Tow
Tow (tō) , noun
[Old English tow, Anglo-Saxon tow, akin to OD. touw, Icelandic tō a tuft of wool for spinning; compare English taw, transitive verb]
The coarse and broken part of flax or hemp, separated from the finer part by the hatchel or swingle.
Tow (tōd) , transitive verb
[Old English towen, toyen; akin to OFries. toga to pull about, Old High German zogōn, Icelandic toga, Anglo-Saxon tohline a towline, and Anglo-Saxon teón to draw, p. p. getogen. See Tug.]
To draw or pull through the water, as a vessel of any kind, by means of a rope.
Tow , noun
[Compare Icelandic taug a rope, from the same root as English tow, transitive verb]
1.
A rope by which anything is towed; a towline, or towrope.
2.
The act of towing, or the state of being towed; -- chiefly used in the phrase, to take in tow, that is to tow.
3.
That which is towed, or drawn by a towline, as a barge, raft, collection of boats, ect.