collow

C3O1L1L1O1W4

verb

To make foul or dirty; begrime as with the smut of coal; blacken.

OriginMiddle English *colwen ← Old English *colgian ← Proto-West Germanic *koligōn →
Scrabble 11
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Meanings

verbcollow (third-person singular simple present collows, present participle collowing, simple past and past participle collowed)

present singular third person collows · participle present collowing · participle past collowed · past collowed · alternative kellow

  1. transitiveTo make foul or dirty; begrime as with the smut of coal; blacken.
nouncollow (uncountable)

alternative kellow

  1. uncountableThe black grime or soot of coal or burnt wood.

Origin

  1. Proto-West Germanic*koligōn“to make black as coal, blacken with coal”
  2. Old English*colgian
  3. Middle English*colwen
  4. Englishcollow

From Middle English *colwen, *colȝen (attested in colwed, colwinge), from Old English *colgian, from Proto-West Germanic *koligōn (“to make black as coal, blacken with coal”).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

lolcow
Cite this entry
APA

collow. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/collow

MLA

“collow.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/collow. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “collow,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/collow.

Source: collow on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.