tow - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Clipping of English Towa.

tow

  1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Jemez.

From Middle English towen, from Old English togian, from Proto-West Germanic *togōn, from Proto-Germanic *tugōną, from Proto-Indo-European *dewk-.

See also Middle High German zogen, German ziehen, Dutch tijgen, Old Norse toga.

tow (third-person singular simple present tows, present participle towing, simple past and past participle towed)

  1. (transitive) To pull something behind one, such as by using a line, chain, or tongue.
    Near-synonyms: draw, haul, pull, trail
    • 2022 September 7, “At the cutting edge of NR's track work”, in RAIL, number 965, page 40, photo caption:
      In its current specification it cannot be driven and must be towed to its work location by a locomotive.
  2. (running, cycling, motor racing, etc.) To aid someone behind by shielding them from wind resistance.

pull something using a line

tow (plural tows)

  1. The act of towing and the condition of being towed.
    It isn't the car's battery; I think I need a tow.
  2. Something, such as a tugboat, that tows.
  3. Something, such as a barge, that is towed.
  4. A rope or cable used in towing.
  5. (motor racing) A speed increase given by driving in front of another car on a straight, which causes a slipstream for the car behind.
    • 2019 September 8, Andrew Benson, BBC Sport‎[1]:
      On Saturday, Vettel was very unhappy with Leclerc's failure to work out a way through the traffic and give him a tow for the second runs in qualifying, as had been agreed.

act of towing

something that tows

cable used in towing

From Middle English touw, from Old English tow- (“spinning”) (in compounds, e.g. towcræft, towhūs, towlic), from Proto-Germanic *tawwą; compare Old Norse tó (“uncleansed wool”), Dutch touw (“rope”). Perhaps cognate with Old English tawian (“prepare for use”), Gothic 𐍄𐌰𐌿𐌾𐌰𐌽 (taujan, “do, make”).[1]

tow (countable and uncountable, plural tows)

  1. An untwisted bundle of fibres such as cellulose acetate, flax, hemp or jute.
    • 1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 187:
      Meanwhile the farmer's wife was at home all alone, and while she was sitting and spinning her tow, she never noticed a Troll who had crept through the window into the next room, and was at the beer barrel drawing off the liquor into his copper kettle.
  2. (specifically) The short, coarse, less desirable fibres separated by hackling from the finer longer fibres (line).

bundle of fibers

  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “tow”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

From Old English tow-, from Proto-Germanic *tawwą; for more see English tow.

tow

  1. Unprepared flax, especially used as a firestarter.
    • 1925, Stanley John Weyman, “XVI A Golden Haze”, in Queen's Folly:
      For if men were fire, women were tow, and she should learn that lesson.
  2. The fibrous matter of flax or a similar plant; (tow).
  3. Oakum, hards; the rough portion of flax separated during hackling.