To pack or store something away carefully; also a place name and surname.
From Old English stow meaning 'place' or 'location', related to Old Norse stofa. As a verb, it developed the meaning of putting something in its proper place. The surname and place names derive from the same root, indicating ancestral connection to a particular location.
This versatile word connects the physical act of careful storage with the concept of place itself - when you 'stowe' something, you're giving it a specific location. The famous author Harriet Beecher Stowe's surname literally means 'place', which seems fitting for someone who gave slavery a powerful place in American consciousness.
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