chow en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /t͡ʃaʊ/ (UK)
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
Shortened from chow-chow, from Chinese Pidgin English chow-chow. Compare Macanese chau-cháu. See also English chow fun, chow mein, etc.
Meanings
-
(slang, uncountable, usually) Food, especially snacks.
Donlon says, "Well, we're rich and we got beaucoup beer and beaucoup chow. Now all we need is the Bob Hope show."
1979, Gustav Hasford, The Short-Timers, New York: Bantam Books, published 1980, →ISBN, page 93:I'm going to pick up some chow for dinner.
- (Trinidad-and-Tobago, uncountable, usually) Unripe, or partially ripened, fruit seasoned and served as a dish, e.g. pineapple chow or mango chow.
-
(uncountable, usually) A Chow Chow.
‘I'd try and grapple with him myself, only I've got my chow in my room, you know, and he goes for pigs wherever he finds them.’
1914, Saki, ‘The Lull’, Beasts and Superbeasts:While we were talking, one of the chows, the rusty one, had come over to me and I was absently petting him.
1988 March 4, Jane Weinberg, “First Person: Me and Georgia O'Keeffe”, in Chicago Reader:
-
(Australia, archaic, slang, uncountable, usually) A Chinese person.
‘Now look here old man if you should ever bump into an interesting Chow from over the river – one with access, follow me? – just you remember High Haven!’
1977, John Le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy, Folio Society, published 2010, page 11:These were the creatures Nawnim had been amazed to see about him on the day of his arrival. When he inquired about them, Anna told him they were Japs an' Chows.
1938, Xavier Herbert, chapter V, in Capricornia, page 74:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| chows | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
chowline · chow down · chowhound · chow hall · midnight chow · chow call · chowtime · chow gun · bunny chow
Translations (21)
de Fressalien (''(slang)'' food, especially snacks) · vi thức ăn (''(slang)'' food, especially snacks) · ja 食い物 (''(slang)'' food, especially snacks) · hu kaja (''(slang)'' food, especially snacks) · fi ruoka (''(slang)'' food, especially snacks) · cs gáblík (''(slang)'' food, especially snacks) · cs bašta (''(slang)'' food, especially snacks) · fi sapuska (''(slang)'' food, especially snacks) · sh клопа (''(slang)'' food, especially snacks) · it foraggio (''(slang)'' food, especially snacks) · nl eten (''(slang)'' food, especially snacks) · cmn 食物 (''(slang)'' food, especially snacks) · sh klopa (''(slang)'' food, especially snacks) · ru харчи́ (''(slang)'' food, especially snacks) · fi safka (''(slang)'' food, especially snacks) · ru ха́вчик (''(slang)'' food, especially snacks) · cs žrádlo (''(slang)'' food, especially snacks) · ja めし (''(slang)'' food, especially snacks) · fi muona (''(slang)'' food, especially snacks) · ru жратва́ (''(slang)'' food, especially snacks) · fr bouffe (''(slang)'' food, especially snacks)