mow

noun \ ˈmau̇ \

Definition of mow

1 : a piled-up stack (as of hay or fodder); also : a pile of hay or grain in a barn

2 : the part of a barn where hay or straw is stored

Origin and Etymology of mow

Middle English, heap, stack, from Old English mūga; akin to Old Norse mūgi heap

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

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Other Agriculture/Gardening Terms

fallow, graft, heirloom, loam, potash, soilage, swath, tilth, windfall

mow

verb \ ˈmō \

Definition of mow

mowed; mowed or mown play \ˈmōn\; mowing

transitive verb

1 a : to cut down with a scythe or sickle or machine

b : to cut the standing herbage (such as grass) of

mow the lawn

2 a (1) : to kill or destroy in great numbers or mercilessly

machine guns mowed down the enemy

(2) : to cause to fall : knock down

b : to overcome swiftly and decisively : rout

mowed down the opposing team

intransitive verb

: to cut down standing herbage (such as grass)

—

mower

play \ˈmō(-ə)r\ noun

Origin and Etymology of mow

Middle English mowen, going back to Old English māwan (past participle māwen), going back to West Germanic *mēan- (whence, with a differing hiatus consonant, Old Frisian miā, miān "to mow," Middle Dutch maeyen, Old High German *māen), going back to an Indo-European verbal base *h₂meh₁- "reap, mow," whence also Greek amáō, amân "to reap, cut" (perhaps from *h₂mh₁-eh₂-)

Note: Old English māwan is a Class VII strong verb (like cnāwan ¹know, blāwan ¹blow), though a weak verb in later Middle and Modern English and in other Germanic languages. The element *-eh₁- in *h₂meh₁- has been treated as a suffix, with a parallel derivative *h₂m-et- yielding Italo-Celtic *met-, in Latin metō, metere "to reap, harvest, cut off," Welsh medaf, medi "to reap," Middle Breton midiff, Breton mediñ, Middle Irish meithel "reaping party," Welsh medel. Hittite hamešha(nt)- "spring, harvest time" has also been connected with *h₂meh₁-, though with some dispute. Cf. aftermath, meadow.

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year