Etymology From Middle English touren, torren, torrien, from Old English *torrian, from the noun (see above).
1
To be very tall; to reach a high height.
The office block towered into the sky.
The tree will eventually tower taller than any of the others.
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Potentilla and Ivory Daphne sat humpily about on the unfolded lawns, and ahead, there towered out enormous cliffs and fantastic pinnacles of what looked like Dolomite.1921, Reginald Farrer, chapter 10, in The Rainbow Bridge, London: E. Arnold & Co., page 181:
This is itself a cheerless spot, particularly on a rainy day, when, overshadowed by the great massif of rock that towers in the background, and surrounded by the grey and cheerless quarries, it has a depressing character much in contrast with the green verdure encountered on the northern end of this interesting branch line.1954 August, H. M. Madgwick, “The Blaenau Festiniog Tunnel”, in Railway Magazine, page 569:
Think of banking today and the image is of grey-suited men in towering skyscrapers.2013 August 3, “Revenge of the nerds”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:
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To be high or lofty; to soar.
My lord protector's hawks do tower so well.1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:
When Hope, the eagle that tower’d, could see No cliff beyond him in the sky, His pinions were bent droopingly — And homeward turn’d his soften’d eye.1829, Edgar Allan Poe, “Tamerlane”, in Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems:
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As we breasted the first summit, the precipitous mass of the Raven's Rock, towering some 250 ft. above the railway, looked grim and forbidding in the failing light, and distant Ben Wyves was shrouded in mist.1951 January, H. A. Vallance, “Kyle of Lochalsh Revisited”, in Railway Magazine, page 14:
To the left towers the Jungfrau, with the train heading directly towards it.1960 December, Voyageur, “The Mountain Railways of the Bernese Oberland”, in Trains Illustrated, page 752:
Her state with oary feet; yet oft they quit The dank, and, rising on stiff pennons, tower The mid aerial sky1667, John Milton, “(please specify the page number)”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
Denoting the system of weights used by the Saxon and Norman English kings in their minting of coins.
From its later association with the English mint at the Tower of London
Derived terms
Tower ounce, Tower pound
tower
noun
UK /ˈtaʊ.ə(ɹ)/ · US /ˈtaʊɚ/
Etymology From Middle English tour, tur, tor, from Old English tūr, tor, torr ("tower; rock"; > English tor) and Old French tour, toer, tor; both from Latin turris (“a tower”), Ancient Greek τύρρις (túrrhis) (Hesychius), τύρσις (túrsis). Displaced native Middle English stepel for the general sense of "tower". Compare Scots tour, towr, towre (“tower”), West Frisian toer (“tower”), Dutch toren (“tower”), German Turm (“tower”), Danish tårn (“tower”), Swedish torn (“tower”), Icelandic turn (“tower”), Welsh tŵr. Doublet of tor, tourelle, and turret.
A tall, narrow structure (significantly taller than it is wide, either standing alone or forming part of a larger structure.
an observation tower, an isolated watch tower, a church tower, conning tower
The valley is closed in at the lower end by the village, the church tower and a few roofs being visible through the trees; […]1878, Harold Lewis, The Church Rambler: A Series of Articles on the Churches..., page 440:
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[…] an isolated watch-tower still stands above the highway as it passes around the lowest ridge extending from the castle. Called Burj al-Sabi ('Tower of the Youth'), it protected the access to the castle's port […]2009, Ross Burns, The Monuments of Syria: A Guide, page 235:
The clock tower above your apartment tolls, ringing twice. [...People] examine the bells with tuning fork and soundhorn, and scurry about with clipboard and blueprint, [but] they do not appear to be in the process of repairing or maintaining the bell-tower at all.2011, Margaret Killjoy, What Lies Beneath the Clock Tower:
2
A very tall open-framed structure on which communications devices are installed.
signal tower, radio tower, cell tower
3
A similarly framed structure with a platform or enclosed area on top.
observation tower, watch tower
4
A control tower.
5
A skyscraper.
The Sears Tower
He'd taken her to see […] The Towering Inferno […] She imagined the screen itself must be hot as the burning San Francisco tower. […] She expected the screen to go up in a sheath of flame as the Glass Tower had, expected sparks to leap from the aluminum into the surrounding hayfields, […]2022 January 25, Morgan Thomas, Manywhere: Stories, Macmillan + ORM, →ISBN:
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Figuratively An item of various kinds, such as a computer case, that is higher than it is wide.
Thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 61:3:
A group of giraffes is called a tower.2019 June 6, “A gaggle, a confusion and a conspiracy - bizarre animal collective group names”, in BBC:
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Business Each of a set of information technology concerns within a business, which are treated separately so that they can be handled by different providers.
Suppliers compete separately for the towers and service integrator and management contract, which assists the government in the integration and operation of its services.2013, Great Britain, The Impact of Government's ICT Savings Initiatives, National Audit Office, page 28:
Service towers are significant IT functional areas, such as infrastructure, applications, security, etc., each possibly managed by a different service provider. The service integrator role is crucial for coordinating and integrating these service towers.2023, Cybellium Ltd, Mastering ISO-IEC 20000-1, page 108:
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Cartomancy, Human sciences, Mysticism, Philosophy, Sciences The sixteenth named (trump or Major Arcana) card in many Tarot decks, usually deemed an ill omen.
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Cartomancy, Human sciences, Mysticism, Philosophy, Sciences The nineteenth Lenormand card, representing structure, bureaucracy, stability and loneliness.
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Collective A group of giraffes.
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Arts, Crafts, Glassblowing, Hobbies, Lifestyle A metal stand used as a pivot to support a punty at a furnace.
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Historical A tall fashionable headdress worn in the time of King William III and Queen Anne.
Lay trains of amorous intrigues / In towers, and curls, and periwigs.1662 (indicated as 1663), [Samuel Butler], “[The First Part of Hudibras]”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678; republished in A[lfred] R[ayney] Waller, editor, Hudibras: Written in the Time of the Late Wars, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, 1905, →OCLC:
Nigh in her sight The Bird of Jove, stoopt from his aerie tour, Two Birds of gayest plume before him drove.1667, John Milton, “Book XI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
But as the tower and towee reached the cross-roads again, another car, negligently driven, came round the corner, hit the Morris, and severed the tow rope, sending the unfortunate car back again into the shop window[…]1933, Henry Sturmey, H. Walter Staner, The Autocar: