An archaic or dialectal past tense of 'dow,' meaning to be able to do something or to have the power or strength to accomplish a task.
From Old English 'dugan' and 'durran,' Germanic roots meaning 'to be strong' or 'to be able.' This word fell out of common use as Modern English developed irregular verb forms.
This ancient verb shows how English once had a dedicated word for 'being able to'—before 'can' and 'could' took over—and you can still see its ghost in the word 'doughty' (brave, strong), which comes from the same root.
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