Hypertext Webster Gateway: "sow"

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) 1.7 (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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