towel

Meaning

Noun

A cloth used for wiping, especially one used for drying anything wet, such as a person after a bath.

Verb

1. (transitive) To hit with a towel.
2. (transitive) To dry by using a towel.
3. (transitive) To block up (a door, etc.) with a towel, to conceal the fumes of a recreational drug.
4. (UK, dialectal, obsolete, transitive) To beat with a stick, or "oaken towel".

Synonyms

napkin

bath towel

cloth

wipe

face towel

piece of cloth

rag

brush

wiper

handkerchief

rags

rake

rub out

score out

scratch

serviette

sheet

strike

sweep

terry cloth

washcloth

whisk

wipe off

wipe out

wipe up

hand towel

pocket-handkerchief

delete

wash cloth

besom

broom

🧹

dry

duster

efface

erase

excise

expunge

parch

Translations

toalla

serviette

Handtuch

asciugamano

toalha

handdoek

tovallola

πετσέτα

منشفة

havlu

essuie-main

peşkir

mantele

essuie-mains

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈtaʊ(ə)l/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: towayle

Cognate with French: touaille

Cognate with Old High German: dwahila

Cognate with German: Zwehle

Cognate with Dutch: dwaal

Cognate with Low German: Dweel

Cognate with Old English: þwǣle

Cognate with Old English: þwēan

In summary

From Middle English towayle, towel, towail, towaille, from Old French toaille (“towel”) (modern French touaille), Medieval Latin toallia, from Frankish *þwahilu (“cloth”), from Proto-Germanic *þwahaną (“to wash”). Cognate with Old High German dwahila (“towel”) (modern dialectal German Zwehle), Dutch dwaal (“towel”), dweil (“mop”), Low German Dweel (“towel”), Old English þwǣle (“band; ribbon; fillet”), Old English þwēan (“to wash”).