Etymology
1. c.1225, from weak grade of O.E.
teohan "to pull, drag," from P.Gmc.
*teukh- "pull," from PIE
*deuk- "to pull, to lead" (see duke). Related to tow (1). The noun is recorded from 1500; meaning "small steamer used to tow other vessels" is recorded from 1817. Phrase
tug of war (1677) was originally figurative, "the decisive contest, the real struggle."
2. From Middle English tuggen, from Old English togian (“to tow”), from Proto-West Germanic *togōn, from Proto-Germanic *tugōną (“to draw, pull”), from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- (“to draw, pull; to lead”).
3. Cognates
4. Cognate with German zögern (“to hesitate, pause”), Faroese and Icelandic toga (“to pull”), French touer (“to tow, tug a ship”); also Welsh dwyn (“to steal; to take; to bring to”), Latin dūcō (“to conduct, guide, lead; to take; to draw, pull; to consider, think; to prolong; to march; to forge”), Ancient Greek δαδύσσομαι (dadússomai, “to be distracted”), Albanian nduk (“to pluck out, pull out, tear”), Central Kurdish دۆشین (doşîn, “to milk”), Northern Kurdish dotin, doşîn, دۆشین (doşîn, “to milk”), Ossetian ду́цын (dúcyn, “to milk”), Pashto لوشل (lwašal, “to milk; to extort”), Persian دوشیدن (dōšīdan / dušidan), دوشتن (duštan), دوختن (dōxtan / duxtan, “to milk”). Related to tow. See: Old English '
togian', Proto-Germanic '
*tugōną', German, old spelling '
zögern', French '
touer', Welsh '
dwyn', Latin '
dūcō'.