English Explanatory Dictionary

sow

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A female animal
  2. A female pig.
  3. A female bear; she-bear.
  4. A female guinea pig.
  5. A contemptible, often fat woman.
  6. Clipping of sowbug.
  7. A channel that conducts molten metal to molds.
  8. A mass of metal solidified in a mold.
  9. 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.
verb
  1. To scatter, disperse, or plant (seeds).
  2. To spread abroad; to propagate.
  3. To scatter over; to besprinkle.
  4. Obsolete spelling of sew.
name
  1. A surname.
  2. A river in Staffordshire, England, which joins the River Trent.
noun
  1. Initialism of statement of work (“a document in project management, including deliverables and timelines”).
  2. Initialism of standoff weapon.

Pronunciation

/saʊ/ en-us-sow-noun.ogg /səʊ/ /soʊ/ en-us-sow-verb.ogg

Word forms

sow sows swine zew soo sowing sowed sown

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sew-? Proto-Indo-European *sewH-? Proto-Indo-European *suH-der. Proto-Germanic *sugō Proto-West Germanic *sugu Old English sugu Middle English sowe English sow 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.

Synonyms

bitch cow ingot

Related words

Sow

Derived words

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 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
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