# towel

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈtaʊ(ə)l/ · frequency rank #7,863

## Definitions
1. A cloth used for wiping, especially one used for drying anything wet, such as a person after a bath.

## Etymology
From Middle English towayle, towel, towail, towaille, from Old French toaille (“towel”) (modern French touaille), Medieval Latin toallia, from Frankish *þwahilu (“cloth”), from Proto-Germanic *þwahaną (“to wash”). Cognate with Old High German dwahila (“towel”) (modern dialectal German Zwehle), Dutch dwaal (“towel”), dweil (“mop”), Low German Dweel (“towel”), Old English þwǣle (“band; ribbon; fillet”), Old English þwēan (“to wash”).

## Easily confused with
- **town** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/towel-vs-town)
- **tower** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/towel-vs-tower)
- **towns** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/towel-vs-towns)
- **towne** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/towel-vs-towne)
- **towers** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/towel-vs-towers)
- **toe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/toe-vs-towel)
- **Tel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tel-vs-towel)
- **tow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tow-vs-towel)
- **tol** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tol-vs-towel)
- **tool** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tool-vs-towel)
- **tone** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tone-vs-towel)
- **toll** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/toll-vs-towel)
- **toes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/toes-vs-towel)
- **tore** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tore-vs-towel)
- **tote** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tote-vs-towel)
- **tome** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tome-vs-towel)
- **toil** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/toil-vs-towel)
- **toed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/toed-vs-towel)
- **toke** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/toke-vs-towel)
- **tobe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tobe-vs-towel)

## Common misspellings (7)
`otwel`, `toewl`, `towell`, `towle`, `towwel`, `ttowel`, `twoel`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/towel