Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Synonyms
Nearby Entries
chow - 12 dictionary results

chow

1  [chou] Informal.
Use chow in a Sentence
–noun
1. food, esp. hearty dishes or a meal.
—Verb phrase
2. chow down, to eat; eat a meal, esp. the main meal of the day: In the army we usually chow down at 6 p.m.
Origin:
1855–60, Americanism; short for chow-chow

chow

2  [chou]
–noun (often initial capital letter)
chow chow.
Origin:
short form

Chow

  [chou; Chin. joh]
–noun
Chou.

Chow

  [chou]
–noun Australian Disparaging.
a Chinese.
Origin:
1870–75; special use of chow 1

Chou

  [joh]
–noun
a dynasty in China, 1122?–256 b.c., marked by the division of China into separate feudal states and the emergence of important philosophical schools, esp. Confucianism and Taoism.
Also, Chow, Zhou.

chow chow

  [chou chou]
–noun (often initial capital letters)
one of a Chinese breed of medium-sized dogs having a thick black, blue, red, or cream coat and a blue-black tongue.
Also, chow.

Origin:
1785–95; said to be < dial. Chin; cf. Guangdong dial. gáu dog
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To chow
chow 1   (chou)   
n.  Any of a breed of heavyset dog originating in China, having a long, dense, reddish-brown or black coat and a blue-black tongue. Also called chow chow.

[Possibly of Chinese Pidgin English origin.]
chow 2   (chou)   
n.  Food; victuals.
intr.v.   chowed, chow·ing, chows
To eat: chowed down on the meat and potatoes.

[Possibly from Chinese (Cantonese) tsaāp, food, miscellany; see chop suey.]
Chow   (jō)   
See Zhou.
Zhou or Chou or Chow   (jō)   
A Chinese dynasty (traditionally dated 1122-221 B.C.) characterized by great intellectual achievements, including the rise of Confucianism and Taoism and the writing of the oldest known Chinese literature.

[Chinese (Mandarin) Zhōu.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Chow

Chow\, n. [Chin chou.] A prefecture or district of the second rank in China, or the chief city of such a district; -- often part of the name of a city, as in Foochow.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source

chow 
"food," 1856, Amer.Eng. (originally in California), from Chinese pidgin Eng. chow-chow (1795) "food," reduplication of Chinese cha or tsa "mixed." The dog breed of the same name is from 1886, of unknown origin, but some suggest a link to the Chinese tendency to see dogs as edible.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see chow on Thesaurus | Reference
>