Meanings
nounold gown (uncountable)
- obsoleteslanguncountablesmuggled tea
[…] their horses loaded with 150 to 200 lbs. of “old gown” (smuggled tea) […]
1879, John Owens, Plain Papers Relating to the Excise Branch of the Inland Revenue Department, From 1621 to 1878, page 4441 more example
[…] at this time there was a very general leaning towards cheap brandy or tobacco; "old gown," as smuggled tea was called, was in general request, […]
1883, S. William Beck, Gloves, Their Annals and Associations, page 165
Cite this entry
APA
old gown. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/old%20gown
MLA
“old gown.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/old%20gown. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “old gown,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/old%20gown.
Source: old gown on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.