# sow
## English
### 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: /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

* 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

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 (zyu$^1$ naa$^2$)
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 :
    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

#### 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: /səʊ/
* (US) IPA: /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)
* (ambitransitive) To scatter, disperse, or plant (seeds).
    When I had sown the field, the day's work was over.
* (figurative) To spread abroad; to propagate. (usu. negative connotation)
    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, →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

* 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
### 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”)