harrow

verb (1)

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har·row | \ ˈher-(ˌ)ō

, ˈha-(ˌ)rō \

harrowed; harrowing; harrows

Definition of harrow

(Entry 1 of 4)

transitive verb

archaic

: pillage, plunder long harrowed by oppressor's hand— Sir Walter Scott

harrow

noun

Definition of harrow (Entry 2 of 4)

: a cultivating tool set with spikes, teeth, or disks and used primarily for breaking up and smoothing the soil

harrow

verb (2)

harrowed; harrowing; harrows

Definition of harrow (Entry 3 of 4)

transitive verb

1 : to cultivate with a harrow (see harrow entry 2) harrow the fields

2 : torment, vex harrowed by war has not set out to appall the reader with horrors nor to harrow him with miseries— Douglas Stewart

Harrow

geographical name

Har·row | \ ˈha-(ˌ)rō

Definition of Harrow (Entry 4 of 4)

borough of northwestern Greater London, England population 241,000

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History and Etymology for harrow

Verb (1)

Middle English herwen, harwen — more at harry

Note: See note at harry.

Noun

Middle English harewe, harwe, harow, of uncertain origin

Note: The Oxford English Dictionary, first edition, suggests inheritance from an unattested Old English *hearwe or *hearge, though the Middle English word is perhaps more likely a loan from Old Norse, despite the phonetic objections—compare Norwegian harv, horv "harrow," Swedish harv, Danish harve, Old Icelandic herfi. The further origin of the Scandinavian word is unclear. G. Kroonen, Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Brill, 2013) suggests as an etymon *harbō, akin to *harbjan- "to pluck" (whence, allegedly, Norwegian dialect herva "to snatch"), akin to Germanic *harbista- "autumn" and Latin carpere "to pluck, pick, gather" (see harvest entry 1). A harrow, however, is not a tool for plucking or gathering.