Etymology

tew

T1E1W4

Today it means: Prep work; labour. Full definition →

Middle English tewen
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tew · noun, verb1

  1. Middle English · inherited fromtewen
  2. English todaytew

From Middle English tewen, a variant of tawen (“to taw, prepare”). More at taw.

tew · noun2

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*teugą“gear, utensil”
  2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*teug
  3. Old English · inherited from*tēog“utensil, tackle, rigging”
  4. Middle English · inherited from*tewe
  5. English todaytew

Uncertain. Perhaps from an unrecorded Middle English *tewe, *teoȝ, from Old English *tēog (“utensil, tackle, rigging”), from Proto-West Germanic *teug, from Proto-Germanic *teugą (“gear, utensil”). If so, then cognate with West Frisian túch (“rigging, tackle”), Dutch tuig (“rigging, tackle”), German Zeug (“equipment, stuff”). More at toy.

Tew · proper noun3

  1. Welsh · derived fromtew“plump”
  2. Old English · derived fromtīewe“row; lenghty object”
  3. English todayTew

Two possible origins: * English habitational surname from the villages of Great, Little and Duns Tew, in Oxfordshire, all from Old English tīewe (“row; lenghty object”) or tīwe (“meeting place, court”). * Welsh nickname for a fat man, from Welsh tew (“plump”).

Tew · proper noun4

Anglicisation of Old English Tīw from analogy with English Tuesday (Middle English Tewesday).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.