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sow
sow2 plant seed.
as you sow, so you reap proverbial saying, late 15th century; originally with biblical allusion to Galatians 6:7, ‘whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap’, and meaning that you will have to endure the consequences of your actions. sow dry and set wet proverbial saying for gardeners, mid 17th century, meaning that seeds should be sown in dry ground and then given water; the idea that seeds sown in wet ground will not prosper is expressed in Thomas Tusser's Husbandry (revised edition, 1580), as ‘By sowing in wet, Is little to get.’ sow one's wild oats go through a period of wild or promiscuous behaviour while young, late 16th century; wild oat, a wild grass related to the cultivated oat which was traditionally a weed of cornfields, is recorded from the mid 16th to the early 17th century as a name for a dissolute young man. they that sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind proverbial saying, late 16th century; originally with biblical allusion to Hosea 8:7, ‘For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind,’ and meaning that those who have initiated a dangerous course must suffer the consequences. See also sow dragon's teeth, you reap what you sow. |
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "sow." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "sow." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-sow1.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "sow." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-sow1.html |
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sow
sow1 / sō/ • v. (past sowed ; past part. sown / sōn/ or sowed) [tr.] plant (seed) by scattering it on or in the earth: fill a pot with compost and sow a thin layer of seeds on top. ∎ plant the seeds of (a plant or crop): the corn had just been sown. ∎ plant (a piece of land) with seed: the field used to be sown with oats. ∎ (be sown with) be thickly covered with: we walked through a valley sown with boulders. ∎ cause to appear or spread: the new policy has sown confusion and doubt. PHRASES: sow the seeds (or seed) of do something that will eventually bring about (a particular result, esp. a disastrous one): the seeds of dissension had been sown.DERIVATIVES: sow·er n. sow2 / sou/ • n. 1. an adult female pig, esp. one that has farrowed. ∎ the female of certain other mammals, e.g., the guinea pig. 2. a large block of metal (larger than a “pig”) made by smelting. |
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"sow." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "sow." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-sow.html "sow." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-sow.html |
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sow
sow1 a female pig.
have the right sow by the ear have the correct understanding of the situation; recorded from the mid 16th century, the phrase has been attributed to Henry VIII, when in 1529 Thomas Cranmer suggested that in the question of the projected divorce from Catherine of Aragon, the king should consult divines at the universities. a sow may whistle, though it has an ill mouth for it proverbial saying, early 19th century, meaning that someone not naturally suited to a task will perform it badly. See also you can't make a silk purse out a sow's ear. |
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Cite this article
ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "sow." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "sow." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-sow.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "sow." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-sow.html |
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sow
sow2 pt. sowed, pp. sown scatter or plant seed so that it may grow. OE. str. vb. sāwan, corr. to OS. sāian (Du. zaaien), OHG. sāwen, sā(h)en (G. säen), ON. sá, Goth. saian; Gmc. *sǣjan. repr. IE. base *sē(j)-, as in L. pt. sēvī (of serere), and in SEED
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T. F. HOAD. "sow." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "sow." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-sow1.html T. F. HOAD. "sow." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-sow1.html |
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sow
sow1 female swine OE.; structure to cover a besieging force XIII; (prob. after Du.) oblong mass of metal XVI. OE. sugu = OS. suga, MLG., MDu. soge (Du. zeug), rel. to OE., OHG. sū (G. sau), ON. sýr; f. IE. base *sū̆-, repr. also by L. sūs pig, Gr. hûs, etc.; cf. SWINE
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Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "sow." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "sow." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-sow.html T. F. HOAD. "sow." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-sow.html |
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Sow
Sow (river) Somerset, see Middlezoy.
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A. D. MILLS. "Sow." A Dictionary of British Place-Names. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. A. D. MILLS. "Sow." A Dictionary of British Place-Names. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O40-Sow.html A. D. MILLS. "Sow." A Dictionary of British Place-Names. 2003. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O40-Sow.html |
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SOW
SOW abbr.special operations wing.
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"SOW." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "SOW." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-SOW.html "SOW." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-SOW.html |
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sow
sow sō v. past sowed sōd; past part. sown sōn or sowed lay or plant (an explosive mine) or cover (territory) with mines: the field had both British and German mines sown in it.
sow the seeds or seed of do something that will eventually bring about (a particular result, especially a disastrous one): the seeds of dissension had been sown. |
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Cite this article
"sow." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "sow." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-sow.html "sow." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-sow.html |
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sow
sow
•allow, avow, Bilbao, Bissau, bough, bow, bow-wow, brow, cacao, chow, ciao, cow, dhow, Dow, endow, Foochow, Frau, Hangzhou, Hough, how, Howe, kowtow, Lao, Liao, Macao, Macau, miaow, Mindanao, mow, now, ow, Palau, plough (US plow), pow, prow, row, scow, Slough, sough, sow, Tao, thou, vow, wow, Yangshao
•aglow, ago, alow, although, apropos, art nouveau, Bamako, Bardot, beau, Beaujolais Nouveau, below, bestow, blow, bo, Boileau, bons mots, Bordeaux, Bow, bravo, bro, cachepot, cheerio, Coe, crow, Defoe, de trop, doe, doh, dos-à-dos, do-si-do, dough, dzo, Flo, floe, flow, foe, foreknow, foreshow, forgo, Foucault, froe, glow, go, good-oh, go-slow, grow, gung-ho, Heathrow, heave-ho, heigh-ho, hello, ho, hoe, ho-ho, jo, Joe, kayo, know, lo, low, maillot, malapropos, Marceau, mho, Miró, mo, Mohs, Monroe, mot, mow, Munro, no, Noh, no-show, oh, oho, outgo, outgrow, owe, Perrault, po, Poe, pro, quid pro quo, righto, roe, Rouault, row, Rowe, sew, shew, show, sloe, slow, snow, so, soh, sow, status quo, stow, Stowe, strow, tally-ho, though, throw, tic-tac-toe, to-and-fro, toe, touch-and-go, tow, trow, undergo, undersow, voe, whacko, whoa, wo, woe, Xuzhou, yo, yo-ho-ho, Zhengzhou, Zhou
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Cite this article
"sow." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "sow." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-sow.html "sow." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-sow.html |
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