tow

See also: Tow, TOW, tow., and tow-

English

Etymology 1

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.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: tō, IPA^(key): /təʊ/
• (General American) enPR: tō, IPA^(key): /toʊ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊ
• Homophone: toe

Verb

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

   • 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.

Descendants

• → Welsh: towio

Translations

pull something using a line

• Asturian: remolcar
• Bulgarian: тегля (bg) (teglja)
• Catalan: remolcar (ca)
• Cebuano: guyod
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 拖 (zh) (tuō), 拉 (zh) (lā)

• Czech: vléci (cs), táhnout (cs)
• Finnish: hinata (fi)
• French: tracter (fr), (vehicle) remorquer (fr)
• Galician: remolcar (gl), abordelar (gl), solear (gl), toar (gl), halar (gl)
• German: ziehen (de), schleppen (de); (of a car) abschleppen (de); (of a ship) treideln (de)
• Greek: ρυμουλκώ (el) (rymoulkó)
• Hungarian: vontat (hu)
• Italian: trainare (it), rimorchiare (it)
• Korean: 끌다 (ko) (kkeulda)
• Maori: tō, taki, pārete
• Ottoman Turkish: یدمك (yedmek)
• Polish: holować (pl)
• Portuguese: rebocar (pt)
• Russian: букси́ровать (ru) (buksírovatʹ) (usually of a vehicle), тяну́ть (ru) (tjanútʹ), тащи́ть (ru) (taščítʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: slaod
• Slovak: vliecť, ťahať
• Spanish: remolcar (es)
• Swedish: bogsera (sv)
• Turkish: yedekte çekmek

Noun

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.

Derived terms

• in tow
• on tow
• ski tow
• tow bar
• tow hitch
• tow iron
• tow ring
• tow rope
• tow truck
• towy
• under tow
• undertow

 

Translations

act of towing

• Bulgarian: теглене (bg) n (teglene), буксир m (buksir)
• Czech: vlečení (cs) n, tažení n, odtažení n
• French: remorquage (fr) m
• Galician: remolque
• German: Schleppen (de) n, Abschleppen n
• Greek: ρυμούλκηση (el) f (rymoúlkisi)
• Latvian: vilkšana f
• Macedonian: вле́чење n (vléčenje)
• Polish: holowanie (pl) n
• Portuguese: reboque (pt)
• Russian: буксиро́вка (ru) f (buksiróvka)
• Spanish: remolque (es) m

something that tows

• Czech: tahač m (truck), remorkér m (boat)
• German: Schlepper (de) m
• Greek: ρυμουλκό (el) n (rymoulkó)
• Latvian: vilcējs m
• Portuguese: reboque (pt), rebocador (pt)
• Russian: букси́р (ru) m (buksír), тяга́ч (ru) m (tjagáč)
• Spanish: remolque (es) m, remolcador m (boat)

something that is towed

• Italian: rimorchio (it) m, traino (it) m
• Portuguese: reboque (pt)
• Spanish: remolque (es) m

cable used in towing

• Bulgarian: буксирно въже n (buksirno vǎže)
• Czech: vlečné lano n
• Dutch: sleeptouw (nl) n, trekkabel m
• French: câble de remorquage m, corde de remorquage f
• German: Schlepptau (de) n, Tau (de) n, Seil (de) n
• Latvian: virve (lv) f
• Polish: hol (pl) m
• Russian: буксиро́вочный трос m (buksiróvočnyj tros)
• Spanish: remolque (es) m, cable (es) m, cabo (es) m

Etymology 2

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”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: tō, IPA^(key): /təʊ/
• (General American) enPR: tō, IPA^(key): /toʊ/
• (rare, some parts of the UK and Australia) enPR: tou, IPA^(key): /taʊ/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

Noun

tow (countable and uncountable, plural tows)

1. An untwisted bundle of fibres such as cellulose acetate, flax, hemp or jute.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 1:31:

     And the strong shall be as towe, and the maker of it as a sparke, and they shall both burne together, and none shall quench them.

2. (specifically) The short, coarse, less desirable fibres separated by hackling from the finer longer fibres (line).

Synonyms

• hards, oakum

Derived terms

• swingling tow
• tow-colored
• tow-haired
• tow haired
• towhead
• towheaded
• tow linen
• towy

 

Related terms

• taw

Translations

bundle of fibers

• Basque: iztupa
• Breton: stoub (br) m
• Bulgarian: кълчища n pl (kǎlčišta)
• Corsican: stoppa f
• Czech: koudel (cs) f
• Danish: blår n
• Dutch: werk (nl) n, hede (nl) f
• French: étoupe (fr) f, filasse (fr) f
• Galician: estopa f, tomento m
• German: Werg (de) n, Hede f
• Greek: στουπί (el) n (stoupí)

  Ancient: στυππεῖον n (stuppeîon)

• Ido: stupo (io)
• Italian: capecchio (it) m
• Korean: 토우 (ko) (tou)
• Latvian: pakulas f pl
• Maori: ngai, pūngahungahu
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: stry n

  Nynorsk: stry n

• Ottoman Turkish: استوپی (üstüpü)
• Polish: pakuły (pl) pl
• Portuguese: estopa (pt) f
• Romanian: stupă (ro)
• Russian: па́кля (ru) f (páklja), куде́ль (ru) f (kudélʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ку̀чина f

  Roman: kùčina (sh) f

• Sicilian: stuppa (scn) f
• Slovak: kúdeľ f, priadza f
• Swedish: drev (sv) n, blånor (sv) c pl
• Ukrainian: кло́ччя (uk) n (klóččja)
• Welsh: carth m, breisgion m pl
• West Frisian: hjidde

Anagrams

• OTW, WTO, owt, two, wot

Middle English

Alternative forms

• towe, towȝ, towȝe, tough, towhe, togh, tawe, toow

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɔu̯/
• Rhymes: -ɔu̯

Noun

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.

Descendants

• English: tow
• Scots: towe

References

• “tou, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-05-27.