farrow
English
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farrow¹
- /ˈfæɹəʊ/ UK
- /ˈfæɹoʊ/ US
- /ˈfɛɹoʊ/ US
Sounds like pharaoh (one pronunciation) · Rhymes with -æɹəʊ
Where it comes from
From Middle English *farow, *fargh (found only in the plural faren), from Old English fearh (“piglet”), from Proto-West Germanic *farh, from Proto-Germanic *farhaz, from Proto-Indo-European *pórḱos, from *perḱ- (“to dig”).
See also Old High German farah, Middle Irish orc (“piglet”), Latin porcus, Proto-Slavic *porsę (“pig, piglet”), Lithuanian par̃šas, Avestan: 𐬞𐬆𐬭𐬆𐬯𐬀 (pər^əsa). Doublet of pork.
noun farrows
- A litter of piglets. Aha! I know you, gammer! Hamlet, revenge! The old sow that eats her farrow!
farrow²
- /ˈfæɹəʊ/ UK
- /ˈfæɹoʊ/ US
- /ˈfɛɹoʊ/ US
Sounds like pharaoh (one pronunciation) · Rhymes with -æɹəʊ
Where it comes from
From Middle English farwen, from the noun.
verb farrows · farrowing · farrowed
- To give birth to (a litter of piglets). The members of a particular family refuse to eat pig, because they owe their existence to a sow, which farrowed babies and little pigs at the same birth.
farrow³
- /ˈfæɹəʊ/ UK
- /ˈfæɹoʊ/ US
- /ˈfɛɹoʊ/ US
Sounds like pharaoh (one pronunciation) · Rhymes with -æɹəʊ
Where it comes from
Cognate with Old English fearr (“bull”).
adjective
- Not pregnant; not producing young (not calving) in a given season or year; barren.
Farrow⁴
Where it comes from
Hypercorrected form of Farrar, where the original ending -ar was regarded as an error and consequently changed to -ow.
proper noun Farrows
- A surname.
- A former community in Vulcan County, Alberta, Canada.
Translations
Every language
noun litter of piglets
| Español | lechigada (de cochinillos) |
|---|---|
| Português | ninhada de leitões |
| Deutsch | Wurf Ferkel |
| Русский | опоро́с oporós |
verb give birth to (a litter of piglets)
| Português | parir |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | ferkeln |
| Italiano | figliare |
| Română | făta |
| Русский | пороси́ться porosítʹsja, опороси́ться oporosítʹsja |
adj not pregnant; not calving in a given year; barren
| Deutsch | nicht trächtig |
|---|---|
| Русский | я́ловая jálovaja |
Talk about this word "farrow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/farrow. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. farrow. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/farrow "farrow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/farrow.Cite this
@misc{farrow_2026,
title = {farrow},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/farrow},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
