sow

See also: SOW, Sow, sów, and šow

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:

sow

Etymology 1

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.

Alternative forms

(dial.): zew, soo

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /saʊ/
Audio (US): (file)
Rhymes: -aʊ
Homophone: sough (one pronunciation)

Noun

sow (plural sows or (archaic) swine)

A female pig.
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.
A female guinea 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, 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.
(derogatory, slang) A contemptible, often fat 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.

Synonyms

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

Derived terms

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), bachyně (cs) f
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)
Khiamniungan Naga: yōhnyù, yōhshùo
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)
Venetan: 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

female bear — see she-bear

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)

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)

(transitive, intransitive) To scatter, disperse, or plant (seeds).
When I had sown the field, the day's work was over.
(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]
(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], 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:
  [He] sowd with Starrs the heav'n.
Obsolete spelling of sew.

Derived terms

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)
Gujarati: વાવવું (vāvvũ)
Hebrew: זָרַע (he) (zará')
Hindi: बोना (hi) (bonā)
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)
Maltese: żara’
Maori: rui
Marathi: पेरणे (perṇe)
Mirandese: sembrar, sumbrar
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
Persian: کشتن (fa) (keštan), پراگندن (fa) (parāgandan)
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
Southern Altai: чачар (čačar)
Spanish: sembrar (es)
Swedish: så (sv)
Telugu: విత్తు (te) (vittu)
Thai: หว่าน (th) (wàan)
Tocharian B: kät-
Turkish: ekmek (tr)
Ukrainian: сі́яти (síjaty)
Urdu: بونا (bonā)
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

Alternative form of sowe

Etymology 2

Verb

sow

Alternative form of sowen (“to torment”)