| 释义 |
▪ I. tow, n.1
(təʊ, Sc. tʌu, tou)
Forms: 4–7 towe, (5 toow, 6 toa, 7–8 toe), 5–6 tawe, 5– tow.
[Known only from last quarter of 14th c. Origin doubtful: perh. related to ON. tó n. uncleansed wool or flax, unworked fibre of thread; which is doubtfully connected with OE. *tow- spinning, weaving, in towcræft, towhús, and towlíc fit for spinning, textile, and obs. MDu. touwen to knit, to weave (Kilian). The original sense may have been ‘textile fibre’ generally.
Kilian has ‘Touw Fris. Ang. j. werck, Stupa’; and ‘Tauw j. touw’; also, ‘Werck, Stupa, lini stupa, linum vile, lini purgamentum, lana crassior & recrementitia’; which evidently agrees with our word; but touw has not been found in Fris., and the value of Kilian's entry is uncertain.]
†1. app. The unworked stem or fibre of flax, before it is heckled. Obs. rare—1.
c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) xi. 49 Raab..þat ressayued þe messangers of Israel..and seled [pr. feled] þam in hir hous amang towe of lyne [cf. Vulgate Josh. ii. 6 operuitque eos stipula lini; Wyclif, couerd hem with stuble of flaxe].
2. a. The fibre of flax, hemp, or jute prepared for spinning by some process of scutching.
1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xvii. 245 Ac hew fyre at a flynte fowre hundreth wyntre But þow haue towe to take it with tondre or broches Al þi laboure is loste. c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 2004 (Ariadne) Ballis ek also Of wex & tow [v.r. towe]..To slake his hungir & encombre his teth. c1440Promp. Parv. 498/2 Toow, of a rok, or roket (..K. towe of hempe, or flax, or othyr like), pensum. 1545Rates of Customs c vij b, Towe fyne the C. pounde v.s. Towe the .c. pounde iij s. iiij.d. 1599A. M. tr. Gabelhouer's Bk. Physicke 38/2 Madefye heerin hempen toa, and applye..rownde about his heade. 1616Surfl. & Markh. Country Farme 568 To the end that..in beating it with beetles, heckling and spinning of it, such filth may not remaine among the tow. 1674Grew Anat. Trunks ii. vii. §13 The Qualities of the best Tow,..are that the Staple be long, small, tough, and white. 1725Ramsay Gentle Sheph. ii. i, Gae break your wheel, and burn your tow, And set the meiklest peat-stack in a low. 178..Burns (title) The weary pund o' tow. Ibid. i, I think my wife will end her life Before she spin her tow. 1825Jamieson, Tow, hemp in a prepared state. 1839Cumbld. & Westmorld. Dial. 13 Tae..spin tow for bord claiths en sheets.
b. fig.; esp. in phrase to have tow on one's rock (distaff), to have business to attend to.
c1386Chaucer Miller's T. 588 This Absolon..hadde moore tow [v.r. towe] on his distaf Than Gerueys knew. c1460Towneley Myst. xiii. 389, I haue tow on my rok more then euer I had. 1756M. Calderwood in Coltness Collect. (Maitl. Club) 155 ‘In good faith’, says John, ‘the Dutch has some other tow in their rock’. 1890Doyle White Company v, They may find they have more tow on their distaff than they know how to spin.
3. More strictly, the shorter fibres of flax or hemp, which are separated by heckling from the fine and long-stapled, called line; = hards, hurds.
1530Palsgr. 183 Unes estovpes, a locke of towe or hurdes. Ibid. 282/1 Towe, estouppes. 1552Huloet, Tow, stipa, æ, stupa, æ. 1601Holland Pliny xix. i. II. 4 That part..which is utmost and next to the pill or rind, is called Tow or Hurds, and it is..good for little or nothing but to make lampe-match or candle-wicke. 1844G. Dodd Textile Manuf. v. 165 The flax ceases to be called by that name after it has passed through the heckling-machines; the good portion is then called ‘line’, and the inferior ‘tow’. 1893Daily News 14 July 3/7 Prices of lines and tows unchanged. 1896Ibid. 12 Dec. 8/6 Flax, tow, and codilla quiet.
4. A bundle of untwisted natural or manmade fibres.
1950B. E. Hartsuch Introd. Textile Chem. viii. 237 The filaments from several coagulating baths or cabinets (acetate) are combined to form a thick strand known as tow. 1969[see prepreg n. (a.)]. 1971New Scientist 8 July 68/2 The material [sc. carbon fibres] was in the form of ‘tows’—14 inch long bundles containing 10 000 filaments each of 1½ denier. 1973Materials & Technol. VI. iv. 302 In the case of viscose rayon the thick tows are sometimes supplied to mills which desire to do their own cutting into staple lengths.
5. attrib. and Comb.
a. attrib. ‘Of or for tow’, as tow-beetle (beetle n.1), tow-card (card n.1 2 a), tow-quality, tow-waste; ‘consisting or made of tow’, as tow cloth, tow goods, tow hards, tow-linen, tow rope, tow-sack, tow sheeting, tow string, tow thong, tow weft, tow yarn.
b. Comb., as tow-heckler; tow-coloured, tow-haired, tow-like, tow-made adjs.c. Special combs.: tow-head, a light-coloured head of hair; also an unkempt or tousled head; a person having such hair; spec. a local name in southern U.S. for Mergus cucullatus, the Hooded Merganser of North America, the male of which has a semicircular crest with a white patch; also (U.S.), a sand-bar or other obstruction causing ripples in a river or stream; hence tow-headed a., having whitish or tousled hair; tow-wheel, a large spinning-wheel for making coarse tow yarn.
1601Holland Pliny xix. i. II. 4 To be beaten and punned..with an hurden mallet or *tow-beetle made for the purpose.
1655Essex County, Mass. Probate Rec. (1916) I. 201 A pair of *tow cards, 1s. 1801Jas. Thomson Willy Weir's Legacy xxv, A pair o' gude tow-cards.
1775Cooke in Sparks Corr. Amer. Rev. (1853) I. 27 Such a demand for *tow-cloth for family use. 1822J. Flint Lett. Amer. 232 A tent was dismantled of its tow cloth covering.
1887J. Ashby-Sterry Cucumber Chron. 5 There are six *tow-haired children playing beneath a guide-post.
1617J. Barbier Jan. Ling. 98 The remnants of *tow-hards..are turned into smoke, or burned in the chimney.
1829S. Cumings Western Pilot 7 There are..a great number of *tow-heads and sand-bars. 1830A. Royall Southern Tour I. 92 One insolent little tow-head. 1883‘Mark Twain’ Life on Miss. xxiii. 262 A large town which lay shut in behind a tow-head (i.e. new island). 1888G. Trumbull Names & Portraits of Birds 75 The name Tow-Head..was heard in one of our Southern States. 1901A. H. Rice Mrs. Wiggs of Cabbage Patch vii. 95 Little Europena, with baby wisdom, put her tow head under the cloth. 1960Guardian 5 Nov. 1/6 The abominable tow-head from Massachusetts. 1977Verbatim Dec. 6/2 Even the most casual student of American literature should have no trouble with..tow-head (‘sand bar with cottonwoods’).
1850S. Judd R. Edney xlix. 450 Bronze-faced and *tow-headed Wild Olive boys. 1884G. H. Boughton in Harper's Mag. Sept. 530/2 The tow-headed children rolling about in the orchards.
a1800Pegge Suppl. Grose, *Tow-Heckler, a dresser of tow for spinning. North.
190719th Cent. Apr. 584 Her *tow-like hair was tied up with white tape.
1779New Jersey Archives (1906) 2nd Ser. III. 154 [A] blue long elk saddle cloth lined with *tow linen. 1884‘Mark Twain’ Huck. Finn xx. 196 Some of the children didn't have on any clothes but just a tow-linen shirt. 1921J. Buchan Path of King xiii. 259 He wore an old skin shirt and a pair of tow-linen pants.
1896Daily News 12 Dec. 8/6 *Tow-made goods are selling freely in heavy makes for unions.
1336Acc. Exch., K.R. 19/31 m. 4 (P.R.O.) In x. petris cordis de canabo..pro vno *towerope inde faciendo. 1902Crockett Dark o' Moon xxxix, Saunders Lennox's tow rape will break mony a promise on Monday mornin' by nine o' Kirkcudbright clock.
1930W. Faulkner As I lay Dying 48 The soaked *towsack tied about his shoulders. 1976J. Lee Ninth Man 243 He anchored the tow-sack bundle on his left arm.
1806Balance V. 5/3 Our worthy old friend..sometimes wears a *tow string round his hat. 1892Harper's Mag. Mar. 649/2 What was known as the ‘tow-string survey’ offered him an excellent opportunity for the display of his peculiar talents.
1776Pennsylv. Even. Post 25 May 264/2 A pair of *tow trowsers.
1837Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. I. 79/2 Bags filled with clay and *tow-waste.
1900M. E. Wilkins Parson Lord (ed. Tauchn.) 26 The great arc of an old *tow-wheel.
1780A. Young Tour Irel. I. 262 The warp of *tow-yarn.
▪ II. tow, n.2
(təʊ, Sc. tʌu, tou)
Also 5–7 towe.
[Known in Sc. use c 1470: not in OE. (exc. perh. in ‘tóh-line remulcus’, tow-line, in Wr.-Wülcker 182/32). Corresponds to OFris. tow (from 15th c.), WFris. tou, NFris. tau, tāw, mod.Du. touw, early mod.Du. touwe (Kilian), MLG. touwe, touw, LG. and EFris. tau, whence mod.Ger. tau (1663 in Kluge); generally identified (at least the monosyll. forms) with ON. tog, Norw. tog, Sw. tåg, Da. toug, tov, all meaning ‘rope, cable, cord’: akin also to ON. taug f., OE. téaᵹ, téah string, rope, tie n. The fundamental meaning was app. ‘means for drawing’, f. ablaut stem teuh-, tauh-, tuᵹ- (tog-) to draw: see tee v.1]
A rope. Chiefly Sc.
c1470Henryson Mor. Fab. v. (Parl. Beasts) xii, With towis proud ane palȝeoun can thay picht. 1513Douglas æneis v. xii. 163 Thair cabillis new, and thar heid towis reparis. 1534Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. VI. 234 Cabillis and towis brocht hame to the Kingis schip. a1578Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 175 His handis bund witht sic ane tow of hempt. 1646Alloa Kirk Session Rec. in North. N. & Q. 18 For towes to the bell. a1670Spalding Troub. Chas. I (1829) 12 Upon Monday..at night, he came down over the castle wall, upon tows brought to him secretly by his wife, and clearly wan away. 1785Burns Holy Fair xxvi, Now Clinkumbell, wi' rattlin tow [= bell-rope] Begins to jow and croon. 1888J. M. E. Saxby Lads of Lunda 117 She was scudding out the Voe, Erik steering, Bill at the tows.
b. spec. A hangman's rope, a halter.
1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. viii. cii. (S.T.S.) II. 66 The tow, quhilke he maid to hang vtheris in, him selfe was first caught in. 1822Scott Pirate xviii, It can end in naething but trees and tows [= gallows]. 1886Stevenson Kidnapped 50 There's many would like to see him girning in a tow.
c. In various specific or contextual uses (Sc. or Eng. dial.): e.g.
The rope or chain by which the weights of a clock are suspended (Sc.); a line or rope for sea-fishing (Orkney & Shetland); the winding-cable for raising and lowering the cage, etc. in a coal-pit (Sc. and north. Eng.); a rope or chain for hauling timber (Eng. dial.); a line attached to the horns of the leading oxen in a South African team (also fore-tow).
1834A. Smart Rhymes 136 Just pou' the tow up when ye beddit. 1844W. H. Maxwell Sports & Adv. Scot. xv. (1855) 136 They prepare to set their tows, or lines, provided with ling hooks... The whole of the packies a boat carries is a fleet of tows. 1850R. G. Cumming Hunter's Life S. Afr. (1902) 8/1 The twelve oxen are soon all securely yoked in their proper places; the leader has made up his ‘fore-tow’, which is a long spare rheim attached round the horns of each of the fore or front oxen. 1863W. C. Baldwin Afr. Hunting viii. 357 When the front oxen had reached the boys, I shouted, ‘Let go the tow, and get out of the road’. 1883Gresley Gloss. Coal-mining, Tow,..2. A winding rope of hemp. 1884W. Worc. Gloss. (Upton-on-Severn), Tow, a chain for hauling timber. 1893Heslop Northumbld. Gloss., Tow, a small rope or painter. 1898Daily News 25 Feb. 3/1 He went down with the first tow and found the fireman there.
▪ III. † tow, n.3 Obs. local.
Forms: 5 toughe, 7 tawe, 8 tow.
[Agrees in form and sense with Norw. toge (for togje), Aasen.]
Orig. an iron chain; later, a large iron link, attached to the heel of the turn-wrest plough, and by which this is drawn. Also called tow-chain.
1407in Kennett Par. Ant. (1818) II. 213 (Oxf. & Bucks.) Pro uno vomere et una cultura et dimid. Toughe cum uno Plowsho emptis, xxiiid. 1607J. Carpenter Plaine Mans Plough 160 The Tawe, or that yron Rope which embracing the Beame, assureth it to the Tractory or Lambe. 1733Tull Horse-Hoeing Husb. xxi. 301 The Tow-Chain which fastens the Plow-Tail to the Plow-Head. 1796J. Boys Agric. Kent (1813) 52 The plough there being drawn by a long large iron link, called a tow, which comes from the axle of the carriage round the heel of the plough.
▪ IV. tow, n.4|təʊ|
Also 7 tawe.
[f. tow v.1]
1. A rope used for towing, a tow-line.
1600Hakluyt Voy. III. 585 [The Phenix] kept her company vntil the next morning, then taking in a small cable from her for a towe: but by 9..she spent her maine mast and split her foreyard, breaking also her tow. 1625J. Glanvill Voy. Cadiz 61 Wee could not thus have fastned a towe unto her. 1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. i. ii. 16 Those that be on Shore may have a Towe, and be blest with a Ruther; for we will stay for no man.
2. a. The action of towing or fact of being towed; chiefly in in tow, in the condition of being towed (of or by the towing vessel); esp. to take in tow (said of a ship, etc.): to begin and continue to tow, to tow.
1622R. Hawkins Voy. S. Sea (1847) 226 The Daintie sayled badly,..and with the advantage which all the South-sea shippes have of all those built in our North-sea, the admirall gave her a tawe. 1704J. Harris Lex. Techn. I. s.v., Whatever is drawn after a Ship, or Boat with a Rope, &c. is said to be Towed after a Ship, or to be in her Tow. 1720De Foe Capt. Singleton i. (1840) 4 As they were sailing away with our ship in tow as a prize. 1793Smeaton Edystone L. §109 One of these blocks..is by a strong chain attached to the carriage,..which is then drawn forward with the block in tow. 1865Livingstone Zambesi xvi. 324 We took the hippopotamus in tow. 1900F. T. Bullen With Christ at Sea viii. 151 The long upward tow was nearly at an end. 1902Westm. Gaz. 11 Apr. 5/2 The worst weather experienced during the tow was a fresh gale and lumpy sea.
b. fig., esp. to take in tow, to take under one's guidance or patronage; to take charge of; in tow (with) in extended sense: in company (with), accompanying, following.
1722New-England Courant 17–24 Sept. 1/1 Their eager and amorous Emotions of the Body, occasion'd by taking their Mistresses in Tow, they call'd wild Steerage. 1789Dibdin Poor Jack ii, Providence takes us in tow. 1790Wolcott (P. Pindar) Advice to Future Laureat ii. xxiii, Too proud for bards to take in tow my name. 1804Fessenden Democr. (1806) II. 30 Till he will condescend, I trow Our commonwealth to take in tow. 1883Gilmour Mongols (1884) 226 A young lama..took me in tow, and conducted me to all the tents. 1896Mrs. Caffyn Quaker Grandmother 28 She set off..to explore the world, with a one-eyed old aunt in tow, and a prize bull-dog. 1907C. S. Ross Early Otago 169 He had got in tow with a young lady. 1937C. Day Lewis Starting Point i. 14 Oh, he's got one of his Swedish blondes in tow. 1965M. Shadbolt Among Cinders xiv. 117 I'm in tow with my parents. 1979S. Brett Comedian Dies i. 18 ‘Come along, Paul.’ And Walter Proud, with his writer in tow, hurried along to join them.
3. a. A vessel taken in tow; also, string of boats, barges, etc., being towed. Hence also, a string of barges that is pushed rather than pulled.
1805in Nicolas Disp. Nelson (1846) VII. 189 note, Trinidada in tow. Employed knitting fore and mizen rigging, and securing the masts and tow. 1883Fisheries Exhib. Catal. (ed. 4) 175 Methods of Crossing a Channel with Tows of Seals. 1883Law Times 24 Nov. 62/1 The R.R., by reason of the inefficiency of the V.S. to command the seven tows, stranded and became a total wreck. 1885Law Times Rep. LIII. 53/2 The schooner..having come into collision with a tug and her tow. 1897Outing (U.S.) XXX. 120/1 The tow consisted of thirty-four boats towing four abreast, a floating village with its houses and families and small children. 1906Roy. Comm. Canals, Min. Evid. 59, I have seen a tow of as many as 23 boats in the Blisworth tunnel on the Grand Junction. 1976Sci. Amer. July 124/3 The U.S. has a network of inland waterways that carries roughly a sixth of all the nation's freight in multiple-barge ‘tows’ that are usually pushed, rather than pulled, by powerful tugs. 1977Washington Post 4 Sept. a12/1 They [sc. towboats] push the barges ahead of them. But the nest of barges that is pushed is called the ‘tow’.
b. A vessel that tows; a tug.
1874Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. vi. 172 The heaviest boats should be nearest the tow. Weighted boats tow best.
4. attrib. and Comb. (or perh. from tow v.1), as tow-barge, tow hook, tow-horse, tow-man, tow-truck, tow-vessel; tow-bar, a bar used in towing; spec. the bar by means of which a trailer, caravan, etc., is attached to the vehicle that tows it; tow-boat, a boat used in towing; spec. a small vessel built for towing others, a tug; tow-boating U.S., the piloting or operating of a tow-boat; tow-car, on street-railways in U.S., a car which is towed by another, a trailer (Funk's Stand. Dict. 1895); towfish, a housing with measuring or detecting instruments in it or attached to it and designed to be towed underwater behind a ship; tow-iron, in Whaling, the toggle-iron or harpoon to which the tow-line is attached (Cent. Dict. 1891); tow-plane, an aircraft that tows gliders; tow-post, a towing-post; tow-rail: see quot.; tow-start v. trans., to tow (a motor vehicle) in order to start the engine. See also tow-line, -net, -path, -rope.
1956Archit. Rev. CXIX. 259 Small trucks are coupled to it by a quick-action *towbar. 1959‘Motor’ Manual (ed. 36) xiii. 270 Don't be misled by the Unladen Weight which is stamped on the towbar. 1960Guardian 19 Sept. 2/4 For sailing families, boat-cradle, mast support, and long tow-bar can be bought as extras. 1980West Lancs. Even. Gaz. 5 June 16/4 (Advt.), Tow-bars supplied and fitted with electrics to suit every caravan and trailer requirement.
1681W. Robertson Phraseol. Gen. (1693) 1085 A *tow-barge.
1815Massachusetts Statute 7 Feb., His patent steam *tow-boats..said patent bearing date the 2 day of April 1814. 1860Merc. Marine Mag. VII. 99 Two powerful tow boats..are stationed at the bar.
1887Courier-Jrnl. (Louisville, Kentucky) 7 Feb. 3/3 Theodore Brooks..will try his hand at *tow-boating this season. 1977Amer. N. & Q. XV. 153/1 For more than 300 years its [sc. New London's] people were involved in just about every activity related to the sea including fisheries,..towboating, [etc.].
[1973Jrnl. Marine Res. XXXI. 73 An alternative solution..is the replacement of the weighted fish with a lighter tow body having a controllable fin.] 1975McGraw-Hill Yearbk. Sci. & Technol. 292/1 The..*towfish..continuously monitors the depth of a preselected isotherm by towing at about 5 knots..two depth-controlled instrument packages which bracket an isotherm.
1876Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. 2604/2 *Tow-hook, an artillery-man's hook, used in unpacking ammunition-chests. 1971M. Tak Truck Talk 170 Tow hooks, hooks, generally found on a tractor's bumper, by which it can be towed or pulled. 1978J. McNeil Consultant xx. 180 He unclipped the tow hook from the back of the car.
1865Harper's Mag. Apr. 571/1 It requires as much judgment to drive *tow-horses up the Alleghany as to pilot a steamboat down the Mississippi.
1864Carlyle Fredk. Gt. xvii. vii. IV. 590 New boatmen, forty new *towmen.
1940Aeronautics Nov. 42/1 If the glider is more heavily loaded than the *towplane, the latter will unstick first. 1973‘A. Hall’ Tango Briefing viii. 107 The change in the engine-note of the tow-plane.
1908Daily News 29 July 4 He braced his back against the *tow-post as he flicked the cleanings overboard.
1894Pall Mall Mag. Nov. 380 A stout arched timber, reaching from bulwark to bulwark [of a tug], termed a *tow-rail.
1976A. Schroeder Shaking it Rough i. 4 We passed a trio of youths trying to *tow-start an old Chevrolet.
1957*Tow-truck [see shopping plaza s.v. shopping vbl. n. 2]. 1972Sat. Rev. (U.S.) 17 June 6/2 A tow truck..came for the crippled car.
1698T. Savery Navig. Impr. 10 The *Tow Vessel in [16]82 drew but four and a half Water the Outside.
b. With advbs.: towaway U.S., the towing away of an illegally parked vehicle; freq. attrib. as towaway zone, an area from which such vehicles may be towed away; tow-out, the action of towing a drilling platform out to an oil-field at sea.
1956Sun (Baltimore) 31 Jan. 32/6 Such cars parked in the ‘tow-a-way’ zones would be hauled off to the police impounding lot. 1967N.Y. Times 5 Mar. 75 Despite the published warnings about illegal parking—towaways averaged close to 200 cars daily during February. 1975Petroleum Rev. XXIX. 303/1, 56 steel cylinders..provide buoyancy during tow-out. 1977Offshore Engineer July 55/2 Initial plans were for flat tops to the storage tanks, but these were redesigned to increase the deck loading capacity, at tow-out, by 10,000t, to 24,000t.
Add:[2.] c. = ski-tow (a) s.v. ski n. 2 b. orig. U.S.
1937Ski Guide for 1938 156 Woodstock: Home of the first ski tow in the country, Woodstock now has seven tows in operation. 1941C. E. Crane Winter in Vermont 202 The tow caused a sensation at the time and was the object of universal admiration. 1963Amer. Speech XXXVIII. 204 Skiers have added new meanings to words like bathtub..and tow. 1980J. Cartwright Horse of Darius xii. 175 The tows at the top of the mountain were buried, the paths down obscured. 1988Ski Ann. XIII. 69/2 Youngsters in particular are likely to show off on a tow and slalom from side to side.
▪ V. † tow, n.5 Obs. rare. local.
Forms: 5 togh, 6 tow, towe, tawe.
[Origin obscure: it cannot easily be connected with tye, tie in same sense.]
A pillow-case; cf. tye n.1 4.
a1490Botoner Itin. (Nasmith 1778) 268 Unam cimbam cum una togh de raycloth. 1535in Weaver Wells Wills (1890) 95 A coffer, ij pelowtowes, a salte, a gyrdell. 1542–3(Jan. 29) Will J. Dowdynge, widow (Wells Prob. Reg.), A syller, price of 7s; a pelow with a tawe. 1543(Sept. 8) Will R. Antell (Ibid.), A pillow with the tow.
▪ VI. tow, v.1|təʊ|
Forms: 1 toᵹian, 3 toȝen, 4 towen, 4–6 tou(e, 4–8 towe, (6 toagh, toogh, tough, 6–7 togh, toe; 6 taw, 6–7 tawe), 6– tow.
[OE. toᵹian to draw or pull by force, to drag, ME. toȝen, towen = OFris. toga to pull roughly, pull about, MLG. togen (early mod.Du. togen (Kilian)), OHG. zogôn to draw, tug, drag (MHG. zogen), ON. and Norw. toga to draw, pull:—OTeut. *togôjan, deriv. vb. from tog-, weak grade of ablaut-series teuh-, tauh-, tug- (tog-) to draw: see tee v.1]
†1. trans. To draw by force; to pull, drag.
c1000Passio St. Margaret in Assmann Ags. Hom. 178 And þa godes wiðerwinnan þa fæmnan ᵹenamon, ut of þære byriᵹ unᵹerædelice hi toᵹoden. c1275Lay. 7536 Julius þat sweord heold; and Nemnius þane sceald and longe þus i toȝede. a1400Morte Arth. 3655 The marynerse..Towyne trvsselle one trete, trvssene vpe sailes. 1494Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. I. 248 Item, for a rape..quhilk was brokyne wyth towen of the tymmyr..ij s. iiij d. 1581J. Studley Agamemnon iii, They tough their oars and with their toyle they helpe the wynd and weather.
fig.1583Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. (1882) 50 What tricking & toying, and al to tawe out mony, you may be sure.
†b. To convey, carry. Obs. rare.
13..E.E. Allit. P. C. 100 Jonas..Maches hym with þe maryneres, makes her paye, For to towe hym in-to Tarce, as tyd as þay myȝ t. a1375Joseph Arim. 374 Þenne þei taken þis mon and towen him to þe temple.
c. To draw up or let down with a tow or rope. Sc.
In this sense perh. directly from tow n.2
1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 27 With lang towis and Lathiris lattin doune thay ar towit vpe. 1755Edom o' Gordon xxii. in Percy Reliques (1765) I. 104 O row me in a pair o' sheits, And tow me owre the wa.
2. spec. To draw or drag (a vessel, persons in a boat, etc.) on the water by a rope.
to tow (a boat) under water, to swamp by towing.
[1290: ? implied in towage 1.] 1391Earl Derby's Exp. (Camden) 23 Pro touyng navem domini de la hauen apud Boston. a1500in Arnolde's Chron. (1811) 133 After tyme she was weyed and toued to the hauyn at Caleis. 1553in Hakluyt Voy. (1904) V. 92 The boat (which we toed asterne from Jaffa). 1557W. Towrson ibid. (1589) 117 Her rudder was broken, so that the Hart was glad to towe her. 1562J. Shute tr. Cambini's Turk. Wars 34 b, They tawed the palandre after them. 1589Warner Alb. Eng. vi. xxix. (1612) 144, I will..toogh the Pinnesse of my thoughts to kenning of your eyes. 1591Sylvester Du Bartas i. i. 578 He that..toghes against the tide His laden barge. 1597J. King On Jonas (1618) 56 They..labored..to toagh their ships to land. 1620R. Cocks Diary (Hakl. Soc.) II. 113, I sent out 4 barkes to helpe to toe her. 1630Drayton Muses Elizium ii. 343 Swans vpon the Streame to tawe me, Stags vpon the Land to draw me. 1644Z. Boyd Gard. Zion in Zion's Flowers (1855) App. 7/1 In thy great Barge me togh against the tide. 1743Bulkeley & Cummins Voy. S. Seas 143 We took from the Indians a Canoe, made of the Bark of Trees, but soon towed her under Water. 1769De Foe's Tour Gt. Brit. (ed. 7) I. 153 King's Ferry, where a long Cable of about 140 Fathom,..fastened at each End across the Water, serves to get over the Boat by Hand... The Ferry-keeper..is obliged to tow all Travellers over free. 1877A. B. Edwards Up Nile vii. 174 Barges towed by government steam-tugs.
b. intr. To pull or tug as in trying to move.
1884Law Times 10 May 26/2 A tug towed at her for an hour and a half before she was got off.
3. trans. To drag by or as by a line. (humorous.)
1663Butler Hud. i. ii. 1125 The Knight himself did after ride Leading Crowdero by his side, And tow'd him, if he lagg'd behind. 1767Lady M. Coke Jrnl. 29 July (1889) II. 68 Monsieur Wangenheim was towing up Lady Sarah, and complain'd it was hard work. 1803Scott Let. to Ellis 14 Oct., in Lockhart, A rosy lass..entered our cottage, towing in a monstrous sort of bulldog. 1883W. H. Bishop in Harper's Mag. Mar. 503/1 A mounted Mexican towing a bull. 1884Nonconf. & Indep. 12 June 578/1 Mr. Cumberland, blindfolded, towed another dignified gentleman through the streets by a silken cord.
4. intr. or absol. To advance or proceed by towing or being towed.
1612Drayton Poly-olb. ii. 451 When toghing vp that streame..shee yet conceales her name. 1624Capt. Smith Virginia iii. vi. 61 He would..cause..divers of his Countrymen helpe vs towe against winde or tyde. 1667Lond. Gaz. No. 186/4 One of them endeavoured to tow after him. 1695Blackmore Pr. Arth. vi. 371 At last King Octa..Commanding all to follow, tows away. 1720De Foe Capt. Singleton v. (1840) 90 We towed up as far as..our boats would swim. 1813Southey Nelson I. iii. 143 The French vessels were allowed to tow out of the port of Genoa. 1874[see tow n.4 3 b].
Hence towed |təʊd|, towing |ˈtəʊɪŋ| ppl. adjs.
1898Daily News 4 Aug. 5/3 The river journey in *towed barges from Shellal to Wady Halfa. 1901Westm. Gaz. 8 July 9/3 One tug, and one towed raft, two self-propelled rafts.
1795Act 35 Geo. III, c. 106 §23 For the making..a Way or Road for the *Towing Horses. 1842Brande Dict. Sc., etc. s.v. Tow, As the vessel towed affects the motions of the other, much attention is required on her part to second the intentions of the towing vessel.
transf.1909Westm. Gaz. 2 Feb. 4/1 To couple up a towing machine to a fully equipped [motor-]car by means of a strap.
Add:[2.] c. trans. To move or draw (a motor vehicle, etc., esp. one parked illegally or disabled) by towing; freq. const. away and (colloq.) absol. in this sense.
1933Aeroplane 2 Aug. 218/1 The passengers..were out of the machine, which had been towed away from the passenger-deplaning area. 1952Motor Manual (ed. 34) xiii. 244 The owner who wants to tow his caravan from home to some pleasant site where he can leave the van during the summer months. 1975Drive Spring 40/2 We were asked to collect a car from a chap who had stripped it to service an identical second car... But it was the runner we towed away. The wreck was in the garage. 1984E. Jong Parachutes & Kisses iv. 62 She parks.., wondering whether her car will be towed or the tyres slashed. 1990Sun 31 Jan. 7 Thieves towed away a three-seater port-a-loo.
[3.] b. Athletics. To bring (other competitors) along rapidly by setting a fast pace.
1959Times 23 Apr. 17/5 Smith..took the lead from the gun, and towed Hall, Givan, and Walshaw past the bell in 56.5 sec. 1984Runner (U.S.) Oct. 62/1 In the first of two 800-meter semifinal heats Kenya's Edwin Koech towed the field through a first lap split of 49.56.
▪ VII. tow, int. and v.2|təʊ|
a. int. A word used in calling a hawk, and in urging on greyhounds.
b. v. trans. To urge (greyhounds) on with this call.
1575Turberv. Falconrie 182 Make them come from it to your fist..with calling and chirping to them, saying: Towe, Towe, or Stowe, Stowe, as Falconers vse. 1793F. Grose Olio (1796) 178 Towing on two greyhounds, the constant attendants on his steps, pursued the game. Note. Tow, Tow, used in setting on greyhounds in Gloucestershire.
▪ VIII. tow, v.3|təʊ|
[f. tow n.1]
trans. To comb or card flax; also, to reduce to the state of tow or fibre. Hence ˈtowing vbl. n.2, spec.: see quot. 1891; † towing-mill, a carding-machine: see quot. 1789.
1615Markham Eng. Housew. ii. v. (1668) 134 That which comes from the flaxe being a little towed again in a pair of Wooll Cards, will make a course harding. 1789Trans. Soc. Arts VII. 195 Mills..in Yorkshire..called Towing-Mills..worked by men turning them backward and forward, till the wool is sufficiently opened for use. 1891Cent. Dict., Towing, in curled-hair manuf., the operation of picking to pieces the ropes of hair after they have been steeped in water and then subjected to slow heat [to give a permanent curl to the hair].
▪ IX. tow, v.4 Pottery manuf.
[f. tow n.1]
trans. To smooth the surface of (earthenware or china) when in the dry clay state before firing, by rubbing it with tow, sand-paper, or flannel. Hence ˈtower, ˈtowing vbl. n.3
1892Daily News 23 July 5/4 Mr. Brewer, a factory inspector in the Derby district, calls attention to the probable extension of the method of putting a finer surface on earthenware, which is known as ‘towing’. 1894Labour Commission Gloss., Towers,..pottery workers, who, when plates that are still unfired are dried till nearly all the moisture is out of them, pass over the surface while they..are rotating on a wheel a piece of ‘tow’, or sandpaper, to make them smooth.
▪ X. tow
obs. form of tough, two. |