See Also: towel(medicine)
towel(dictionary)
tea towel(dictionary)
towel rail(dictionary)
towel 2, verb(dictionary)
towel 1, noun(dictionary)
paper towel(dictionary)
hand towel(dictionary)
dish towel(dictionary)
bath towel(dictionary)

towel (iou)



towel noun & verb. ME.
[Old French toail(l)e (mod. touaille), from Germanic base also of Old English Twean, Old Saxon Twahan, Old High German dwahan, Old Norse Tva Gothic Twahan wash.]
A. noun.
A piece of rough-surfaced absorbent cloth used for drying a person or thing after washing or wetting. Also, a cloth or piece of absorbent paper used to dry plates, dishes, spillages, etc.; a tea towel. ME.
bath towel, hand-towel, kitchen towel, paper towel, roller towel, etc. chuck in the towel, throw in the towel colloq. (orig. Boxing) give up, admit defeat. Turkish towel: see TURKISH adjective.
Ecclesiastical. A cloth of linen, silk, etc., for use at communion or for covering the altar. Now rare or obsolete. ME.
b. A cloth used as a head-dress, girdle, etc. LME-M17.
In full oaken towel. A stick, a cudgel. slang. M18.
= SANITARY towel. L19.
Comb.: towel-gourd the loofah or dishcloth gourd, Luffa aegyptiaca; towelhead slang, offensive a person who wears a head-cloth or turban; towel-horse a frame or stand on which to hang towels; towel rail, towel ring: on which to hang towels.
b. verb. Infl. -ll-, *-l-.
verb trans. Beat, cudgel, thrash. Also (Austral.) foll. by up. slang. E18.
verb trans. & intrans. Rub, wipe, or dry (esp. oneself) with a towel. Also foll. by at, down, off. M19.
M. Crichton The girls got out of the pool..and began toweling off. Times Miller towelled himself..as if he had just emerged from a shower.
towelette noun a small towel; esp. a small paper or cloth towel, pre-moistened and in a sealed package, used for cleansing: E20.
towelled adjective wrapped in a towel E20.