▪ I. tew, n.1 Obs. exc. dial.
(tjuː)
Also 9 tue.
[f. tew v.1]
† 1. The tawing of leather: see tew v.1 1. Obs.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 489/2 Tew, or tewynge of lethyr. |
† 2. The work of preparation; labour. Obs.
| 1644 Hartlib's Legacy (1655) 286 Each Acre shall be worth..at least six pound, thirteen shillings, four pence for the tew onely, and at least six pound, thirteen shillings and four pence more for the seed. |
3. Constant work and bustling; a state of worry or excitement. dial. and U.S.
| 1825 Brockett N.C. Words s.v. Tue, Sare tues, great difficulty in accomplishing any thing. 1866 E. Tabor Rachel's Secr. I. vii. 103 There was no end of the tew and worry in a farm-house. 1880 Tennyson Northern Cobbler ix, When we coom'd into Meeätin', at fust she wur all in a tew. 1883 Howells Woman's Reason (Tauchn.) II. 27 My wife was always in a tew about the danger. |
▪ II. † tew, n.2 Obs.
Also 6 tewe, (7 tewgh, tiew, 9 dial. tow).
[Not known before 15th c.: app. corresp. to WFris. t{uacu}ch, late MDu., mod.Du. tuig, MLG., LG. tüch, MHG. ziuc, Ger. zeug, apparatus, gear, tools, utensils, implements, tackle: f. ablaut stem tiug- of *tiuhan to draw, lead (tee v.1).]
1. Fishing-tackle; nets, fishing-lines, etc.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 490/1 Tew, of fyschynge, piscalia, in plurali, retiaria [MS. reci-]. 1529 Will J. Thomson (Somerset Ho.), A mansfare of all tewe except sperlyn nett. 1619 Fletcher M. Thomas i. iii, Dor...The fool shall now fish for himself. Alice. Be sure then His tewgh be tith and strong:..He'l catch no fish else. 1622 Malynes Anc. Law-Merch. 246 Also that they shall be honest and true..being asked concerning the length and depth of their ropes or tewes when they are in driuing; neither shall they wittingly..suffer their tewes to flit and run ouer one another. |
| fig. 1589 Warner Alb. Eng. vi. xxix. (1612) 144 She [Queen Catharine 14..] pitched Tewe, he [Owen Tudor] masshed. 1602 Ibid. Epit. 391 This Cardinall, conspiring with William de la Poole,..pitched their Tew to intangle the same Protector. 1603 Harsnet Pop. Impost. 12 The groundes of their Art [were] layde sure and a little trying of their Tooles, whether their Tew would holde or no. |
2. Implements, tools, materials for work generally; stuff. Also fig.
| 1616 T. Scott Philomythie C vj b, When..all your traines and tew in order laid. a 1638 Mede Wks. (1672) 815, I am not unwilling to communicate unto you the most of my tew, because, I perceive, you make some account of them. 1671 Skinner, Tew,..Instrumentum, Materia, Arma, Armamenta. 1674 N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 36 Another Argument..which may happily at first blush seem to have more tiew in it than all the stands we have met with hitherto. a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Tow,..necessary tools or apparatus for any purpose (pronounced like cow). 1904 Eng. Dial. Dict., Tew,..Obsol. w. Cy. Materials for work. |
▪ III. tew, n.3 Sc.
[Etymol. doubtful: perh. from same root as prec.]
(?) The braces of a drum, or the braces and cords by which a drum is tightened.
| c 1720 in Beveridge Culross & Tulliallan xix. (1885) II. 90 The council..allows the drummer to get als many new tews as will serve the drum. |
▪ IV. tew, v.1 Obs. exc. dial.
(tjuː)
Forms: 4–7 tewe, 5 tewhe, tewyn, 6 teawe, 6–7 teaw, 7 tiew, tewgh, 8–9 tue, 7– tew.
[In branch I. app. a later collateral, derivative, or altered form of taw v.1, with which it is synonymous; the form-history is obscure. Branch II. corresponds to nothing in taw, and may be of other origin, though sense-development from branch I. is conceivable.]
I. 1. a. trans. To convert skin into a species of leather, by steeping, beating, and manipulation; to dress; = taw v.1 2.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 12453 Fful manye kynges had he [the giant Ryton] don slo, & flow þe berdes of alle þo; Til a pane, as a furour, he did hem tewe. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 490/1 Tewyn lethyr, frunio, corrodio. 1530 Palsgr. 754/2, I tewe leather, je souple. 1601 Holland Pliny (1634) II. 473 Certaine skinnes of leather well tewed and dressed vntill they be soft. 1681 J. Chetham Angler's Vade-m. xxxiv. §3 (1689) 186 After the skin is tewed in the skinner's lime-pits. 1709 Brit. Apollo II. No. 49. 4/1 Were his Hide tew'd by Tanners. |
| fig. 1709 Brit. Apollo II. No. 29. 3/2 Tew her Hide with an Oaken Plant. |
b. intr. for refl. or pass.
| c 1880 Northants. Dial., Take it [the leather] out again and let it lie and tew. |
2. To work (anything) into proper consistency by beating, etc.; to temper (mortar). Now dial.
| 1641 Best Farm. Bks. (Surtees) 138 Then doe wee water it [the earth] and tewe it well att the first, and soe leaue it for her that serveth to temper. 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. 88/2 Tew, to Batter or draw out a peece of Iron. 1721 Bailey, To Tew..to beat Mortar. To Tew Hemp..to beat or dress it. 1797 P. Wakefield Ment. Improv. (1801) III. 2 Kneading and tewing the two earths together is the most laborious part of the work. 1883 Almondbury & Huddersf. Gloss. s.v., That lime wants better tewing. |
3. transf. and fig. a. To deal with or employ.
| 1489 Churchw. Acc. Walberswick, Suffolk (Nichols 1797) 183 Y{supt} 1 man, or 2 men shall rec. the town doollys of heryngs and sperlings..and to tewe them to most profyte of the town. |
† b. To prepare or bring into a proper state or condition for some purpose. Obs.
| 1571 Golding Calvin on Ps. xxx. 9 No man can giue himselfe cheerfully vnto prayer, till he bee thoroughly teawed and well furbished by the crosse. a 1577 Gascoigne Flowers (1587) 1 These chattering teeth, this trembling toong Well tewed with careful cries. a 1619 Fletcher Wit without M. iii. i, So tewed him up with Sack that he lies lashing a But of Malmsie for his Mares. |
† 4. a. To beat, flog, thrash, belabour. Also fig. = taw v.1 3, 3 b. Obs.
| 1598 Dallington Meth. Trav. G ij, He left them all France, tyned and tewed, as bare as a birdes bone. 1600 Holland Livy 716 When they saw once the bodies of their Tribunes tewed with rods. 1622 Fletcher Begg. Bush iii. ii, Tew 'em, swinge 'em, Knock me their brains into their breeches. 1664 J. Wilson A. Commenius ii. i, He does so tew the Pope; That man of sin, The Whore of Babylon. 1670 Narborough Jrnl. in Acc. Sev. Late Voy. i. (1694) 75 The Trees are much weather-beaten,..and the shore-sides much tewed with the surge of the Waters. |
† b. To lay on (a rod, scourge). Obs. rare.
| 1583 T. Stocker Civ. Warres Lowe C. Ep. Ded. A ij b, Whiche roddes and scourges, when he hath in his great wisedome, teawed vpon them, for their amendement, he will surely..caste into the fire. |
c. dial. To shake up, toss about, turn over (as hay); to tumble, rumple, crease, disarrange (dress); to pull about, pull in pieces; to discuss; to vex. Also pass., to be involved or mixed up with.
In Eng. Dial. Dict., cited as in use from Northern Counties to Warw., Northamp., E. Anglia.
| 1890 Kipling Life's Handicap (1981) 67 Happen there was a lass tewed up wi' it. 1904 S. R. Crockett Strong Mac xxxix. 323 Ye were somedeal tewed up wi' a lass, were ye no? |
II. 5. trans. To fatigue or tire with hard work; refl. = 6. dial.
| 1825 Brockett N.C. Words s.v. Tue, He tues himself. 1893 Carlisle Patr. 30 June 3/3 (E.D.D.), S― went down before K―, who was sair tewed in the operation... The two giants could not be said to have tew'd themselves much. c 1895 ‘Flit’ Holderness Harvest 84 I'se been tewing mysen a'most to deead all forenoon. |
6. intr. To work hard, to exert oneself, to toil; to bustle about. Now dial. and U.S.
| 1787 Grose Provinc. Gloss., To Tew,..also to work hard. 1825 Brockett N.C. Words, Tue, to labour long and patiently, to fatigue by repeated or continued exertion... A tuing life, a laborious life. A tuing soul, a hard working person. 1863 Trollope St. Olaves II. 4 Little folks like you an' me has to tew about and fend for 'em both. 1894 Baring-Gould Queen of L. xii, I tew from morning till night. 1909 Daily News 31 May 4 Our male folk, who after ‘tewing’ at the mill all the week are usually allowed to take their time at the Saturday tea table. |
Hence tewed (tjuːd) ppl. a.; tewing vbl. n. (also attrib.) and ppl. a.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 490/1 *Tevwyd, frunitus. 1488 in Ripon Ch. Acts (Surtees) 286, i bukskyn tewyd. 1611 Cotgr., Tracassé, hurried, tossed, tugged, tewed; spoiled, ouerworne, or misused, by much remouing. 1863 Mrs. Toogood Yorks. Dial., Tewed, tired, exhausted. 1892 Carruth in Kansas Univ. Mag. I. (U.S.) (E.D.D.), I'm tewed and fretted. |
| 1394–6 Cartular. Abb. de Whiteby (Surtees) 623 Item pro *tewyng xiiii pellium luporum, i.s.ix.d. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 201 Whoos tewhyng hath coost many a crowche, Hire pylche souple for to make. 1852 R. S. Surtees Sponge's Sp. Tour x, Bullfrog, whom I bought him of, is very fat..and can't stand much tewing in the saddle. 1855 Robinson Whitby Gloss. s.v., ‘A tewing hay time’, the season wet and unfavourable for the hay,..involving much extra labour. 1882 Ogilvie (Annandale), Tewing-beetle, a spade-shaped instrument for tewing or beating hemp. 1902 Baring-Gould Nebo the Nailer xix, She alway was a tewin' woman. |
▪ V. † tew, v.2 Obs.
Also 8 tue.
[app. a derivative or altered form of tow v., of much later appearance; the phonology is obscure.]
trans. To haul, tow (a ship, net, etc.); to drag, pull, tug; = tow v.
| 1600 Holland Livy xxv. xxx. 571 Marcellus caused a great hulke, laden with armed souldiours, to be fastened by an haling rope unto a gallie.., and so in the night by strength of oares to bee tewed and drawne up after it into Acradina. 1612 Drayton Poly-olb. xii. 197 The goodly river Lee..By which the Danes had then their full-fraught navies tew'd. 1622 Ibid. xxv. (1748) 367 The toiling fisher here is tewing of his net. a 1693 Urquhart's Rabelais iii. Prol. 7 He..tugg'd it, tew'd it, carry'd it [a tub]. 1706 E. Baynard in Sir J. Floyer Hot & Cold Bath. ii. 386 A Sprain..tued, hal'd and wrested by ignorant Bone-setters. 1787 Grose Provinc. Gloss., To Tew, to pull or tow. |