Etymograph

English

tow

Tow comes from Old English togian ‘to tow’, from Proto-Germanic *tugōną ‘to draw, pull’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dewk-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dewk-1‘to draw, pull’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*tugōną1‘to draw, pull’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*togōn1‘to pull, tow’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150togian1‘to tow’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500towen1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2019tow1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English tow
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2019, Andrew Benson: “On Saturday, Vettel was very unhappy with Leclerc's failure…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dewk-Wiktionary, English tow‘to draw, pull’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*tugōnąWiktionary, English tow‘to draw, pull’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*togōnWiktionary, English tow‘to pull, tow’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150togianWiktionary, English tow‘to tow’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500towenWiktionary, English tow
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2019towWiktionary, English tow. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2019, Andrew Benson: “On Saturday, Vettel was very unhappy with Leclerc's failure…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dewk- ‘to draw, pull’

team, education, production, product, produce, reduce, conduct, introduction, tie, touch, duke, reduction, introduce, educate, duchess, induction, toy, tying, dolphin, duct, induce, tuck, tighten, conn, douche, educator, conducive, seduce, subdue, duchy, doge, herzog, tether, taut, transducer, duc, redux, cond, duce, untie, 125 more

through Old English togian ‘to tow’

tug

Another origin of tow

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dewh₂-‘to fit’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500touw
  3. Englishtodaytow

Today it means

verb To pull something behind one, such as by using a line, chain, or tongue.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “tow”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dewk- / tow

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