chow

• POS: Noun

CIDE DICTIONARY

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 1913 Suppl.]
•  a breed of thick-coated medium-sized dogs with fluffy curled tails and distinctive blue-black tongues; -- same as chowchow{3}, n..  [PJC]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

chow, n.
1 sl. food.
2 offens. a Chinese.
3 a a dog of a Chinese breed with long hair and bluish-black tongue. b this breed.

Etymology

shortened f. CHOW-CHOW