taw

UK: /tɔː/ US: (tô; Linguist. täv, tôv, täf, tôf )

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

taw¹  (tô), n. 

1. Games a choice or fancy marble used as a shooter.
2. Games a game in which marbles are arranged in the center of a circle drawn or scratched on the ground, the object being to knock out as many as possible from the circle;
   ringer.
3. Games Also, taw′ line′. the line from which the players shoot.

v.i. 

4. Games to shoot a marble.

• origin, originally uncertain 1700–10

taw²  (tô), v.t. 

1. to prepare or dress (some raw material) for use or further manipulation.
2. Clothing to transform the skin of an animal into white leather by the application of minerals, emulsions, etc.
3. [Archaic.] to flog;
   thrash.

• bef. 900; Middle English tawen, Old English tawian; cognate with Dutch touwen, Gothic taujan

taw′er, n. 

taw³  (täv, tôv, täf, tôf ), n. 

1. Linguistics tav.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

taw / tɔː/ noun

1. the line from which the players shoot in marbles
2. back to taws ⇒ back to the beginning
3. a large marble used for shooting
4. a game of marbles

Etymology: 18th Century: of unknown origin

taw / tɔː/ verb (transitive)

1. to convert (skins) into white leather by treatment with mineral salts, such as alum and salt, rather than by normal tanning processes

Etymology: Old English tawian; compare Old High German zouwen to prepare, Gothic taujan to make

ˈtawer noun

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

tav  (täv, tôv, täf, tôf ), n. 

1. Linguistics the 23rd letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
2. Linguistics the consonant sound represented by this letter.

Also, tau, taw. 

• Hebrew tāw literally, mark

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

tav, taw / tɑːv tɑːf tav taf/ noun

1. the 22nd and last letter in the Hebrew alphabet (ת), transliterated as t or when final th

Etymology: from Hebrew: cross, mark