Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Sow
Sow
,Noun.
[OE.
sowe
, suwe
, AS. sugu
, akin to sū
, D. zog
, zeug
, OHG. sū
, G. sau
, Icel. sȳr
, Dan. so
, Sw. sugga
, so
, L. sus
. Gr. ὗς
, σῦς
, Zend. hu boar; probably from the root seen in Skr. sū
to beget, to bear; the animal being named in allusion to its fecundity. √294. Cf. Hyena
, Soil
to stain, Son
, Swine
.] 1.
(Zool.)
The female of swine, or of the hog kind.
2.
(Zool.)
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
(Zool.)
, any one of numerous species of terrestrial
– Isopoda
belonging to Oniscus
, Porcellio
, and allied genera of the family Oniscidae
. 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.Sow
,Verb.
T.
[
imp.
Sowed
; p. p.
Sown
or Sowed
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Sowing
.] 1.
To scatter, as seed, upon the earth; to plant by strewing;
“He would sow some difficulty.” as, to
. Also used figuratively: To spread abroad; to propagate. sow
wheatChaucer.
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.
Sow
,Verb.
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.
Webster 1828 Edition
Sow
SOW
, n.1.
The female of the hog kind or of swine.2.
An oblong piece of lead.3.
An insect; a milleped.