fower

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English fowere, foware, fowar; equivalent to fow +‎ -er.

Noun

fower (plural fowers)

1. (Early Modern, obsolete) One who cleans (fows), as in cooking utensils or house maintenance.

Etymology 2

From Middle English four, fower, from Old English fēower.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfəʊ.ə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈfoʊ.ɚ/

Numeral

fower

1. (Geordie) four

Noun

fower (uncountable)

1. The digit 4 in the NATO phonetic alphabet.

Usage notes

In the NATO phonetic alphabet, the two-syllable pronunciation avoids confusion with other digits. The spelling, however, remains four.

Middle English

Numeral

fower

1. Alternative form of four

Scots

Scots numbers ^(edit)

←  3	4	5  →
Cardinal: fower     Ordinal: fourt

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English fower, from Old English feōwer, from Proto-Germanic *fedwōr, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwóres.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [fʌur], [ˈfʌuər]
• (Southwestern Scotland) IPA^(key): [fuwr]

Numeral

fower

1. four

References

• “four, num.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, retrieved 21 May 2024, reproduced from William A[lexander] Craigie, A[dam] J[ack] Aitken [et al.], editors, A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue: […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1931–2002, →OCLC.
• “fower, num. adj. and n.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, retrieved 21 May 2024, reproduced from W[illiam] Grant and D[avid] D. Murison, editors, The Scottish National Dictionary, Edinburgh: Scottish National Dictionary Association, 1931–1976, →OCLC.