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harrow

noun, verb, intj — 6 senses

harrow

noun

UK /ˈhæɹəʊ/ · US /ˈhæɹoʊ/

Etymology From Middle English harwe, harow, from Old English *hearwa (perhaps ultimately cognate with harvest), or from Old Norse harfr/herfi; compare Danish harve (“harrow”), Dutch hark (“rake”). Akin to Latin carpere. According to the OED, the verb senses are partly derived from the noun sense, partly from a by-form of the verb harry, itself from Old English hergian.

1

A device consisting of a heavy framework having several disks or teeth in a row, which is dragged across ploughed land to smooth or break up the soil, to remove weeds or cover seeds; a harrow plow.

  • He sent for the carpenter, who was under contract to be with the threshing-machine, but it turned out that he was mending the harrows, which should have been mended the week before Lent.1918, Louise & Aylmer Maude, Anna Karenina, Oxford, translation of original by Leo Tolstoy, published 1998, page 153:
  • “It may be fun for her,” I said with one of my bitter laughs, “but it isn't so diverting for the unfortunate toads beneath the harrow whom she plunges so ruthlessly in the soup.”1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter X:
1 more example
  • Part of your job would be to learn tractor ploughing and the use of planters, harrows, and cultivators.1969, Bessie Head, When Rain Clouds Gather, Heinemann, published 1995, page 28:
2

Government, Military, Politics, War An obstacle formed by turning an ordinary harrow upside down, the frame being buried.

Derived terms
disc harrow, power harrow, restharrow, rest-harrow, ridge harrow, road harrow
Related terms
spring-tooth harrow

harrow

verb

Etymology From Middle English harwe, harow, from Old English *hearwa (perhaps ultimately cognate with harvest), or from Old Norse harfr/herfi; compare Danish harve (“harrow”), Dutch hark (“rake”). Akin to Latin carpere. According to the OED, the verb senses are partly derived from the noun sense, partly from a by-form of the verb harry, itself from Old English hergian.

1

To drag a harrow over; to break up with a harrow.

  • Will he harrow the valleys after thee?1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Job 39:10:
  • When the corn was sown, I had no harrow, but was forced to go over it myself, and drag a great heavy bough of a tree over it, to scratch it, as it may be called, rather than rake or harrow it.1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC:
2

To traumatize or disturb; to torment, distress or vex.

  • It harrows me with fear and wonder.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:
  • I could a Tale vnfold, vvhoſe lighteſt vvord / VVould harrovv vp thy ſoule, freeze thy young blood, / Make thy tvvo eyes like Starres, ſtart from their Spheres, / Thy knotty and combined locks to part, / And each particular haire to ſtand an end, / Like Quilles vpon the fretfull Porpentine: […]c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene v], page 257, column 2:
1 more example
  • The headless horseman harrowed Ichabod Crane as he tried to reach the bridge.1820, Washington Irving, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow:
3

To break or tear, as if with a harrow; to wound; to lacerate.

  • my aged muscles harrow'd up with whips1707, Nicholas Rowe, The Royal Convert:
Derived terms
harrower, harrowing, harrowing of hell, harrow up, restharrow, upharrow

harrow

intj

Etymology From Middle English harrow, harrowe, haro, from Old French haro, harou, harau, harol, from Frankish *harot, *hara (“here; hither”), from *hēr. Akin to Old Saxon herod, Old High German herot, Middle Dutch hare.

1

Obsolete A call for help, or of distress, alarm etc.

  • Harrow, the flames, which me consume (said hee) / Ne can be quencht, within my secret bowels bee.1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto VI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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