@
            'Lock', 'RLock', 'Semaphore', 'BoundedSemaphore', 'Thread',
            'Timer', 'setprofile', 'settrace', 'local', 'stack_size']
 
-_start_new_thread = thread.start_new_thread
-_allocate_lock = thread.allocate_lock
-_get_ident = thread.get_ident
-ThreadError = thread.error
-del thread
+_start_new_thread = _thread.start_new_thread
+_allocate_lock = _thread.allocate_lock
+_get_ident = _thread.get_ident
+ThreadError = _thread.error
+del _thread
 
 
 # Debug support (adapted from ihooks.py).
@@ -556,18 +551,18 @@
     def _delete(self):
         "Remove current thread from the dict of currently running threads."
 
-        # Notes about running with dummy_thread:
+        # Notes about running with _dummy_thread:
         #
-        # Must take care to not raise an exception if dummy_thread is being
+        # Must take care to not raise an exception if _dummy_thread is being
         # used (and thus this module is being used as an instance of
-        # dummy_threading).  dummy_thread.get_ident() always returns -1 since
-        # there is only one thread if dummy_thread is being used.  Thus
+        # dummy_threading).  _dummy_thread.get_ident() always returns -1 since
+        # there is only one thread if _dummy_thread is being used.  Thus
         # len(_active) is always <= 1 here, and any Thread instance created
         # overwrites the (if any) thread currently registered in _active.
         #
         # An instance of _MainThread is always created by 'threading'.  This
         # gets overwritten the instant an instance of Thread is created; both
-        # threads return -1 from dummy_thread.get_ident() and thus have the
+        # threads return -1 from _dummy_thread.get_ident() and thus have the
         # same key in the dict.  So when the _MainThread instance created by
         # 'threading' tries to clean itself up when atexit calls this method
         # it gets a KeyError if another Thread instance was created.
@@ -763,7 +758,7 @@
     _active_limbo_lock.release()
     return active
 
-from thread import stack_size
+from _thread import stack_size
 
 # Create the main thread object,
 # and make it available for the interpreter
@@ -775,7 +770,7 @@
 # module, or from the python fallback
 
 try:
-    from thread import _local as local
+    from _thread import _local as local
 except ImportError:
     from _threading_local import local
 
diff --git a/Misc/cheatsheet b/Misc/cheatsheet
index d81897f..c383e4a 100644
--- a/Misc/cheatsheet
+++ b/Misc/cheatsheet
@@ -1988,8 +1988,8 @@
             re                  Functions useful for working with regular expressions
             string              Useful string and characters functions and exceptions
             random              Mersenne Twister pseudo-random number generator
-            thread              Low-level primitives for working with process threads
-            threading           idem, new recommanded interface.
+            _thread             Low-level primitives for working with process threads
+            threading           idem, new recommended interface.
 
 * Unix/Posix *
 
diff --git a/Modules/Setup.config.in b/Modules/Setup.config.in
index fed62e9..5ac2404 100644
--- a/Modules/Setup.config.in
+++ b/Modules/Setup.config.in
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 # based on configure-time options.
 
 # Threading
-@USE_THREAD_MODULE@thread threadmodule.c
+@USE_THREAD_MODULE@_thread _threadmodule.c
 
 # The signal module
 @USE_SIGNAL_MODULE@signal signalmodule.c
diff --git a/Modules/threadmodule.c b/Modules/_threadmodule.c
similarity index 99%
rename from Modules/threadmodule.c
rename to Modules/_threadmodule.c
index b8b7fb5..971ff56 100644
--- a/Modules/threadmodule.c
+++ b/Modules/_threadmodule.c
@@ -688,7 +688,7 @@
 will block until another thread unlocks it.  Deadlocks may ensue.");
 
 PyMODINIT_FUNC
-initthread(void)
+init_thread(void)
 {
 	PyObject *m, *d;
 	
@@ -699,13 +699,13 @@
 		return;
 
 	/* Create the module and add the functions */
-	m = Py_InitModule3("thread", thread_methods, thread_doc);
+	m = Py_InitModule3("_thread", thread_methods, thread_doc);
 	if (m == NULL)
 		return;
 
 	/* Add a symbolic constant */
 	d = PyModule_GetDict(m);
-	ThreadError = PyErr_NewException("thread.error", NULL, NULL);
+	ThreadError = PyErr_NewException("_thread.error", NULL, NULL);
 	PyDict_SetItemString(d, "error", ThreadError);
 	Locktype.tp_doc = lock_doc;
 	Py_INCREF(&Locktype);
diff --git a/PC/VC6/pythoncore.dsp b/PC/VC6/pythoncore.dsp
index 84a5bb5..035a11d 100644
--- a/PC/VC6/pythoncore.dsp
+++ b/PC/VC6/pythoncore.dsp
@@ -679,7 +679,7 @@
 # End Source File
 # Begin Source File
 
-SOURCE=..\..\Modules\threadmodule.c
+SOURCE=..\..\Modules\_threadmodule.c
 # End Source File
 # Begin Source File
 
diff --git a/PC/VS7.1/pythoncore.vcproj b/PC/VS7.1/pythoncore.vcproj
index 38982f4..8692e7a 100644
--- a/PC/VS7.1/pythoncore.vcproj
+++ b/PC/VS7.1/pythoncore.vcproj
@@ -768,7 +768,7 @@
 			RelativePath="..\..\Python\thread.c">
 		</File>
 		<File
-			RelativePath="..\..\Modules\threadmodule.c">
+			RelativePath="..\..\Modules\_threadmodule.c">
 		</File>
 		<File
 			RelativePath="..\..\Modules\timemodule.c">
diff --git a/PC/VS8.0/pythoncore.vcproj b/PC/VS8.0/pythoncore.vcproj
index 75414ce..c2eb356 100644
--- a/PC/VS8.0/pythoncore.vcproj
+++ b/PC/VS8.0/pythoncore.vcproj
@@ -1127,7 +1127,7 @@
 				>
 			</File>
 			<File
-				RelativePath="..\..\Modules\threadmodule.c"
+				RelativePath="..\..\Modules\_threadmodule.c"
 				>
 			</File>
 			<File
diff --git a/PC/config.c b/PC/config.c
index 1522533..23dbc645 100644
--- a/PC/config.c
+++ b/PC/config.c
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
 extern void init_sha256(void);
 extern void init_sha512(void);
 extern void inittime(void);
-extern void initthread(void);
+extern void init_thread(void);
 extern void initcStringIO(void);
 #ifdef WIN32
 extern void initmsvcrt(void);
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@
         {"_sha512", init_sha512},
         {"time", inittime},
 #ifdef WITH_THREAD
-        {"thread", initthread},
+        {"_thread", init_thread},
 #endif
         {"cStringIO", initcStringIO},
 #ifdef WIN32
diff --git a/PC/os2emx/Makefile b/PC/os2emx/Makefile
index 2fcb334..5f4cab8 100644
--- a/PC/os2emx/Makefile
+++ b/PC/os2emx/Makefile
@@ -281,7 +281,7 @@
 		Modules/gcmodule.c \
 		Modules/signalmodule.c \
 		Modules/posixmodule.c \
-		Modules/threadmodule.c \
+		Modules/_threadmodule.c \
 		Modules/arraymodule.c \
 		Modules/binascii.c \
 		Modules/cmathmodule.c \
diff --git a/PC/os2emx/config.c b/PC/os2emx/config.c
index 47378fd..93fbecc 100644
--- a/PC/os2emx/config.c
+++ b/PC/os2emx/config.c
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@
 extern void initos2();
 extern void initsignal();
 #ifdef WITH_THREAD
-extern void initthread();
+extern void init_thread();
 #endif
 extern void init_codecs();
 extern void init_csv();
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@
 	{"os2", initos2},
 	{"signal", initsignal},
 #ifdef WITH_THREAD
-	{"thread", initthread},
+	{"_thread", init_thread},
 #endif
 	{"_codecs", init_codecs},
 	{"_csv", init_csv},
diff --git a/PC/os2emx/python26.def b/PC/os2emx/python26.def
index 2795050..8bc91c8 100644
--- a/PC/os2emx/python26.def
+++ b/PC/os2emx/python26.def
@@ -1194,8 +1194,8 @@
 ; From python26_s.lib(posixmodule)
 ;  "initos2"
 
-; From python26_s.lib(threadmodule)
-;  "initthread"
+; From python26_s.lib(_threadmodule)
+;  "init_thread"
 
 ; From python26_s.lib(arraymodule)
 ;  "initarray"
diff --git a/PC/os2vacpp/config.c b/PC/os2vacpp/config.c
index 7be2b0b..aba6e79 100644
--- a/PC/os2vacpp/config.c
+++ b/PC/os2vacpp/config.c
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@
 extern void init_socket(void);
 extern void initstruct(void);
 extern void inittime(void);
-extern void initthread(void);
+extern void init_thread(void);
 extern void initcStringIO(void);
 extern void initpcre(void);
 #ifdef WIN32
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@
         {"struct", initstruct},
         {"time", inittime},
 #ifdef WITH_THREAD
-        {"thread", initthread},
+        {"_thread", init_thread},
 #endif
         {"cStringIO", initcStringIO},
         {"pcre", initpcre},
diff --git a/PC/os2vacpp/makefile b/PC/os2vacpp/makefile
index 93cae73..50119a0 100644
--- a/PC/os2vacpp/makefile
+++ b/PC/os2vacpp/makefile
@@ -868,7 +868,7 @@
 	 $(PY_INCLUDE)\sliceobject.h $(PY_INCLUDE)\stringobject.h \
 	 $(PY_INCLUDE)\sysmodule.h $(PY_INCLUDE)\traceback.h $(PY_INCLUDE)\tupleobject.h
 
-threadmodule.obj: $(PY_INCLUDE)\abstract.h $(PY_INCLUDE)\ceval.h \
+_threadmodule.obj: $(PY_INCLUDE)\abstract.h $(PY_INCLUDE)\ceval.h \
 	 $(PY_INCLUDE)\classobject.h $(PY_INCLUDE)\cobject.h $(PY_INCLUDE)\complexobject.h \
 	 pyconfig.h $(PY_INCLUDE)\dictobject.h $(PY_INCLUDE)\fileobject.h \
 	 $(PY_INCLUDE)\floatobject.h $(PY_INCLUDE)\funcobject.h $(PY_INCLUDE)\import.h \
diff --git a/PC/os2vacpp/makefile.omk b/PC/os2vacpp/makefile.omk
index 2e0aae3..a925efb 100644
--- a/PC/os2vacpp/makefile.omk
+++ b/PC/os2vacpp/makefile.omk
@@ -630,7 +630,7 @@
 	 pythonrun.h rangeobject.h sliceobject.h stringobject.h sysmodule.h \
 	 traceback.h tupleobject.h
 
-threadmodule.obj: abstract.h ceval.h classobject.h cobject.h \
+_threadmodule.obj: abstract.h ceval.h classobject.h cobject.h \
 	 complexobject.h pyconfig.h dictobject.h fileobject.h floatobject.h \
 	 funcobject.h import.h intobject.h intrcheck.h listobject.h \
 	 longobject.h methodobject.h modsupport.h moduleobject.h mymalloc.h \
diff --git a/PCbuild/pythoncore.vcproj b/PCbuild/pythoncore.vcproj
index 143a178..50242b8 100644
--- a/PCbuild/pythoncore.vcproj
+++ b/PCbuild/pythoncore.vcproj
@@ -1131,7 +1131,7 @@
 				>
 			</File>
 			<File
-				RelativePath="..\Modules\threadmodule.c"
+				RelativePath="..\Modules\_threadmodule.c"
 				>
 			</File>
 			<File