Plural of frow, a cleaving tool used to split shingles or staves from logs.
From Dutch 'froe' or related Germanic sources; 'frow' (also spelled 'froe') is a woodworking tool whose name came from Dutch traders and craftspeople, with 'frows' as its regular plural.
This word reminds us that many of our specialized tool names came from Dutch traders in the colonial era—'frow' is one of the few everyday woodworking tools whose name we know the exact foreign origin of.
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