▪ I. dow, v.1 Now Sc. and north. dial.
(daʊ)
Forms: pres. tense 1 and 3 sing. 1. déaᵹ, déah [= Goth. dauh, OHG. touc, OS. dôg]; 1–3 deᵹ, 2 dæh, 3 deh, degh, 3–4 deih, 4–7 dowe, 5– dow (7 dou); in 3rd sing. 4 dowes, 8–9 dows; pl. 1 duᵹon [= OS. dugun, OHG. tugun]; 2–3 duȝen, 4 douwe(n, 4–7 dowe, 5– dow. pa. tense 1 dohte [= Goth. *dauhta, OHG. tohta]; 3 douhte, 4 dought(e, doht, doght, duȝt, dught, 4– dought, dowed, Sc. 5– docht, doucht, dowcht, 6 ducht.
[One of the original Teutonic preterite-present verbs (see can, dare, may): OE. duᵹan to avail, be strong, good, worthy, of use, = OS. dugan, OFris. duga (MDu. döghen, Du. deugen), OHG. tugan, (MHG. tugen, Ger. taugen), Goth. dugan, ON. duga (Sw. duga, Da. due):—OTeut. dugan. The original inflexion déaᵹ (:—OTeut. daug) of the singular present was in 14th c. supplanted by dow from the plural, the 3rd sing. being sometimes made dows. For the original pa. tense dohte (:—OTeut. duhta) retained in Sc. as docht, dought, a levelled form dowed is occasional from 14th c. Both forms are used by Scott in sense 5.]
† 1. intr. To be good, strong, valiant, vigorous, manly, virtuous. Only OE.
| Beowulf (Th.) 1057 Ðeah ðu heaðo ræsa ᵹehwær dohte. a 1000 Father's Instr. 4 (in Exeter Bk.) Do á þætte duᵹe. a 1000 Satan 283 (Gr.) Se ðe his heorte deah. |
† 2. To be valid, or of value; to be worth or good for anything. Obs.
| c 1200 Ormin 4872 Icc amm þatt þing þatt nohht ne dæh. a 1275 Prov. ælfred 506 in O.E. Misc. 132 On him þu maist þe tresten, yif [h]is troȝþe degh. Ibid. 546. 133 Hwile þine daȝes duȝen. c 1300 Havelok 703 Al he solde, þat outh douthe [= ouht douhte]. c 1320 Sir Tristr. 1126 Neuer no douȝt him day For sorwe he hadde oniȝt. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 133 Thebald nouht ne deih. 1508 Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 370 Eftir dede of that drupe, that docht nought in chalmir. 1530 Lyndesay Test. Papyngo 69 It dowe no thyng bot for to be deiectit. 1788 W. Marshall Yorksh. Gloss., Dow, to..be useful; as ‘he dows for nought’, he is good for nothing. |
† 3. To be of use or profit to any one; to avail. Chiefly impers. Obs.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xvi. 26 Huæt forðon deᵹ menn? a 1100 O.E. Chron. an. 1006 Ðet him naðor ne dohte ne innhere ne uthere. a 1300 Cursor M. 10771 (Cott.) Quen ioseph sagh na hide ne dught [rime broght]. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 374 Noȝt dowed bot þe deth in þe depe stremez. Ibid. C. 50 What dowes me þe dedayn, oþer dispit make? c 1400 Destr. Troy 5001 Iff yow do þus in dede, hit doghis the bettur. 1513 Douglas æneis viii. Prol. 1 Of drefling and dremis quhat dow it to endyt? 1590 R. Bruce Serm. on Sacr. G vij. (Jam.) So this argument dow not. |
† 4. To be good, fitting, or proper for any one; to become, befit, behove. Usually impers.
| a 1225 Leg. Kath. 2228, & biburiede hire as hit deh martir. a 1225 Juliana 51 Milde and meoke..as meiden deh to beonne. a 1225 Ancr. R. 420 Swuch þing þet ou ne deih forto habben. 14.. Tundale's Vis. 907 As wemen doght. c 1450 Merlin 47 Blase axed what he dought to do. |
5. To have the strength or ability, to be able (to do something).
| a 1300 Cursor M. 23771 (Cott.) Fight he aght ai quils he dught, and fle quen he langer ne moght. a 1400–50 Alexander 4058 Vnde[d]lynes to dele I dowe be na ways. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xviii. 14 Thocht he dow not to leid a tyk. 1573 Satir. Poems Reform. xxxix. 38 Scho..dang the frenchmen, quhilk we docht not do. 1637 Rutherford Lett. (1862) I. 203 Ye may not, ye cannot, ye dow not want Christ. 1645 Munim. Burgh Irvine (1891) II. 58 Our inhabitants who ducht not win away by sey. 1724 Ramsay Tea-t. Misc. (1733) I. 2 She doughtna let her lover mourn. 1786 Burns Earnest Cry & Prayer Postscr. iii, They downa bide the stink o' powther. 1816 Scott Antiq. xxiii, I never dowed to bide a hard turn o' wark in my life. 1818 ― Hrt. Midl. xxiii, As well as a woman in her condition dought. |
6. To do well, thrive, prosper.
| 1674 Ray N.C. Words 13 To Daw or Dou: to thrive..He'll never dow, i.e. He will never be good. a 1758 A. Ramsay Poems (1877) II. 174 Unty'd to a man..We never can thrive or dow. 1811 Willan W. Riding Gloss. (E.D.S.), Dou, dau, to do well, to prosper. 1855 Robinson Whitby Gloss., March grows Never dows. |
Hence ˈdowing ppl. a., † valiant, virtuous (obs.); thriving.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 109 Swa swa þan alden bihouað duȝende þewas. c 1205 Lay. 4123 Dunwale þat was þe duȝende mon. 1825 Jamieson s.v., A dowing bairn. |
▪ II. † dow, v.2 Obs.
Also 4–5 doue, dowe.
[a. F. doue-r (12th c.):—L. dōtāre to portion out, bestow, f. dōs, dōt-em dowry.]
1. trans. To enrich with property; = endow 2.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 520 And the churche ifounded in a mory place, called Muryfelde, and Idowed of the pryuylege of the citee by kyng Henry. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. xv. 519 Constantyn..holykirke dowed With londes and ledes. 1382 Wyclif Exod. xxii. 16 He shal dowe hir and he shal have hir to wijf. 1403 York Manual (Surtees) p. xvi, Wyth my gyftys I dow the. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 431 The abbay of royalmonte whyche he founded and dowed with grete reuenewe and rentes. |
2. To invest with something; = endow 3 a.
| c 1420 Anturs of Arth. lii, Here I doue the as Duke. |
| c 1450 Mirour Saluacioun 3750 She was dowyd with eterne cristis ffruycionne. |
3. To bequeath, give as an endowment.
| c 1374 Chaucer Troylus v. 230 O lady myn..To whom for eueremo myn herte I dowe. |
Hence ˈdowing vbl. n., endowment, dower.
| 1382 Wyclif Exod. xxii. 17 He shal ȝeeld the money after the maner of dowyng that maydens weren wont to tak. c 1450 Mirour Saluacioun 4323 Dampned sawles and the bodies shal haf no swilk dowyng. |
▪ III. dow, v.3 Sc. and north. dial.
(daʊ)
[Deriv. doubtful; possibly a Sc. form of dull v. or a ME. *doll-en: cf. dowie = dolly, dully.]
intr. To lose brightness or freshness; to fade; to become dull or musty; to fall into a sleepy state. Chiefly in pa. pple. dowed, dow'd, become dull, faded, etc.
| 1502 Ord. Crysten Men (W. de W. 1506) v. iv. 386 People blynded and dowed in theyr synnes. 1653 D. Osborne Lett. to Temple (1888) 59 I was so tired with my journey, so dowd with my cold. 1737 Ramsay Sc. Prov. (1776) 21 (Jam.) Cast na out the dow'd water till ye get the fresh. c 1746 J. Collier (Tim Bobbin) View Lanc. Dial. Gloss., Dowd, flat; dead; spiritless. 1845 Ainslie in Whistle-binkie (Sc. Songs) Ser. iii. 95 The day begins to dow. 1853 Ballantine in Whistle-binkie (1890) II. 292 As dowed the outward rind The core it grew the dearer. 1875 Lanc. Gloss., It's as dowd as dyke wayter. |
▪ IV. † dow, v.4 Obs.
[Used by Caxton to render MDu. duwen.]
trans. To press, squeeze, wring.
| 1481 Caxton Reynard (Arb.) 61, I dowed [ic duwede] the cony bytwene his eeris that almost I benamme his lyf from hym. Ibid. 111 The sore wryngyng that the foxe dowd [duwede] and wronge his genytours. |
▪ V. dow
obs. form of dough; Sc. var. of dove.
▪ VI. dow
earlier and more correct form of dhow.
| 1799 J. Jackson Journ. from India 3 Observed a dow in chase of us. Ibid. 5 A large Arab dow. |