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sow |
5 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Sow \Sow\, v. t. [imp. {Sowed}; p. p. {Sown}or {Sowed}; p. pr & vb n. {Sowing}.] [OE. sowen, sawen, AS s[=a]wan; akin to OFries s?a, D. zaaijen OS & HG s[=a]jan, G. s["a]en, Icel. s[=a], Sw s[*a], Dan. saae, Goth. saian, Lith. s[=e]ti, Russ. sieiate, L. serere, sevi. Cf {Saturday}, {Season}, {Seed}, {Seminary}.] 1. To scatter, as seed, upon the earth; to plant by strewing; as to sow wheat. Also used figuratively: To spread abroad; to propagate. ``He would sow some difficulty.'' --Chaucer. A sower went forth to sow; and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside. --Matt. xiii. 3, 4. And sow dissension in the hearts of brothers. --Addison. 2. To scatter seed upon in or over to supply or stock, as land, with seeds. Also used figuratively: 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. --Sir M. Hale. [He] sowed with stars the heaven. --Milton. Now morn . . . sowed the earth with orient pearl. --Milton. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Sow \Sow\, v. i. To sew. See {Sew}. [Obs.] --Chaucer. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Sow \Sow\, n. [OE. sowe, suwe, AS sugu, akin to s[=u], D. zog, zeug, OHG. s[=u], G. sau, Icel. s[=y]r, Dan. so Sw sugga so L. sus. Gr "y^s, sy^s, Zend. hu boar; probably from the root seen in Skr. s[=u] to beget, to bear; the animal being named in allusion to its fecundity. [root]294. Cf {Hyena}, {Soil} to stain, {Son}, {Swine}.] 1. (Zo["o]l.) The female of swine, or of the hog kind 2. (Zo["o]l.) A sow bug. 3. (Metal.) a A channel or runner which receives the rows of molds in the pig bed. b The bar of metal which remains in such a runner. c A mass of solidified metal in a furnace hearth; a salamander. 4. (Mil.) 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, or the like --Craig. {Sow bread}. (Bot.) See {Cyclamen}. {Sow bug}, or {Sowbug} (Zo["o]l.), any one of numerous species of terrestrial Isopoda belonging to {Oniscus}, {Porcellio}, and allied genera of the family {Oniscid[ae]}. They feed chiefly on decaying vegetable substances. {Sow thistle} [AS. sugepistel] (Bot.), a composite plant ({Sonchus oleraceus}) said to be eaten by swine and some other animals. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Sow \Sow\, v. i. To scatter seed for growth and the production of a crop; -- literally or figuratively. They that sow in tears shall reap in joi. --Ps. cxxvi. 5. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: sow n : an adult female hog v 1: place (seeds) in the ground for future growth; "She sowed sunflower seeds" [syn: {sough}, {seed}] 2: introduce into an environment; "sow suspicion or beliefs" [syn: {sough}] 3: place seeds in (the ground); "sow the ground with sunflower seeds" [syn: {inseminate}, {sow in}]
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