Stow
intj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A place, stead. rare
- 1 To put something away in a compact and tidy manner, in its proper place, or in a suitable place. transitive
- 2 fill by packing tightly wordnet
- 3 To store or pack something in a space-saving manner and over a long time. transitive
"Yet everybody knows that a cargo properly stowed in a seaworthy craft reaches market in much the better condition than by rail, though perhaps it is some hours longer on the way."
- 4 To arrange, pack, or fill something tightly or closely. transitive
- 5 To dispose of, lodge, or hide somebody somewhere. transitive
"Ar.[…]The Marriners all vnder hatches ſtowed, / Who, with a Charme ioynd to their ſuffred labour / I haue left aſleep :[…]"
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- 6 To cease; to stop doing something. obsolete, slang, transitive
"But when I strove my flame to tell, / Says she, 'Come, stow that patter, / If you're a cove wot likes a gal, / Vy don't you stand some gatter?' / In course I instantly complied— / Two brimming quarts of porter, / With sev'ral goes of gin beside, / Drain'd Bet the Coaley's daughter."
- 1 A cry used by falconers to call their birds back down to hand. obsolete, transitive
"His seconde hawke wexyd gery […] on the rode loft She perkyd her to rest. The fauconer then was prest, Came runnynge with a dow, And cryed, ‘Stow, stow, stow!’ But she wold not bow."
- 1 A surname.
- 2 A village in the Scottish Borders council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NT4544).
- 3 A village and civil parish in West Lindsey district, Lincolnshire, England (OS grid ref SK8881).
- 4 The alternative spelling of Stowe in Shropshire, England.
- 5 A small town in Oxford County, Maine, United States.
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- 6 A town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States.
- 7 A city in Summit County, Ohio, United States.
Example
More examples"Between meals, he usually manages to stow away a generous supply of candy, ice cream, popcorn and fruit."
Etymology
From Middle English stowe, from Old English stōw (“place, location”), from Proto-West Germanic *stōu, from Proto-Germanic *stōō (“a place, stowage”), from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand, place, put”). Cognate with Old Frisian stō (“place”), Icelandic stó (“fireplace”), Dutch stouw (“place”), German Stau (“congestion”). See also -stow.
From Middle English stowen, stawen, stewen, from Old English stōwian (“to hold back, restrain”), from Proto-Germanic *stōōną, *stōjaną (“to stow, dam up”), from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand, place”). Cognate with Dutch stuwen, stouwen (“to stow”), Low German stauen (“to blin, halt, hinder”), German stauen (“to halt, hem in, stow, pack”).