towel

/ˈtaʊ.əl/·noun·c. 1250·Established

Origin

'Towel' is Frankish for 'washing cloth' — from 'thwahan' (to wash). Originally for washing, not drying.

Definition

A piece of absorbent cloth or paper used for drying oneself or wiping things dry.

The Full Story

Old French13th centurywell-attested

From Old French toaille (a cloth for wiping), from Old Frankish *thwahlja or *thwahljō, derived from the Proto-Germanic verb *þwahan (to wash). The Proto-Germanic verb traces to Proto-Indo-European *twoḱ- or *twek- (to bathe, to wash). Cognate forms appear in Old High German dwahila (towel), Old Saxon thwahan (to wash), and Old Norse þvā (to wash). The French intermediary toaille shows the early medieval transfer of Frankish domestic vocabulary

Ancient Roots

*þwahaną (Proto-Germanic: “to wash”)

This Word in Other Languages

toaille(Old French (cloth for wiping — direct source))thwahlja(Old Frankish (washing cloth — Proto-Germanic ancestor))dwahila(Old High German (towel — cognate))þvā(Old Norse (to wash — cognate verb))thwahan(Old Saxon (to wash — same Germanic root))Zwehle(German dialect (towel — archaic cognate))

Related Words

throw in the towel

Also from Old French

language pay javelin journey require push

Did you know?

'Throw in the towel' comes from boxing — a fighter's corner throws a towel into the ring to signal surrender. The towel was already present at ringside for wiping sweat and blood. And the word 'towel' itself is about washing, not drying — a towel was originally the cloth

Towel Wiki Article· 3 min read