Tow

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -aʊ
• (RP) enPR: tō, IPA: /təʊ/, SAMPA: /t@U/
• Rhymes: -əʊ
• (US) enPR: tō, IPA: /toʊ/, SAMPA: /toU/
• Homophones: toe

Etymology 1

Old English toġian

Verb

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.

Translations

pull something using a line

German: schleppen (de), abschleppen (de) Greek: (for vehicles) ρυμουλκώ (el) (rymoulko) Portuguese: rebocar (pt) Russian: буксировать (ru) (buksírovat') (usually of a vehicle)}, тянуть (ru) (tjanút'), тащить (ru) (taščít')

Scottish Gaelic: slaod (gd) Spanish: remolcar (es)

Noun

Tow (plural Tows)

1. The act of towing and the condition of being towed.
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.

Translations

act of towing

German: Schleppen (de) n., Abschleppen (de) n. Latvian: vilkšana (lv) f. Portuguese: reboque

Russian: буксировка (ru) (buksiróvka) f. Spanish: remolque (es) m.

something that tows

German: Schlepper (de) m. Latvian: vilcējs (lv) m. Portuguese: reboque, rebocador

Russian: буксир (ru) (buksír) m., тягач (ru) (tjagáč) m. Spanish: remolque (es) m., remolcador (es) m. (boat)

something that is towed

Portuguese: reboque

Spanish: remolque (es) m.

cable used in towing

Dutch: sleeptouw (nl) n., trekkabel (nl) m. German: Schlepptau (de) n. Latvian: virve (lv) f.

Russian: буксировочный трос (ru) (buksiróvočnyj tros) m. Spanish: remolque (es) m.

Derived terms

Terms derived from the noun tow

in tow / on tow tow rope tow truck

towy under tow undertow

Etymology 2

Origin uncertain; compare Old Norse tó (“uncleansed wool”), Old English tow- (“spinning”) (in compounds, e.g. towcræft, towhūs), perhaps cognate with Gothic 𐍄𐌰𐌿𐌾𐌰𐌽 (taujan, “do, make”).

Noun

Tow (plural Tows)

1. An untwisted bundle of fibers such as cellulose acetate, flax, hemp or jute.

Derived terms

• tow haired
• towhead

Related terms

• taw

Translations

bundle of fibers

French: étoupe (fr) f. Italian: capecchio (it) m. Latvian: pakulas (lv) f. pl.

Romanian: stupă (ro) Russian: пакля (ru) (páklja) f.

Anagrams

• OTW, owt, two, wot, WTO