Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Plough

Plough

,
Noun.
&
Verb.
See
Plow
.
{

Plow

,

Plough

}
(plou)
,
Noun.
[OE.
plouh
,
plou
, AS.
plōh
; akin to D.
ploeg
, G.
pflug
, OHG.
pfluog
,
pfluoh
, Icel.
plōgr
, Sw.
plog
, Dan.
ploug
,
plov
, Russ.
plug’
, Lith.
plugas
.]
1.
A well-known implement, drawn by horses, mules, oxen, or other power, for turning up the soil to prepare it for bearing crops; also used to furrow or break up the soil for other purposes;
as, the subsoil
plow
; the draining
plow
.
Where fern succeeds ungrateful to the
plow
.
Dryden.
2.
Fig.: Agriculture; husbandry.
Johnson.
3.
A carucate of land; a plowland.
[Obs.]
[Eng.]
Johan, mine eldest son, shall have
plowes
five.
Tale of Gamelyn.
4.
A joiner's plane for making grooves; a grooving plane.
5.
(Bookbinding)
An implement for trimming or shaving off the edges of books.
6.
(Astron.)
Same as
Charles's Wain
.
Ice plow
,
a plow used for cutting ice on rivers, ponds, etc.
, into cakes suitable for storing.
[U. S.]
–
Mackerel plow
.
See under
Mackerel
.
–
Plow alms
,
a penny formerly paid by every plowland to the church.
Cowell.
–
Plow beam
,
that part of the frame of a plow to which the draught is applied. See
Beam
,
Noun.
, 9.
–
Plow Monday
,
the Monday after Twelth Day, or the end of Christmas holidays.
–
Plow staff
.
(a)
A kind of long-handled spade or paddle for cleaning the plowshare; a paddle staff
.
(b)
A plow handle.
–
Snow plow
,
a structure, usually Λ-shaped, for removing snow from sidewalks, railroads, etc., – drawn or driven by a horse or a locomotive.
{

Plow

,

Plough

, }
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Plowed
(ploud)
or
Ploughed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Plowing
or
Ploughing
.]
1.
To turn up, break up, or trench, with a plow; to till with, or as with, a plow;
as, to
plow
the ground; to
plow
a field.
2.
To furrow; to make furrows, grooves, or ridges in; to run through, as in sailing.
Let patient Octavia
plow
thy visage up
With her prepared nails.
Shakespeare
With speed we
plow
the watery way.
Pope.
3.
(Bookbinding)
To trim, or shave off the edges of, as a book or paper, with a plow. See
Plow
,
Noun.
, 5.
4.
(Joinery)
To cut a groove in, as in a plank, or the edge of a board; especially, a rectangular groove to receive the end of a shelf or tread, the edge of a panel, a tongue, etc.
To plow in
,
to cover by plowing;
as,
to plow in
wheat
.
–
To plow up
,
to turn out of the ground by plowing.
{

Plow

,

Plough

}
(plou)
,
Verb.
I.
To labor with, or as with, a plow; to till or turn up the soil with a plow; to prepare the soil or bed for anything.
Shak.
Doth the plowman
plow
all day to sow ?
Isa. xxviii. 24.

Webster 1828 Edition

Plough

PLOUGH.

[See Plow.]

Definition 2024

Plough

Plough

See also: plough

English

Proper noun

the Plough

  1. (astronomy, Britain) The common name for the brightest seven stars of the constellation Ursa Major.

Synonyms

Translations

plough

plough

See also: Plough

English

Alternative forms

Noun

plough ‎(plural ploughs)

  1. A device pulled through the ground in order to break it open into furrows for planting.
    The horse-drawn plough had a tremendous impact on agriculture.
  2. (Can we verify(+) this sense?) Synonym of Ursa Major
  3. Alternative form of ploughland, an alternative name for a carucate or hide.
    • Tale of Gamelyn
      Johan, mine eldest son, shall have plowes five.
  4. A joiner's plane for making grooves.
  5. A bookbinder's implement for trimming or shaving off the edges of books.

Usage notes

The spelling plow is usual in the United States, but the spelling plough may be found in literary or historical contexts there.

Hypernyms

Synonyms

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

plough ‎(third-person singular simple present ploughs, present participle ploughing, simple past and past participle ploughed)

  1. (transitive) To use a plough on to prepare for planting.
    I've still got to plough that field.
  2. (intransitive) To use a plough.
    Some days I have to plough from sunrise to sunset.
  3. (transitive, vulgar) To have sex with.
  4. To move with force.
    Trucks plowed through the water to ferry flood victims to safety.
    • 2011 January 18, “Wolverhampton 5 - 0 Doncaster”, in BBC:
      Wolves continued to plough forward as young Belgian midfielder Mujangi Bia and Ronald Zubar both hit shots wide from good positions.
  5. To furrow; to make furrows, grooves, or ridges in.
    • Template:rfdatet Shakespeare
      Let patient Octavia plough thy visage up / With her prepared nails.
  6. (nautical) To run through, as in sailing.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Alexander Pope
      With speed we plough the watery way.
  7. (bookbinding) To trim, or shave off the edges of, as a book or paper, with a plough.
  8. (joinery) To cut a groove in, as in a plank, or the edge of a board; especially, a rectangular groove to receive the end of a shelf or tread, the edge of a panel, a tongue, etc.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Etymology

From Middle English plouh, plow, plugh(e), plough(e), plouw, from Old English plōh ‎(“hide of land, ploughland”) and Old Norse plógr ‎(“plough (the implement)”), both from Proto-Germanic *plōgaz, *plōguz ‎(“plough”). Cognate with Scots pleuch, plou ‎(“plough”), West Frisian ploech ‎(“plough”), North Frisian plog ‎(“plough”), Dutch ploeg ‎(“plough”), Low German Ploog ‎(“plough”), German Pflug ‎(“plough”), Danish plov ‎(“plough”), Swedish and Norwegian plog ‎(“plough”), Icelandic plógur ‎(“plough”). Replaced Old English sulh ‎(“plough, furrow”); see sullow.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /plaʊ/
  • Rhymes: -aʊ

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