n. & v.
n. the harder kinds of (esp. animal) fat melted down for use in making candles, soap, etc.
v.tr. grease with tallow. tallow-tree any of various trees, esp. Sapium sebiferum of China, yielding vegetable tallow. vegetable tallow a vegetable fat used as tallow. tallowish adj. tallowy adj.
[ ME talg, talug, f. MLG talg, talch, of unkn. orig. ]