sow1
- to scatter (seed) over land, earth, etc., for growth; plant.
- to plant seed for: to sow a crop.
- to scatter seed over (land, earth, etc.) for the purpose of growth.
- to implant, introduce, or promulgate; seek to propagate or extend; disseminate: to sow distrust or dissension.
- to strew or sprinkle with anything.
- to sow seed, as for the production of a crop.
Origin of sow1
Synonyms
See more synonyms for sow on Thesaurus.comsow2
- an adult female swine.
- the adult female of various other animals, as the bear.
- Metallurgy.
- a large oblong mass of iron that has solidified in the common channel through which the molten metal flows to the smaller channels in which the pigs solidify.
- the common channel itself.
- a basin holding any of certain molten nonferrous metals to be cast.
Origin of sow2
Examples from the Web for sow
Contemporary Examples
But if you choose to conduct your discourse in 140-word snaps, or soundbites, then you reap the crop of dumb that you sow.
The youngsters arrived at our border with the unspoken message that we reap what we sow.
You reap what you sow, and Republicans are paying the price for elevating a minority within their party.
“Their lack of appreciation is obvious and quite frankly, they reap what they sow,” reads one.
But on Wednesday, two of its 15 stores were burned down, according to Atallah who believes the attacks were meant to sow discord.
Historical Examples
But the aristocracy did not sow this piece with rye, I suppose?
This indicated to her with what grain she could sow the field most profitably.
The Memoirs of Louis XIV., His Court and The Regency, CompleteDuc de Saint-Simon
And the sow that was washed, she went wallerin' in the mire, first chance she got.
Old Man CurryCharles E. (Charles Emmett) Van Loan
Sow auricula and polyanthus seeds in boxes, made of rough boards six inches deep, with holes at the bottom to run off the water.
Sow small sallads once in two days, as in the former month: at the same time choose a warm border, and sow some purslain.
sow1
- to scatter or place (seed, a crop, etc) in or on (a piece of ground, field, etc) so that it may growto sow wheat; to sow a strip of land
- (tr) to implant or introduceto sow a doubt in someone's mind
Word Origin
sow2
- a female adult pig
- the female of certain other animals, such as the mink
- metallurgy
- the channels for leading molten metal to the moulds in casting pig iron
- iron that has solidified in these channels
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for sow
v.
Old English sawan "to scatter seed upon the ground or plant it in the earth, disseminate" (class VII strong verb; past tense seow, past participle sawen), from Proto-Germanic *sean (cf. Old Norse sa, Old Saxon saian, Middle Dutch sayen, Dutch zaaien, Old High German sawen, German säen, Gothic saian), from PIE root *se- (1) "to sow" (cf. Latin sero, past tense sevi, past participle satum "to sow;" Old Church Slavonic sejo, sejati; Lithuanian seju, seti "to sow"), source of semen, season (n.), seed (n.), etc. Figurative sense was in Old English.
n.
Old English sugu, su "female of the swine," from Proto-Germanic *su- (cf. Old Saxon, Old High German su, German Sau, Dutch zeug, Old Norse syr), from PIE root *su- (cf. Sanskrit sukarah "wild boar, swine;" Avestan hu "wild boar;" Greek hys "swine;" Latin sus "swine," swinus "pertaining to swine;" Old Church Slavonic svinija "swine;" Lettish sivens "young pig;" Welsh hucc, Irish suig "swine; Old Irish socc "snout, plowshare"), possibly imitative of pig noise, a notion reinforced by the fact that Sanskrit sukharah means "maker of (the sound) 'su.' " Related to swine. As a term of abuse for a woman, attested from c.1500. Sow-bug "hog louse" is from 1750.
Idioms and Phrases with sow
sow
In addition to the idiom beginning with sow
- sow one's wild oats
also see:
- can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear