jow

J8O1W4
UK/d͡ʒəʊ/US/d͡ʒaʊ/

noun

A premetric unit of length in India, equal to approximately a quarter of an inch.

OriginMiddle English chaulen →
UncommonScrabble 13
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Meanings

jow1

nounjow (uncountable)
  1. alternativeuncountableAlternative form of jhow (“a kind of tamarisk”).

jow2

nounjow (plural jows)

plural jows · alternative gaou · alternative gau · alternative gow · alternative jaob

  1. historicalA premetric unit of length in India, equal to approximately a quarter of an inch.

jow3

verbjow (third-person singular simple present jows, present participle jowing, simple past and past participle jowed)

present singular third person jows · participle present jowing · participle past jowed · past jowed

  1. UKdialectaltransitiveTo knock, strike, bump.
  2. ScotlandtransitiveTo ring or toll (a bell).

jow4

verb
  1. IndiaimperativeobsoleteGo away; begone.

    He angrily tells the crowd to jow (go away), and the nearest of them sheer off a few paces, […]

    1927, Alfred Claude Brown, The Ordinary Man's India, page 88
    1 more example

    This is always the way in India: the servant assures you that what you require is not procurable […] you politely reply, "Jow" (go away), and in nine cases out of ten he will return with the desired article; […]

    1861, M. A. Wallace-Dunlop, Rosalind Harriet Maria Wallace-Dunlop Inverarity, The Timely Retreat from India, Before the Mutinies (page 163)

jow5

verbjow (third-person singular simple present jows, present participle jowing, simple past and past participle jowed)

present singular third person jows · participle present jowing · participle past jowed · past jowed

  1. UKdialectalTo talk loudly.

Origin

jow · verb

Alteration of jowl (“to knock, strike, ring a bell”), with loss of final l.

Full word history & related roots →

jow · verb

  1. Middle Englishchaulen
  2. Englishjow

Apparently from earlier *jowl, from Middle English chaulen, chavelen (“to jabber”). Compare jawl (“to talk loudly”).

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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