towel English · revision 15151

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1250|origins=gem-pro *thwahlijan}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈtaʊ.əl/, /taʊl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|towaille]], [[bor|fro|toaille]] (modern [[fr|touaille]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from [[frk|*thwahlja]] or another Germanic source,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from [[gem-pro|*thwahlijan]],^(Etymonline) related to [[osx|thwahila|t=towel]], [[dum|dwale]], [[goh|dwahila]], [[nl|dwaal|t=altar cloth]] and the dialect word [[de|Zwehle|t=napkin]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) It goes back to a verb meaning to wash, as in [[ang|þwēan|t=to wash]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) [[es|toalla]] and [[it|tovaglia]] are Germanic loanwords too.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A cloth for wiping something dry: about 1250 in Barnhart, the mid-13th century in Etymonline, about 1284 in the OED.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A cloth used at communion is also from about 1284, and a cloth worn as a head-dress or girdle from before 1366, now obsolete.^(OED 1989) The Middle English Dictionary lists 27 spellings of the singular, and the modern spelling emerged about 1400.^(Etymonline) To rub someone with an oaken towel was an old way of saying to beat with a cudgel.^(Etymonline) The verb, to wipe with a towel, is from 1836 in Etymonline, about 1839 in Merriam-Webster.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) The towel rack is from 1877,^(Etymonline) and ''to throw in the towel'', to admit defeat, began in boxing (1915).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1250 – a towel.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1284 – a communion cloth.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1400 – the spelling towel.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1836 – to towel (verb).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1877 – towel rack.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1915 – to throw in the towel.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A piece of absorbent cloth or paper for drying the body.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A similar cloth for drying dishes.^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''throw in the towel'': to admit defeat.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To dry or wipe with a towel.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(Australian slang)'' To beat someone up, often with ''up''.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[dishtowel]]

+ * [[towelette]]

+ * [[toweling]]

+ * [[bath towel]]

+ * [[beach towel]]

+ * [[roller towel]]

+ * [[sanitary towel]]

+ * [[tea towel]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}