sow

See also: SOW, Sow, sów, and šow

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English sowe, from Old English sugu, from Proto-Germanic *sugō, from Proto-Indo-European *suh₂kéh₂, 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 German Sau, Latin sūs, Tocharian B suwo, Ancient Greek ὗς (hûs), Albanian thi, Avestan 𐬵𐬏 (hū, “boar”). See also swine.

Alternative forms

• (dial.): zew, soo

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /saʊ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aʊ
• Homophone: sough

Noun

A sow with her young.

sow (plural sows or swine)

1. A female pig.
2. A female bear, she-bear.
   • 1995, Dana Stabenow, Play with Fire, →ISBN, page 11:

     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.

3. A female guinea pig.
4. A channel that conducts molten metal to molds.
5. A mass of metal solidified in a mold.
   • 1957, H.R. Schubert, History of the British Iron and Steel Industry, page 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.

6. (derogatory, slang) A contemptible, often fat woman.
7. A sowbug.
8. (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.

Synonyms

• (mass of metal solidified in a mold): ingot
• (contemptible woman): bitch, cow

Derived terms

• brood sow
• drunk as a sow
• drunk as David's sow
• make a silk purse of a sow's ear
• sow stall
• sow thistle

 

Translations

female pig

• Albanian: dosë (sq) f
• Arabic: خِنْزِيرَة f (ḵinzīra)
• Armenian: մերուն (hy) (merun), գոճամայր (hy) (gočamayr), խոզամայր (hy) (xozamayr)
• Aromanian: poarcã f
• Asturian: gocha (ast)
• Bashkir: инә сусҡа (inə susqa)
• Bats: ნეზვ (nezv)
• Bikol Central: dulag (bcl)
• Breton: gwiz (br)
• Bulgarian: свиня майка (svinja majka)
• Burmese: ဝက်မ (my) (wakma.)
• Catalan: truja (ca) f, porca (ca) f, verra (ca) f
• Chechen: жаргӏа (žarğa)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 豬乸／猪乸 (zyu¹ naa²)

  Mandarin: 母豬／母猪 (zh) (mǔzhū)

• Czech: svině (cs) f, prasnice (cs)
• Danish: so (da) c
• Dutch: zeug (nl) f
• Egyptian: (rrt f)
• Esperanto: porkino
• Estonian: emis (et)
• Farefare: kurkur-yã'aŋa
• Faroese: súgv f
• Finnish: emakko (fi), emäsika (fi)
• French: truie (fr) f
• Friulian: scrove f
• Galician: porca (gl) f, bodalla f, godalla f, golerpa f, barrionda f, ferruxe (gl) f, marrá (gl) f
• Georgian: ნეზვი (nezvi), ქუბი (kubi)
• German: Sau (de) f, Mutterschwein n
• Greek: γουρούνα (el) f (gouroúna), σκρόφα (el) f (skrófa)

  Ancient: δέλφαξ f (délphax)

• Hebrew: חֲזִירָה f
• Hungarian: koca (hu), nőstény disznó., emse (hu)
• Icelandic: sýr f
• Ido: porkino (io)
• Indonesian: babi betina
• Ingrian: emikko, imikkosika
• Ingush: жаргӏа (žarğa)
• Irish: cráin (ga) f
• Italian: scrofa (it) f, troia (it) f
• Japanese: 雌豚 (めぶた, mebuta)
• Kazakh: мегежін (megejın)
• Korean: 암퇘지 (ko) (amtwaeji)
• Latin: scrōfa f, porca (la) f
• Lithuanian: kiaulė (lt) f
• Low German: Söög f
• Macedonian: маторица f (matorica), прасица f (prasica)
• Malay: khinzir betina
• Maori: poaka uwha
• Middle High German: sū f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: purke (no) f or m, sugge f or m, hunngris m, hunnsvin n

  Nynorsk: purke f, purka f, sugge f, hogris m, hosvin n

• Occitan: truèja (oc) f, pòrca f
• Old English: sugu f
• Old High German: sū f
• Old Norse: sýr f
• Old Saxon: sū f
• Ossetian: дзӕргъ (ʒærǧ) (Iron), дзӕргъӕ (ʒærǧæ) (Digor)
• Persian: ماده خوک (mâde-xuk)
• Plautdietsch: Säaj f
• Polish: locha (pl) f, maciora (pl) f
• Portuguese: porca (pt) f
• Romanian: scroafă (ro), purcea (ro), (popular) poarcă (ro)
• Russian: свинья́ (ru) f (svinʹjá), свинома́тка (ru) f (svinomátka)
• Sardinian: cópia f, màdri f, súe f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: крмача f, прасица f

  Roman: krmača (sh) f, prasica (sh) f

• Sicilian: porca f, troja f, scrofa f
• Sinhalese: ඊරි (si) (īri)
• Slovak: sviňa (sk) f
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: rampa f

• Spanish: cerda (es) f, marrana f, puerca f,
• Swedish: so (sv) c, sugga (sv) c
• Tarifit: tireft f
• Turkmen: mekejin
• Udi: нийал (nijal)
• Ukrainian: свиня́ f (svynjá), льо́ха f (lʹóxa)
• Venetian: lùja, lùgia f, scroa f, scrova f, vera f, mascia f, porseƚa f, roja f
• Vilamovian: zaoj f
• Volapük: jisvin (vo)
• Vurës: m̄al
• Welsh: cynar f, cunar f

channel that conducts molten metal to molds

• Finnish: valukouru
• Swedish: gjut (sv) n, gjutså c, ingjut (sv) n, ingjutningskanal c

mass of metal solidified in a mold

• Finnish: valos (fi)
• Italian: lingotto (it) m, pane (it) m, panetto (it) m
• Russian: чушка (ru) f (čuška)
• Swedish: galt (sv) c, göt (sv) c, tacka (sv) c

contemptible woman

• Czech: kráva (cs)
• Danish: so (da) c
• Finnish: narttu (fi), huora (fi)
• Greek: σκρόφα (el) f (skrófa)
• Macedonian: крава f (krava)
• Russian: скоти́на (ru) m or f (skotína)
• Swedish: subba (sv) c

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Lithuanian: ^{(please verify)} kiaulė (lt) f
• Persian: ^{(please verify)} ماده‌خوک (mâdde-xuk)

See also

• boar
• hog
• pig

Etymology 2

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.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /səʊ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /soʊ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊ
• Homophones: seau, sew, so, soe, soh

Verb

sow (third-person singular simple present sows, present participle sowing, simple past sowed, past participle sown or sowed)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To scatter, disperse, or plant (seeds).

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

2. (figurative) To spread abroad; to propagate.

   As you sow, so shall you reap.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Job 4:8:

     Euen as I haue seene, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickednsse, reape the same.

   • 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 6:

     And sow dissension in the hearts of brothers.

   • 1963 June, G. Freeman Allen, “The success of diesel-hydraulics on the German Federal Railway”, in Modern Railways, page 386:

     Not surprisingly, it has sown doubt among other operators of diesel-hydraulics; […] .

   • 2024 January 25, Marin Scotten, “‘Laying claim to nature’s work’: plant patents sow fear among small growers”, in The Guardian‎^[1], →ISSN:

     ‘Laying claim to nature’s work’: plant patents sow fear among small growers [title]

3. (figurative) To scatter over; to besprinkle.
   • 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:

     The intellectual faculty is a goodly field, […] and it is the worst husbandry in the world to sow it with trifles.

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

     [He] sowd with Starrs the heav'n.

4. Obsolete spelling of sew

Derived terms

• as you sow, so shall you reap
• besow
• intersow
• oversow
• reap what one sows
• self-sown
• 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

 

Translations

disperse seeds

• Albanian: mbjell (sq)
• Arabic: زَرَعَ (ar) (zaraʕa), بَذَرَ (baḏara)

  Egyptian Arabic: زرع (zaraʕ)

• Armenian: ցանել (hy) (cʻanel)
• Aromanian: seamin
• Asturian: semar (ast), sementar
• Azerbaijani: səpmək (az), əkmək (az)
• Bashkir: сәсеү (səsew)
• Belarusian: се́яць (sjéjacʹ)
• Breton: hadañ (br)
• Bulgarian: се́я (bg) (séja)
• Catalan: sembrar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 播種／播种 (zh) (bōzhòng, bōzhǒng)

• Czech: sít (cs)
• Dutch: zaaien (nl)
• Esperanto: semi
• Estonian: külvama
• Finnish: kylvää (fi)
• French: semer (fr)
• Friulian: semenâ
• Galician: sementar (gl)
• Georgian: თესვა (tesva)
• German: säen (de)
• Gothic: 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐌰𐌽 (saian)
• Greek: σπέρνω (el) (spérno)

  Ancient: σπείρω (speírō)

• Hebrew: זָרַע (he) (zará')
• Hungarian: vet (hu)
• Ido: semar (io)
• Ilocano: takong
• Indonesian: tabur (id)
• Irish: síol a chur, síolaigh
• Italian: seminare (it)
• Japanese: 種をまく (たねをまく, tane o maku)
• Korean: 심다 (ko) (simda), 뿌리다 (ko) (ppurida)
• Lao: ຫວ່ານ (wān)
• Latgalian: sēt, pasēt
• Latin: serō (la), conserō
• Latvian: sēt (lv)
• Lithuanian: sėti
• Livonian: killõ
• Luxembourgish: séien
• Macedonian: се́е (sée)
• Maguindanao: pamula
• Malay: semai (ms)
• Maori: rui
• Norman: s'maïr (Guernsey), s'mer (Jersey), s'menchi (Jersey)
• Norwegian: så (no)
• Occitan: semenar (oc)
• Old Church Slavonic: сѣти (sěti)
• Old English: sāwan
• Oromo: facaasuu
• Polish: siać (pl) impf
• Portuguese: semear (pt)
• Quechua: tarpuy
• Romanian: semăna (ro)
• Romansch: semnar, samnar, samner
• Russian: се́ять (ru) impf (séjatʹ)
• Sardinian: semenai, semenare, seminai
• Scots: sawe
• Scottish Gaelic: sìol
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: се̏јати

  Roman: sȅjati (sh)

• Shan: ဝၢၼ်ႇ (shn) (wàan)
• Sicilian: chiantimari, siminari (scn)
• Slovak: siať
• Slovene: sejati (sl)
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: seś impf

• Spanish: sembrar (es)
• Swedish: så (sv)
• Telugu: విత్తు (te) (vittu)
• Thai: หว่าน (th) (wàan)
• Tocharian B: kät-
• Turkish: ekmek (tr)
• Ukrainian: сі́яти (síjaty)
• Vietnamese: gieo (vi)
• Welsh: hadu (cy)
• West Frisian: siedzje
• Yakut: ыс (ıs)
• Yiddish: זייען (zeyen)
• Záparo: achichanu
• Zazaki: karen
• Zhuang: vanq

Anagrams

• OSW, OWS, W.O.s, WOs, wos

Middle English

Etymology 1

Noun

sow

1. Alternative form of sowe

Etymology 2

Verb

sow

1. Alternative form of sowen (“to torment”)