Informal term for food, or a breed of dog with a distinctive blue-black tongue originating from China.
Food meaning comes from Chinese Pidgin English 'chow-chow' meaning 'food'. Dog breed name also from Chinese, possibly from 'gou' meaning dog. Both meanings entered English in the 19th century through trade contact.
The word 'chow' beautifully illustrates how trade and cultural exchange shape language - Chinese merchants' pidgin term for food became universal military and casual slang, while simultaneously giving English speakers the name for one of China's most ancient dog breeds.
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