tallow

• POS: Noun, Verb (transitive)
• HYPHEN: tal=low

CIDE DICTIONARY

tallow, n. [OE. taluh, talugh; akin to OD. talgh, D. talk, G., Dan. and Sw. talg, Icel. tōlgr, tōlg, tōlk; and perhaps to Goth. tulgus firm.].

•  The suet or fat of animals of the sheep and ox kinds, separated from membranous and fibrous matter by melting.  [1913 Webster]

  " The solid consistency of tallow is due to the large amount of stearin it contains. See Fat."  [1913 Webster]
•  The fat of some other animals, or the fat obtained from certain plants, or from other sources, resembling the fat of animals of the sheep and ox kinds.  [1913 Webster]

Tallow candle, a candle made of tallow. -- Tallow catch, a keech. See Keech. [Obs.] -- Tallow chandler, one whose occupation is to make, or to sell, tallow candles. -- Tallow chandlery, the trade of a tallow chandler; also, the place where his business is carried on. -- Tallow tree (Bot.), a tree (Stillingia sebifera) growing in China, the seeds of which are covered with a substance which resembles tallow and is applied to the same purposes.

tallow, v. t. 

•  To grease or smear with tallow.  [1913 Webster]
•  To cause to have a large quantity of tallow; to fatten; as, tallow sheep.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

tallow, n. & v.
--n. the harder kinds of (esp. animal) fat melted down for use in making candles, soap, etc.
--v.tr. grease with tallow.

Idiom

tallow-tree any of various trees, esp. Sapium sebiferum of China, yielding vegetable tallow. vegetable tallow a vegetable fat used as tallow.

Derivative

tallowish adj. tallowy adj.

Etymology

ME talg, talug, f. MLG talg, talch, of unkn. orig.

THESAURUS

tallow

animal oil, cerate, drying oil, essential oil, ester, fat, fatty oil, fixed oil, grease, hydrogenated fat, lipid, mineral oil, oil, oleum, polyunsaturated fat, sebum, unsaturated fat, vegetable oil, volatile oil

ROGET THESAURUS

tallow

Oil

N oil, fat, butter, cream, grease, tallow, suet, lard, dripping exunge, blubber, glycerin, stearin, elaine, oleagine, soap, soft soap, wax, cerement, paraffin, spermaceti, adipocere, petroleum, mineral, mineral rock, mineral crystal, mineral oil, vegetable oil, colza oil, olive oil, salad oil, linseed oil, cottonseed oil, soybean oil, nut oil, animal oil, neat's foot oil, train oil, ointment, unguent, liniment, aceite, amole, Barbados tar, fusel oil, grain oil, rape oil, seneca oil, hydrate of amyl, ghee, heating oil, #2 oil, No, 2 oil, distillate, residual oils, kerosene, jet fuel, gasoline, naphtha, stearin.