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sow

noun, verb — 12 senses

sow

noun

UK, US /saʊ/

Etymology From Middle English sowe, from Old English sugu, from Proto-West Germanic *sugu, from Proto-Germanic *sugō, probably from Proto-Indo-European *su(H)kéh₂, from *suH- (“pig”). See also West Frisian sûch, Dutch zeug, Low German Söög, German Sau, Swedish sugga, Norwegian sugge; also Welsh hwch (“pig”), Sanskrit सूकर (sūkará, “swine, boar”); also Danish so, German Sau, Latin sūs, Tocharian B suwo, Ancient Greek ὗς (hûs), Albanian thi, Avestan 𐬵𐬏 (hū, “boar”). See also swine. Doublet of soor.

8 senses
  1. 1A female pig.
  2. 2A female bear; she-bear.
  3. 3A female guinea pig.
  4. 4A contemptible, often fat woman.
  5. 5Clipping of sowbug.
  6. 6A channel that conducts molten metal to molds.
  7. 7A mass of metal solidified in a mold.
  8. 8A kind of covered shed, formerly used by besiegers in…

› A female animal

1

A female pig.

2

A female bear; she-bear.

  • Lucky he wasn't a sow. They've usually just dropped a cub this time of year. A sow would have been cranky as hell.1995, Dana Stabenow, Play with Fire, →ISBN, page 11:
3

A female guinea pig.

4

Derogatory, Slang A contemptible, often fat woman.

5

Abbreviation, Clipping Clipping of sowbug.

6

A channel that conducts molten metal to molds.

7

A mass of metal solidified in a mold.

  • In England, it was generally termed a 'sow', if the weight was above 10 cwts., if below, it was termed a 'pig' from which the present term 'pig iron' is derived.1957, H.R. Schubert, History of the British Iron and Steel Industry, page 160:
8

Government, Military, Politics, War A kind of covered shed, formerly used by besiegers in filling up and passing the ditch of a besieged place, sapping and mining the wall, etc.

Derived terms
brood sow, bucksow, drunk as a sow, drunk as David's sow, make a silk purse of a sow's ear, niggersow, sole, sowback, sowbane, sowbelly, sowbread, sowfoot, sowgelder, sowlike, sow stall, sow thistle

sow

verb

UK /səʊ/ · US /soʊ/

Etymology From Middle English sowen, from Old English sāwan, from Proto-West Germanic *sāan, from Proto-Germanic *sēaną, from Proto-Indo-European *seh₁-. Compare Dutch zaaien, German säen, Danish så, Norwegian Bokmål så.

1

Ambitransitive To scatter, disperse, or plant (seeds).

  • When I had sown the field, the day's work was over.
2

Ambitransitive, Figuratively To spread abroad; to propagate.

  • as you sow, so shall you reap
  • Euen as I haue seene, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickednsse, reape the same.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Job 4:8:
2 more examples
  • And sow dissension in the hearts of brothers.1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene iv, page 16:
  • Not surprisingly, it has sown doubt among other operators of diesel-hydraulics; […].1963 June, G. Freeman Allen, “The success of diesel-hydraulics on the German Federal Railway”, in Modern Railways, page 386:
3

Figuratively To scatter over; to besprinkle.

  • The intellectual faculty is a goodly field, […] and it is the worst husbandry in the world to sow it with trifles.a. 1677 (date written), Matthew Hale, The Primitive Origination of Mankind, Considered and Examined According to the Light of Nature, London: […] William Godbid, for William Shrowsbery, […], published 1677, →OCLC:
  • [He] sowd with Starrs the heav'n.1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
4

Obsolete Obsolete spelling of sew.

Derived terms
as you sow, so shall you reap, besow, intersow, oversow, reap what one sows, resow, self-sown, sowable, sow dragon's teeth, sower, sown, sow one's oats, sow one's wild oats, sow the seeds of, sow the wind, reap the whirlwind, sow wild oats, undersow, unsowed
Related terms
Sow, SOW

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

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