stow

intj

Etymology: From Middle English stowen, stawen, stewen, from Old English stōwian (“to hold back, restrain”), from Proto-Germanic *stōōną, *stōjaną (“to stow, dam up”), from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand, place”). Cognate with Dutch stuwen, stouwen (“to stow”), Low German stauen (“to blin, halt, hinder”), German stauen (“to halt, hem in, stow, pack”).

1. A cry used by falconers to call their birds back down to hand.

   “His seconde hawke wexyd gery […] on the rode loft She perkyd her to rest. The fauconer then was prest, Came runnynge with a dow, And cryed, ‘Stow, stow, stow!’ But she wold not bow.”

name

1. A surname.
2. A village in the Scottish Borders council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NT4544).
3. A village and civil parish in West Lindsey district, Lincolnshire, England (OS grid ref SK8881).
4. The alternative spelling of Stowe in Shropshire, England.
5. A small town in Oxford County, Maine, United States.
6. A town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States.
7. A city in Summit County, Ohio, United States.

noun

Etymology: From Middle English stowe, from Old English stōw (“place, location”), from Proto-West Germanic *stōu, from Proto-Germanic *stōō (“a place, stowage”), from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand, place, put”). Cognate with Old Frisian stō (“place”), Icelandic stó (“fireplace”), Dutch stouw (“place”), German Stau (“congestion”). See also -stow.

1. A place, stead.

verb

Etymology: From Middle English stowen, stawen, stewen, from Old English stōwian (“to hold back, restrain”), from Proto-Germanic *stōōną, *stōjaną (“to stow, dam up”), from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand, place”). Cognate with Dutch stuwen, stouwen (“to stow”), Low German stauen (“to blin, halt, hinder”), German stauen (“to halt, hem in, stow, pack”).

1. To put something away in a compact and tidy manner, in its proper place, or in a suitable place.
2. To store or pack something in a space-saving manner and over a long time.

   “Yet everybody knows that a cargo properly stowed in a seaworthy craft reaches market in much the better condition than by rail, though perhaps it is some hours longer on the way.”

3. To arrange, pack, or fill something tightly or closely.
4. To dispose of, lodge, or hide somebody somewhere.

   “Ar.[…]The Marriners all vnder hatches ſtowed, / Who, with a Charme ioynd to their ſuffred labour / I haue left aſleep :[…]”

5. To cease; to stop doing something.

   “But when I strove my flame to tell, / Says she, 'Come, stow that patter, / If you're a cove wot likes a gal, / Vy don't you stand some gatter?' / In course I instantly complied— / Two brimming quarts of porter, / With sev'ral goes of gin beside, / Drain'd Bet the Coaley's daughter.”

   ““Come, come,” said Silver; “stow this talk. He’s dead, and he don’t walk, that I know; leastways, he won’t walk by day, and you may lay to that. Care killed a cat. Fetch ahead for the doubloons.””