tow

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: tō, IPA^(key): /təʊ/
• (US) enPR: tō, IPA^(key): /toʊ/
• (UK, rare) enPR: tou, IPA^(key): /taʊ/, etymology 2 only
• Rhymes: -əʊ
• Homophone: toe

From Middle English towen, from Old English togian, from Proto-Germanic *tugōną (Middle High German zogen, German ziehen, Dutch tijgen, Old Norse toga), from Proto-Indo-European *dewk-.

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

1. (transitive) To pull something behind one using a line or chain; to haul.
2. (running, cycling, motor racing, etc.) To aid someone behind by shielding them from wind resistance.

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.

From Middle English tow, from Old English tow- (“spinning”) (in compounds, e.g. towcræft, towhūs, towlic); compare Old Norse tó (“uncleansed wool”), Middle Low German touw. 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 fibers such as cellulose acetate, flax, hemp or jute.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), imprinted at London: By Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Isaiah 1:31:

     And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.

• tow haired
• towhead

• taw

• oakum, hards

• OTW, WTO, owt, two, wot

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

From Old English tow-; for more see English tow.

• IPA^(key): /tɔu̯/
• Rhymes: -ɔu̯

tow

1. Unprepared flax, especially used as a firestarter.
2. The fibrous matter of flax or a similar plant; (tow).
3. Oakum, hards; the rough portion of flax separated during hackling.

• English: tow
• Scots: towe

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