Dow
name, noun, verb ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
- 1 Alternative form of dhow (“sailing vessel”). alt-of, alternative
- 2 Obsolete form of dove (“pigeon”). alt-of, obsolete
"The fauconer then was prest, Came runnynge with a dow, And cryed, ‘Stow, stow, stow!’ But she [his hawk] wold not bow."
- 3 Alternative form of dah (“Burmese knife”). alt-of, alternative
- 4 Obsolete form of dough alt-of, countable, obsolete, uncountable
"This day my Julia thou must make For Mistresse Bride, the wedding Cake: Knead but the Dow, and it will be To paste of Almonds turn’d by thee: Or kisse it thou, but once, or twice, And for the Bride-Cake ther’l be Spice."
- 5 Initialism of day of the week abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
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- 6 Initialism of department of war. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 1 To be worth. Northern-England, dialectal, obsolete
- 2 To furnish with a dower; to endow.
- 3 To thrive, prosper. Northern-England, dialectal, obsolete
- 1 A male given name. countable
- 2 Initialism of United States Department of War. US, abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 3 Alternative form of DOW. alt-of, alternative
- 4 A surname transferred from the given name. countable
- 5 Dow Jones average countable, uncountable
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- 6 An unincorporated community in Jersey County, Illinois, United States. countable, uncountable
- 7 An unincorporated community in Perry County, Kentucky, United States. countable, uncountable
Example
More examples"The Dow Jones average posted a gain of two points today."
Etymology
From Middle English douen, from Old English dugan, from Proto-West Germanic *dugan, from Proto-Germanic *duganą.
From Middle English dowen, from Old French douer, from Latin dōtō.
Variant of Daw from David or daw, and of Duff from Scottish Gaelic.
Abbreviation.
Related phrases
More for "dow"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.