taws

American  

[tawz, tahz] / tɔz, tɑz /

noun

Chiefly Scot.

plural

taws

1. a whip or leather thong used to drive a spinning top.

2. a leather whip having its tip divided into smaller strips, used to punish schoolchildren.

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Etymology

Origin of taws

1505–15; plural of obsolete taw < Old Norse taug rope; cognate with Old English tēag tie

Example Sentences

To prevent the loss of taws one of us was sent ahead to watch for their coming and listen for the faint thud of their fall, while the other three drove from the tee.

From The Complete Golfer by Vardon, Harry

Also there were three glass alleys, two agate taws and thirty-eight commies.

From The Seeker by Wilson, Harry Leon

Their heads were not the heads of geese but of women artificially painted and with so-called taws, or marbles, for their eyes.

From The Goose Man by Porterfield, Allen Wilson

Nor is it to be obviated, we fear, by any expression of extra solemnity thrown into the pedagogical face, or even by the taking of places or the taws.

From Leading Articles on Various Subjects by Davidson, John

This prince took a pleasure in conversing with me, inquiring into the manners, religion, taws, government, and learning of Europe; wherein I gave him the best account I was able.

From Gulliver's Travels Into Several Remote Regions of the World by Balliet, Thomas M.

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