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trow

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trow¹

  • /tɹoʊ/ US
  • /tɹəʊ/ UK

Sounds like throw (th-stopping) · Rhymes with -əʊ

Where it comes from

From Middle English trowen, trouwen, treuwen, treowen, trouen, from Old English trēowan, trīewan (“to trust”) and Old English trūwian (“to trust, confide”), from Proto-Germanic *trewwāną (“to trust”) and Proto-Germanic *trūwāną (“to trust”); both from Proto-Indo-European *drew- (“faithful, true”).

Akin to Scots trow, trew (“to believe, trust, confide in, prove”), Dutch trouwen (“to wed, marry”), German trauen (“to trust, marry”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål and Swedish tro (“to believe, think”), Norwegian Nynorsk tru (“to believe, think”), Icelandic trúa (“to trust, believe, believe in”).

verb trows · trowing · trowed

  1. archaic, dialectal To trust or believe. ...Sure (he said) my wife shall never know Of this escape, and if she do, I know the worst I trow She can but chide, shall feare of chiding make me to forslow?
  2. archaic, dialectal To have confidence in, or to give credence to.

noun trows

  1. archaic, dialectal, uncountable, usually Trust or faith.

trow²

noun trows

  1. countable, dated Any of several flat-bottomed sailing boats used for fishing or for carrying bulk goods.

trow³

Where it comes from

From Shetlandic and Orcadian Scots trow, from Norn *drou, *drau (compare 18th c. Norwegian drau, modern drov, drauv), from Old Norse draugr (“malevolent revenant”); along the variation drow, intermixed with Norn troll, from Old Norse trǫll (“troll, malevolent supernatural being”), a partial synonym to draugr. L-vocalisation occurred in the early 15th century in Middle Scots, so trolly, knolls probably became *trowie, knowes around this time.

noun trows

  1. Orkney, Shetland, alternative, dated Alternative form of drow The Trows are of a diminutive stature, and they are usually dressed in gay green garments.

trow⁴

  • /tɹaʊ/

Rhymes with -aʊ

Where it comes from

Shortened form of trousers.

noun

  1. dated, uncountable Used chiefly in the expression drop trow.

Trow⁵

Where it comes from

Various origins:

* A nickname for a trustworthy person, from Middle English trewe (“faithful, loyal”).

* A topographic surname for someone who lived near a depression in the ground, from Middle English trow (“trough”).

proper noun Trows · Trew

  1. countable, uncountable A surname from Middle English.
  2. countable, uncountable A ghost town in Clark County, Wisconsin, United States.

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MLA

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

APA

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

Chicago

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

BibTeX
@misc{trow_2026,
  title = {trow},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/trow},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}