collow

English

Alternative forms

• kellow

Etymology

From Middle English *colwen, *colȝen (attested in colwed, colwinge), from Old English *colgian, from Proto-West Germanic *koligōn (“to make black as coal, blacken with coal”).

Verb

collow (third-person singular simple present collows, present participle collowing, simple past and past participle collowed)

1. (transitive) To make foul or dirty; begrime as with the smut of coal; blacken.

Noun

collow (uncountable)

1. The black grime or soot of coal or burnt wood.

Related terms

• colly
• kelly