sow
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sow¹
- /saʊ/ UK, US
Sounds like sough (one pronunciation) · Rhymes with -aʊ
Where it comes from
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.
noun sows · swine · zew · soo
- A female pig.
- A female bear; she-bear. 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 contemptible, often fat woman.
- Clipping of sowbug
- A channel that conducts molten metal to molds.
-
A mass of metal solidified in a mold.
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.
Similar: ingot
- 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.
sow²
- /səʊ/ UK
- /soʊ/ US
Sounds like sew, (toe–tow merger) seau, so, soe, soh · Rhymes with -əʊ
Where it comes from
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.
verb sows · sowing · sowed · sown
- To scatter, disperse, or plant (seeds). When I had sown the field, the day's work was over.
- To spread abroad; to propagate. as you sow, so shall you reap
- To scatter over; to besprinkle. The intellectual faculty is a goodly field, […] and it is the worst husbandry in the world to sow it with trifles.
- Obsolete spelling of sew
Sow³
- /saʊ/ UK
proper noun Sows
- A surname.
- A river in Staffordshire, England, which joins the River Trent.
SOW⁴
noun SOWs
- Initialism of statement of work (“a document in project management, including deliverables and timelines”).
- Initialism of standoff weapon
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: inseminate, seed, sough, sow in, pig, porker, bear, transplant, harvest, plant, sao, breed, blanket, soo, gelder, thistle
Translations
Every language
noun female pig
| Español | cerda, marrana, puerca |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 암퇘지 amtwaeji |
| 日本語 | 雌豚 mebuta |
| 中文 | 母豬 /母猪 mǔzhū |
| Português | porca |
| Français | truie |
| Deutsch | Sau, Mutterschwein |
| Italiano | scrofa, troia |
| Ελληνικά | γουρούνα gouroúna, σκρόφα skrófa |
| Română | scroafă, purcea, poarcă |
| Русский | свинья́ svinʹjá, свинома́тка svinomátka |
| العربية | خِنْزِيرَة ḵinzīra |
| עברית | חֲזִירָה |
verb disperse seeds
| Español | sembrar, sementar |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 심다 simda, 뿌리다 ppurida |
| 日本語 | 種をまく |
| 中文 | 播種 /播种 bōzhòng, bōzhǒng |
| हिन्दी | बोना bonā |
| Português | semear |
| Français | semer |
| Deutsch | säen |
| Italiano | seminare |
| Ελληνικά | σπέρνω spérno |
| Română | semăna |
| Русский | се́ять séjatʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | gieo |
| العربية | زَرَعَ zaraʕa, بَذَرَ baḏara |
| עברית | זָרַע zará' |
verb spread about, propagate
| 日本語 | 間隙を生じる kangeki wo shōjiru |
|---|
Talk about this word "sow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/sow. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. sow. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/sow "sow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/sow.Cite this
@misc{sow_2026,
title = {sow},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/sow},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
