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jow

English

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jow¹

noun

  1. alternative, uncountable Alternative form of jhow (“a kind of tamarisk”).

jow²

noun jows · gaou · gau · gow · jaob

  1. historical A premetric unit of length in India, equal to approximately a quarter of an inch.

jow³

  • /d͡ʒəʊ/ UK
  • /d͡ʒaʊ/ US

Where it comes from

Alteration of jowl (“to knock, strike, ring a bell”), with loss of final l.

verb jows · jowing · jowed

  1. UK, dialectal, transitive To knock, strike, bump.
  2. Scotland, transitive To ring or toll (a bell).

jow⁴

verb

  1. India, imperative, obsolete Go away; begone. This is always the way in India: the servant assures you that what you require is not procurable […] you politely reply, "Jow" (go away), and in nine cases out of ten he will return with the desired article; […]

jow⁵

Where it comes from

Apparently from earlier *jowl, from Middle English chaulen, chavelen (“to jabber”). Compare jawl (“to talk loudly”).

verb jows · jowing · jowed

  1. UK, dialectal To talk loudly.

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Cite this
MLA

"jow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/jow. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

jow. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/jow

Chicago

"jow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/jow.

BibTeX
@misc{jow_2026,
  title = {jow},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/jow},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}