Sow
Pronunciation
- IPA: /saÊŠ/
- Rhymes: -aÊŠ
- Homophones: sough
Origin 1
From Middle English sowe, from Old English sugu, from Proto-Germanic *sugŠ(compare West Frisian sûch, Dutch zeug, Low German Söög, Swedish sugga, Norwegian sugge), from Proto-Indo-European *suh₂kéh₂ (compare Welsh hwch ("pig"), Sanskrit सूकर (sūkará, "swine, boar")), from *suH- ‘pig’ (compare German Sau, Latin sūs, Tocharian B suwo, Ancient Greek ὗς, Albanian thi, Avestan hū ("boar") ). See also swine.
Noun
- A female pig.
- A channel that conducts molten metal to molds.
- A mass of metal solidified in a mold.
- 1957, H.R. Schubert, History of the British Iron and Steel Industry, p. 160: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.
- (derogatory, slang) A contemptible woman.
- A sowbug.
- (military) 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.
Usage notes
The plural form swine is now obsolete in this sense.
Derived terms
Origin 2
From Middle English sowen, from Old English sÄwan, from Proto-Germanic *sÄ“anÄ…, from Proto-Indo-European *sehâ‚-. Compare Dutch zaaien, German säen, Danish sÃ¥.
Full definition of sow
Verb
- (transitive) To scatter, disperse, or plant (seeds).When I had sown the field, the day's work was over.As you sow, so shall you reap.
- (figurative) To spread abroad; to propagate.
- AddisonAnd sow dissension in the hearts of brothers.
- (figurative) To scatter over; to besprinkle.
- Sir M. HaleThe intellectual faculty is a goodly field, ... and it is the worst husbandry in the world to sow it with trifles.
- MiltonHe sowed with stars the heaven.