sow1

[soh] /soʊ/
verb (used with object), sowed, sown or sowed, sowing.
1.
to scatter (seed) over land, earth, etc., for growth; plant.
2.
to plant seed for:
to sow a crop.
3.
to scatter seed over (land, earth, etc.) for the purpose of growth.
4.
to implant, introduce, or promulgate; seek to propagate or extend; disseminate:
to sow distrust or dissension.
5.
to strew or sprinkle with anything.
verb (used without object), sowed, sown or sowed, sowing.
6.
to sow seed, as for the production of a crop.
Origin
before 900; Middle English sowen, Old English sāwan; cognate with Dutch zaaien, German säen, Old Norse sā, Gothic saian; akin to seed, Latin sēmen seed, serere to sow
Related forms
sowable, adjective
sower, noun
unsowed, adjective
Synonyms
4. inject, lodge, circulate.

sow2

[sou] /saʊ/
noun
1.
an adult female swine.
2.
the adult female of various other animals, as the bear.
3.
Metallurgy.
  1. 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.
  2. the common channel itself.
  3. a basin holding any of certain molten nonferrous metals to be cast.
Origin
before 900; Middle English sowe, Old English sugu; cognate with German Sau, Old Norse sȳr, Latin sūs, Greek hûs, Tocharian B suwo; see swine
Related forms
sowlike, adjective
Examples from the web for sow
  • They're a wonderful overwintering plant and self-sow readily.
  • In mild winter climates, fall is the ideal time to sow seeds, though you can also plant in winter.
  • They employ fallacy and conspiracy to sow seeds of fear and distrust, and then cry when someone labels them for what they are.
  • If you live in a mild-winter climate, you can sow seeds in fall for winter and spring bloom.
  • Pick a windless day and sow seed evenly, using a drop or rotary spreader.
  • And the seeds that fall to the ground will self-sow.
  • sow seeds, and thin seedlings, following directions on packet.
  • If you're going to grow them, put them in glazed pots on a sunny deck or patio, where they can't self sow.
  • But it's enough to ask leading questions to sow doubt about the official story.
  • To commercialize a technology is to sow the seeds of its dissolution.
British Dictionary definitions for sow

sow1

/səʊ/
verb sows, sowing, sowed, sown, sowed
1.
to scatter or place (seed, a crop, etc) in or on (a piece of ground, field, etc) so that it may grow: to sow wheat, to sow a strip of land
2.
(transitive) to implant or introduce: to sow a doubt in someone's mind
Derived Forms
sowable, adjective
sower, noun
Word Origin
Old English sāwan; related to Old Norse sā, Old High German sāen, Old Slavonic seja, Latin serere to sow

sow2

/saʊ/
noun
1.
a female adult pig
2.
the female of certain other animals, such as the mink
3.
(metallurgy)
  1. the channels for leading molten metal to the moulds in casting pig iron
  2. iron that has solidified in these channels
Word Origin
Old English sugu; related to Old Norse sӯr, Old High German sū, Latin sūs, Norwegian sugga, Dutch zeug: see swine
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.

Related Abbreviations for sow

SOW

statement of work
Idioms and Phrases with sow

sow

In addition to the idiom beginning with sow also see: can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear