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taw

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taw¹

  • /tɔː/ UK

Sounds like tau (one pronunciation), tor (non-rhotic), tore (non-rhotic, horse–hoarse merger), tour (non-rhotic, horse–hoarse merger, pour–poor merger) · Rhymes with -ɔː

Where it comes from

From Middle English tawen, from Old English tawian (“to do, make”), from Proto-West Germanic *tawōn, a variant of Proto-West Germanic *tauwjan, from Proto-Germanic *tawjaną (“to make, prepare”), from Proto-Indo-European *dewh₂- (“to tie to, secure”).

Cognate with Dutch touwen (“to rope, tether, curry”), Dutch tuien (“to fasten with ropes”), German Tau (“rope, hawser, cable”), Gothic 𐍄𐌰𐌿𐌾𐌰𐌽 (taujan, “to make, prepare”). Related to tool and possibly to tether.

verb taws · tawing · tawed

  1. obsolete, transitive To prepare or dress, as hemp, by beating; to tew.
  2. broadly, transitive To beat; to scourge.
  3. transitive To dress and prepare, as the skins of sheep, lambs, goats, and kids, for gloves, etc., by imbuing them with alum, salt, and other agents, for softening and bleaching them.
  4. transitive To turn (animals' hide) into leather, usually by soaking it in a certain solution.

noun

  1. obsolete Tawed leather.

taw²

  • /tɔː/ UK

Sounds like tau (one pronunciation), tor (non-rhotic), tore (non-rhotic, horse–hoarse merger), tour (non-rhotic, horse–hoarse merger, pour–poor merger) · Rhymes with -ɔː

Where it comes from

Unknown. Attested in English from the 18th century. Compare Old English tāw (“instrument”). Also compare Irish togh (“choose, elect”).

noun taws

  1. A favorite marble in the game of marbles. Near the timberyard a squatted child at marbles, alone, shooting the taw with a cunnythumb.
  2. A line or mark from which the players begin a game of marbles.
  3. A dance partner. Walk around your corner; see-saw around your taw.
  4. A favorite person; beloved, partner, spouse.

verb taws · tawing · tawed

  1. To shoot a marble.

taw³

  • /ˈtaʊ/
  • /tɔː/ UK

Sounds like tau (one pronunciation), tor (non-rhotic), tore (non-rhotic, horse–hoarse merger), tour (non-rhotic, horse–hoarse merger, pour–poor merger) · Rhymes with -aʊ, -ɔː

Where it comes from

Compare Phoenician 𐤕 (tāw), Hebrew ת (tav), Arabic تاء (tāʔ).

noun taws · tav · taf · tau

  1. The 22nd and last letter of many Semitic alphabets/abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew, Syriac, and Arabic.

taw⁴

  • /tɔː/ UK

Sounds like tau (one pronunciation), tor (non-rhotic), tore (non-rhotic, horse–hoarse merger), tour (non-rhotic, horse–hoarse merger, pour–poor merger) · Rhymes with -ɔː

Where it comes from

Compare tew (“to tow”), and tow.

verb taws · tawing · tawed · tawe

  1. To push; to tug; to tow. Swans vpon the Streame to tawe me

Taw⁵

proper noun

  1. A river in Devon, England, which flows into an estuary where it meets the River Torridge.

TAW⁶

proper noun

  1. The station code of Tai Wai in Hong Kong.

Translations

Every language

noun Semitic letter

Françaistav
Русскийтав tav
עבריתתָּו tav, ת

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

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

APA

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

Chicago

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

BibTeX
@misc{taw_2026,
  title = {taw},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/taw},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}