Towel
Middle English: from Old French toaille, of Germanic origin. Sense 2 of the verb dates from the early 18th century; sense 1 from the mid 19th century.
wiktionary
From Middle English towayle, towel, towail, towaille, from Old French toaille(“towel”) (modern French touaille), 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”).
etymonline
towel (n.)
mid-13c., from Old French toaille (12c.), from Frankish *thwahlja, from Proto-Germanic *thwahlijan (source also of Old Saxon thwahila, Middle Dutch dwale "towel," Dutch dwaal "altar cloth," Old High German dwehila "towel," German dialectal Zwehle "napkin"); related to German zwagen, Old English þwean "to wash." Spanish toalla, Italian tovaglia are Germanic loan-words. To throw in the towel "admit defeat" (1915) is from boxing.
towel (v.)
1836 (transitive); 1861 (intransitive), from towel (n.). Related: Towelled; towelling.
