mown.¹

Brit.

/maʊ/, U.S.

/maʊ/

Forms: Old English muga, Old English muha, Old English muwa, early Middle English mug- (in compounds), early Middle English muȝe, early Middle English mugh- (in compounds), Middle English moghe, Middle English mou, Middle English moue, Middle English mughe, Middle English 1600s–1700s 1900s– mough, Middle English–1600s (1900s– (U.S.)) mowe, Middle English– mow, 1500s moow, 1500s moowe, 1500s mowgh, 1500s mowghe, 1500s–1600s mew, 1700s maw- (in compounds); English regional 1800s mu' (northern), 1800s– mew, 1800s– moo (northern), 1800s– mou; Scottish pre-1700 1700s– mow, pre-1700 1800s– mowe, 1700s mu, 1800s mou', 1800s moue, 1800s– mou, 1900s– moo; also Welsh English 1900s– mie; Irish English (northern) 1900s– mou, 1900s– mow.

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.

Etymology: Cognate with Old Icelandic múgi swathe, crowd (also múgr crowd, common people, mob), Norwegian (Nynorsk) muge heap, pile, crowd, flock (also Bokmål mug crowd, flock), Old Swedish moghe crowd, common people (also mogher ), of uncertain origin; perhaps < the same Indo-European base as Byzantine Greek μύκων heap. Compare also (as the second element in compounds with cognates of all adj.) Old Icelandic almúgi common people, Norwegian allmuge common people, Old Swedish almoghe common people (Swedish allmoge country people, peasantry), Old Danish almuge common people (Danish almue country people, peasantry). Compare post-classical Latin meia, meya bay in barn for storage of crop (from mid 12th cent. in British sources), mow, rick, stack (from 1245 in British sources).The word is not securely attested in continental West Germanic languages, although a possible cognate may be represented by the first element of Old High German mūwerf mole (see mouldwarp n. and discussion at that entry). Possible early borrowing < Germanic languages may perhaps be indicated by post-classical Latin muga mound, heap (in an undated medieval Spanish source, later than the 11th cent.; compare Spanish muga landmark, pile (1734 in sense ‘boundary post’; although an alternative etymology derives this from Basque muga boundary)), mugium haystack (1334 in one isolated attestation in a north Italian source).

Now chiefly regional.

a. A stack of hay, corn, beans, peas, etc.; esp. a heap of grain or hay in a barn. Also: the quantity of grain or hay stacked in one bay of a barn. Cf. hay-mow n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > storage or preservation of crops > [noun] > stacking or ricking > stack or rick

moweOE

rickeOE

pease-ricka1325

stackc1330

tassc1330

rucka1382

hayrick14..

haystack14..

sedge reekc1440

hay-mow1483

hay-goaf1570

rack1574

hovel1591

scroo1604

mow-stack1611

sow1659

corn-rick1669

bean-rick1677

barley-mow1714

pea rick1766

rickle1768

bike1771

stacklet1796

bean-stack1828

eOE Corpus Gloss. (1890) 10/2 Aceruus, muha.

eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in W. G. Stryker Lat.-Old Eng. Gloss. in MS Cotton Cleopatra A.III (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1951) 5 Aceruum, muwan.

OE Old Eng. Hexateuch: Exod. (Claud.) xxii. 6 Gyf fyr bærne mugan oððe standende æceras.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 14612 Þa sparwen..i þan eouesen..grupen. swa heo duden in þen muȝen.

?a1300 Iacob & Iosep (Bodl.) (1916) 357 (MED) Bernes ful riche & mowen ful heye, Muche was þe blisse after here swinke.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 6760 (MED) Thorn feld or corn or mou or stak.

c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 4434 (MED) Þan as a Mare at a moghe ȝoure mawis ȝe fill.

?c1475 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 15562) f. 83 A Mughe, archonicus.

1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) xii. l. 339 A mow off corn he gyhyt thaim about.

1495 Trevisa's Bartholomeus De Proprietatibus Rerum (de Worde) iv. i. 77 As it faryth in a wete mough of whete.

?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xv For and it swete nat in the heycockes it wyll swete in the mowe.

1539 in F. Collins Wills & Admin. Knaresborough Court Rolls (1902) I. 58 The value of a mowghe of hay.

1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) f. 55^v In goeuing at haruest, learne skilfully how, Ech graine for to lay by it selfe on a mow.

1609 P. Holland tr. Ammianus Marcellinus Rom. Hist. 220 The whole mow or stacke being shaken was borne downe.

1678 R. Wodrow Hist. II. 429 He and his servants went into the barn, in the one end of which was a mow of corn and in the other of bear.

1718 A. Ramsay Christ's-kirk on Green iii. 30 But Lawrie he took out his Nap, Upon a Mow of Peas.

1787 W. Marshall Provincialisms in Rural Econ. Norfolk II. 381 Gulph, a mow, or bay-full, in a barn.

1794 J. Billingsley Gen. View Agric. Somerset 188 It is very difficult to keep the mows on stathels free from them [sc. rats and mice].

1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm II. 264 To pile up the sheaves as they are brought in into what are called mows, that is, the sheaves are placed in rows.

1863 H. W. Longfellow Prelude iii, in Tales Wayside Inn 2 The barns display..their mows of hay.

1896 Daily News 19 Sept. 2/5 The stooks, locally called mows, present a mass of green shoots.

1907 St. Nicholas Sept. 978/1 ‘Be careful what you say,’ interrupted Chub, sliding down from the top of the mow.

1916 D. H. Lawrence Let. 5 Sept. (1962) 473 The corn stands in ‘mews’—small ricks.

1983 S. Donaldson Gilden-fire 41 Ripe wheat rippled like sheets of gold in some of the fields; and in others cut hay was stacked into high fragrant mowes.

b. A place in a barn where hay or corn is heaped up.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > storage or preservation of crops > [noun] > barn

barnc950

lathea1325

grangec1384

mowa1643

a1643 J. Shute Judgement & Mercy (1645) iii. 65 If it [sc. wheat] be carried into the barne, God can make it mould in the mow.

1755 S. Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. Mow, a loft or chamber where hay or corn is laid up.

1788 W. Marshall Rural Econ. Yorks. II. 43 To prevent waste in the barn, the floor of the mow was covered with soft hay, which stops the running of the seed.

1856 G. Henderson Pop. Rhymes Berwick 91 They were engaged in carrying his corn from the stack in the barn-yard to the mow in the barn.

1884 West Sussex Gaz. 25 Sept. 4/8 Good spacious barn, asphalte floor, and mow.

1912 Scotsman 19 Jan. 10/3 The recess in the barn—the barn moo—where the sheaves of the grain stacks..are built up preparatory to being thrashed with the flail.

1977 Whig-Standard (Kingston, Ont.) 12 Apr. 5/1 All hay was harvested loose and stored in mows or lofts.

1992 Harrowsmith Aug. 25/1 My theory is that he intended to fill the mow in July and then walk along the top of the new hay.

†2. More generally: a heap or pile of anything; a heap of earth, a mound, a hillock; (Scottish) a stack of peats. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > land > landscape > high land > rising ground or eminence > [noun] > small mound

balkc885

bankc1175

hill1297

hillock1382

mow?1424

sunka1522

tump1589

anthill1598

pustule1651

mound1791

hag1805

moundlet1808

the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > an assemblage or collection > [noun] > mass formed by collection of particles > an accumulation > heap or pile

heapc725

cockeOE

hill1297

tassc1330

glub1382

mow?1424

bulkc1440

pile1440

pie1526

bing1528

borwen1570

ruck1601

rick1608

wreck1612

congest1625

castle1636

coacervation1650

congestion1664

cop1666

cumble1694

bin1695

toss1695

thurrock1708

rucklea1725

burrow1784

mound1788

wad1805

stook1865

boorach1868

barrow1869

sorites1871

tump1892

fid1926

clamp-

?1424 in J. A. Picton City of Liverpool: Select. Munic. Rec. (1883) (modernized text) I. 23 On a mow within the said town we saw the said Sir Richard.

a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1957) iv. ix. 69 Abufe the mowe the foirsaid bed was maid.

1681 W. Robertson Phraseologia generalis (1693) 899 A mow or heap, strues.

1777 Whole Proc. Jockey & Maggy (rev. ed.) i. 8 Down came the bed with a great mu of peets.

1857 J. M. Wilson Hist. Tales Borders x. 67 Wham ye kissed sae snug last nicht ayont the peat-mou.

1862 R. Young Eclogue Dorset Dial. 25 I thote if squire woud allow, I'd put they in a faggot mow.

Compounds

C1.

† mow-breast n. Obsolete rare

ΚΠ

a1642 H. Best Farming & Memorandum Bks. (1984) 78 Putte them into the hey-howse, and lette them lye att the mowe-brest all night.

† mow-cutter n. Obsolete rare

ΚΠ

1779 Farmer's Mag. Oct. 314 Stack-Tackle... 1 Mow-cutter.

† mow-maker n. Obsolete rare

ΚΠ

1767 Ann. Reg. 1766 Chron. 117/2 Let the mow-maker be provided with a quantity of salt.

mow-side n. rare

ΚΠ

1865 A. D. Whitney Gayworthys xvii. 155 Wealthy tossed down great trusses of hay to them from the mow-side.

mow-stack n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > storage or preservation of crops > [noun] > stacking or ricking > stack or rick

moweOE

rickeOE

pease-ricka1325

stackc1330

tassc1330

rucka1382

hayrick14..

haystack14..

sedge reekc1440

hay-mow1483

hay-goaf1570

rack1574

hovel1591

scroo1604

mow-stack1611

sow1659

corn-rick1669

bean-rick1677

barley-mow1714

pea rick1766

rickle1768

bike1771

stacklet1796

bean-stack1828

1611 in J. S. Moore Clifton & Westbury Probate Inventories (1981) 13 All the wood..one mowe stacke with all other Timber.

1894 R. D. Blackmore Perlycross III. vi. 108 Mowstack, and oakwood, farmhouse, and abbey.

mow-yard n. rare

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > storage or preservation of crops > [noun] > stacking or ricking > stack-yard

stack-garth1293

haggard1452

stack-yard1569

rickyard1586

mowhay1612

mow-barton1642

rick-barton1656

mow-yard1869

1869 R. D. Blackmore Lorna Doone II. xi. 141 And here was our own mow-yard, better filled than we could remember.

C2.

mow-barton n. a yard or enclosure containing mows; a stack yard.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > storage or preservation of crops > [noun] > stacking or ricking > stack-yard

stack-garth1293

haggard1452

stack-yard1569

rickyard1586

mowhay1612

mow-barton1642

rick-barton1656

mow-yard1869

1642 in J. S. Moore Goods & Chattels Forefathers (1976) 76 In the barne and mowbartone 1 stacke of Corn.

1789 Trans. Soc. Arts 7 12 For [the] Fence of a Maw-Barton on the same Farm.

1895 W. Raymond Tryphena in Love i. 8 He looked upon..the cow-stalls and mow~barton full of yellow stacks.

† mow floor n. Obsolete the floor of a barn in which hay or corn is stored.

ΚΠ

1869 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Agric. 1868 424 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc.) XV Making chimneys, so to speak, in the mow, by putting barrels on the mow floor and drawing them up as the hay was stowed about them.

mowheat n. rare †(a) hay or corn spoilt by being stacked damp or too green (obsolete); (b) the rotting of hay or corn, caused by overheating and fermenting in the mow or stack (cf. mowburning n.).

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > disease or injury > [noun] > associated with particular type of plant > crop or food plant > caused by overheating or fermenting

mowburning1677

mowburn1710

mowheat1828

1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) Moo-het, the hay or corn heated in the stack or mow.

1896 P. A. Bruce Econ. Hist. Virginia I. 453 Spontaneous combustion, mowheat, and the depreciation resulting from the entrance of sea water.

mow-staddle n. (a) the lower part of a stack of hay, corn, etc.; = staddle n. 3a; (b) the framework or stone on which a stack of hay, corn, etc., is built up; = staddle n. 3b.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > storage or preservation of crops > [noun] > stacking or ricking > rick-stand or -place

mow-staddle1235

rick-stavel1617

staddle-steada1642

stavel1669

rick staddle1675

staddlingc1706

staffolda1722

staddle1729

rick-stand1776

staddle-stones1785

mowstead1833

1235–52 in C. J. Elton Rentalia et Custumaria (1891) 140 Et debet habere mugstathel et unum sedlep plenum de frumento.

1634 in J. S. Moore Clifton & Westbury Probate Inventories (1981) 54 One pare of mow stathills of Freestone in the said Anthonie Hodges his keepinge.

1652 Will of M. Reeve (Somerset Ho.) The yeoting stone, the mowstadells.

1867 W. F. Rock Jim an' Nell 71 Witch ellem timbers vor mewstaddle.

1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. Mow-staddle, the framework upon which a stack of corn is piled up.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

mown.²

Brit.

/maʊ/,

/məʊ/, U.S.

/maʊ/,

/moʊ/, Scottish English

/mu/,

/mʌʊ/

Forms: Middle English mawe (perhaps transmission error), Middle English mewe (perhaps transmission error), Middle English mouwe, Middle English mowhe, Middle English mowwe, Middle English–1600s (1800s– English regional (northern)) mowe, 1500s–1600s moe, 1600s–1800s mow; Scottish pre-1700 mowe, pre-1700 mowise (plural), pre-1700 1700s– mow, pre-1700 1800s– mou, pre-1700 1800s– mowe, pre-1700 1800s– mowse (plural), 1800s mawse, 1800s– mouze. N.E.D. (1908) records also a form 1500s mew.

Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French mouwe.

Etymology: < Middle French mouwe, moe (late 12th cent. in Old French in phrase faire le moe to grimace, pull a face in derision or discontent; also in form mowe (13th cent.); French moue moue n.), probably < an unattested Frankish cognate of Middle Dutch mouwe grimace (of uncertain etymology, perhaps related to early modern Dutch mouwe muscle: see mow n.⁴). Compare moue n.In later use in Scots in phrase to make a mow probably influenced by mou n.¹ (compare the form mou's in quot. 1924 at sense 1a).

Now Scottish and English regional (northern).

a. A grimace, esp. a derisive one. Frequently in to make a mow (also mows).

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > face with expression or expression > [noun] > grimace or distortion

mowc1330

mopa1475

mocks and mows1508

murgeons?a1513

face1533

smile1550

smilet1591

mump1592

ruffle1602

frown1608

stitcha1625

grimace1651

grimask1671

simagre1680

moppet1693

distortion1718

throw1790

rictus1827

mug1844

monkey-face1939

c1330 in T. Wright Polit. Songs Eng. (1839) 339 He makketh the a mouwe.

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1874) V. 75 (MED) He took heede how his fader made a mowe and tornede away þe face.

a1425 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (1987) iv. 7 Whan a wight is from hire [sc. Fortune's] whiel ythrowe, Than laugheth she and maketh hym the mowe.

Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 346 Mowe or skorne, Vangia vel valgia.

c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 4728 (MED) Ieants..stode..glorand on his gome with grisely mawis.

1483 W. Caxton tr. A. Chartier Curial sig. ij^v The man that hath grete corage & vertuous mespriseth her lawhynges and mowes.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms xxxiv. 15 Yee y^e very lame come together agaynst me vnawarres, makynge mowes at me, & ceasse not.

1581 G. Pettie tr. S. Guazzo Ciuile Conuersat. (1586) iii. 170 [They] will not stick to make moes at their maister behinde his back.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) i. vi. 42 Apes, and Monkeys 'Twixt two such She's, would chatter this way, and Contemne with mowes the other.

1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 333 One that we preserved alive was quite amazed, and made us good laughing, with his mows and monkey faces.

1705 R. Beverley Hist. Virginia ii. iv. 24 Another stark naked was sitting up in a Corner, like a Monkey, grinning and making Mows at them.

1794 W. Godwin Caleb Williams I. x. 220 By that devil that..made mows and mockery at his insufferable tortures.

1846 E. Bulwer-Lytton Lucretia II. ii. vii. 252 Bob grinned, made a mow at Mr. Grabman, and scampered up the stairs.

1899 J. Davidson Last Ballad 156 Poor Turlygod..stared and said With a mow and a nod, ‘Whither away, sir?’

1924 W. Allan in A. B. Harley Sc. Story Recitations 127 Weel ken ye freen's I like a dram o' Hielan' mountain dew, I mak' nae mou's, I winna sham, it aften mak's me fu'.

1962 J. P. Collie in Sc. National Dict. at Mouth There's nae eese roarin at her. She's steen deaf. Jist mak mous an' she'll read yer lips.

†b. In phrases mows and mocks, mocks and mows (cf. mow v.³ 1a, to mock and mow at mock v. 3c). Also in mows and mops (cf. mop n.³). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > face with expression or expression > [noun] > grimace or distortion

mowc1330

mopa1475

mocks and mows1508

murgeons?a1513

face1533

smile1550

smilet1591

mump1592

ruffle1602

frown1608

stitcha1625

grimace1651

grimask1671

simagre1680

moppet1693

distortion1718

throw1790

rictus1827

mug1844

monkey-face1939

1508 W. Kennedy Flyting (Chepman & Myllar) in Poems W. Dunbar (1998) I. 212 In to thy mowis and mokis, It may be verifyit that thy wit is thin.

1581 G. Pettie tr. S. Guazzo Ciuile Conuersat. (1586) i. f. 32^v The Ape..giueth himself to make vs laugh with his mops and mowes.

1602 W. Fulbecke Parallele or Conf. Law i. 71 Things must be recompenced with things... And wordes with wordes, and taunts with mockes, and mowes.

1681 W. Robertson Phraseologia generalis (1693) 898 Mocks and mows with the mouth, sannæ.

1710 Banbury Apes (ed. 4) 8 Truly, says the Mayor, there's sufficient witness that saw him make Mops and Mows at her.

1808 C. Lamb Let. 26 Feb. in Lett. C. & M. A. Lamb (1976) II. 272 A sort of a frantic yell like..mad geese, with roaring sometimes like bears, mows & mops like ap[e]s.

1817 R. C. Sands Bridal of Vaumond i. iv. 41 A fiend—who lifts with mocks, and mows The film that heaven indulgent throws.

1893 R. L. Stevenson Catriona iii. 29 The mops and mows of the old witch.

2. Scottish.

†a. A trick, a prank; a jest, a quip. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > [noun] > a trick, deception

wrenchc888

swikec893

braida1000

craftOE

wile1154

crookc1175

trokingc1175

guile?c1225

hocket1276

blink1303

errorc1320

guileryc1330

sleightc1340

knackc1369

deceitc1380

japec1380

gaudc1386

syllogism1387

mazec1390

mowa1393

train?a1400

trantc1400

abusionc1405

creekc1405

trickc1412

trayc1430

lirtc1440

quaint?a1450

touch1481

pawka1522

false point?1528

practice1533

crink1534

flim-flamc1538

bobc1540

fetcha1547

abuse1551

block1553

wrinklec1555

far-fetch?a1562

blirre1570

slampant1577

ruse1581

forgery1582

crank1588

plait1589

crossbite1591

cozenage1592

lock1598

quiblin1605

foist1607

junt1608

firk1611

overreach?1615

fob1622

ludification1623

knick-knacka1625

flam1632

dodge1638

gimcrack1639

fourbe1654

juggle1664

strategy1672

jilt1683

disingenuity1691

fun1699

jugglementa1708

spring1753

shavie1767

rig?1775

deception1794

Yorkshire bite1795

fakement1811

fake1829

practical1833

deceptivity1843

tread-behind1844

fly1861

schlenter1864

Sinonism1864

racket1869

have1885

ficelle1890

wheeze1903

fast one1912

roughie1914

spun-yarn trick1916

fastie1931

phoney baloney1933

fake-out1955

okey-doke1964

mind-fuck1971

the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > [noun] > jest or pleasantry > a jest or joke

gameOE

jape1377

bourda1387

mirthc1390

mowa1393

chapec1400

skauncec1440

sport?1449

popc1540

flirt1549

jest1551

merriment1576

shifta1577

facetiae1577

gig1590

pleasantry1594

lepidity1647

rallery1653

drollery1654

wit-crack1662

joco1663

pleasance1668

joke1670

jocunditya1734

quizzification1801

funniment1826

side-splitter1834

funniness1838

quizzery1841

jocularity1846

rib-tickler1855

jocosity1859

humorism1860

gag1863

gas1914

nifty1918

mirthquaker1921

rib1929

boffo1934

giggle1936

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > trickery, playing jokes > [noun] > a trick, prank, hoax

pratOE

mowa1393

pageant?c1430

jimp?1572

prank1576

jest1578

jig1592

frump1593

trick1605

bilk1664

fun1699

plisky1706

humbug1750

hum1751

practical joke1751

marlock1763

quiz1795

practical joke1804

skite1804

hoax1808

skit1815

wrinkle1817

rusty1835

funny business1838

string1851

stringer1851

cod1862

mank1865

spoof1889

leg-pull1893

rannygazoo1896

shenanigan1926

gotcha1967

to throw a fastball1968

wind-up1984

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iv. 900 (MED) Bejaped with a mowe He goth.

a1449 J. Lydgate Fabula Duorum Mercatorum (Harl.) 581 in Minor Poems (1934) ii. 505 (MED) The world with mowhes so weel can vs delude.

a1525 (c1448) R. Holland Bk. Howlat l. 831 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 121 The fulis fonde in ye flet And mony mowis at mete On ye flure maid.

?1553 (c1501) G. Douglas Palice of Honour (London) 1727 in Shorter Poems (2003) 108 And bonytas of ane mussil made ane ape With mony othir subtell mow and Iape.

a1578 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 198 Everie word was ane mow that he spak.

a1600 ( W. Stewart tr. H. Boece Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) II. 375 Mony mow & knak.

a1650 D. Calderwood Hist. Kirk Scotl. (1845) VI. 146 The inhabitants of Dumfreis..were for the most part suffered to returne home without punishment after manie mirrie mowes past.

1721 J. Kelly Compl. Coll. Scotish Prov. 254 Mows may come to earnest.

b. In plural, frequently with singular agreement. Jest, fun. in mows: in jest (as opposed to in earnest). no mows: no joke, not a laughing matter.

ΚΠ

1559 D. Lindsay Test. Papyngo l. 71 in Wks. (1931) I I maid it bot in mowis.

1568 (a1508) W. Kennedy Flyting (Bannatyne) in Poems W. Dunbar (1998) I. 201 Maid maister bot in mows.

1568 Christis Kirk on Grene in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1928) II. 266 The millar wes of manly mak To meit him wes na mowis.

a1578 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 175 My lordis, is it mowse or earnest?

a1628 J. Carmichaell Coll. Prov. in Scots (1957) No. 866 It is gude mowis that fillis the bellie.

1686 in W. Mackay & G. S. Laing Rec. Inverness (1924) II. 341 He said then to his master that it was not mowes to sturre & remove a march stone.

1720 A. Pennecuik Streams from Helicon (ed. 2) i. 79 Sae tell me, are ye in mows or earnest?

1728 A. Ramsay On seeing Archers divert Themselves 156 Or in earnest, or in mows, Be still successful.

a1807 J. Skinner Amusem. Leisure Hours (1809) 80 And gin ye had her a' your ain, Ye might na find it mows to guide her.

1877 G. MacDonald Marquis of Lossie lvii Juist tak tent the morn what ye say whan Jean's i' the room..for she's no mowse.

1888 J. M. Barrie Auld Licht Idylls xii Its not mous to be out at such a time.

1931 Aberdeen Press & Jrnl. 18 Feb. 2/7 Wid it be mowse, think ye, to gang in aboot wi' yon gurby tyke aff the chine?

1957 Bon-accord 24 Jan. 8 Weemin are nae mowse.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

mown.³

Brit.

/məʊ/, U.S.

/moʊ/

Forms: late Middle English mowe, 1800s– mow (English regional (East Anglian)).

Origin: A variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: maw n.³

Etymology: Variant of maw n.³ (see discussion at that entry on Old English māw, sometimes posited as precursor of the present word).

Now English regional (East Anglian).

A gull.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > birds > order Charadriiformes > family Laridae (gulls and terns) > [noun] > member of genus Larus (gull) > larus canus (common gull)

meweOE

larea1425

sea-mawc1425

seamewc1430

mow1440

maw?a1513

sea-cob1530

camose1542

seagull1542

cob1574

mevy1616

sea-pigeon1620

tarrock1674

sea-mall1676

sea-moit1681

gor1697

seed bird1791

Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 346/1 (MED) Mowe, byrd, or semewe: Aspergo.

1893 H. T. Cozens-Hardy Broad Norfolk (Eastern Daily Press) (ed. 2) 49 Mow, gull (in general).

1999 R. Malster Mardler's Compan. 53/2 Mow, gull, the bird, that is.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

† mown.⁴

Forms: late Middle English mowe.

Origin: Probably a borrowing from Dutch.

Etymology: Probably < an unattested Middle Dutch noun corresponding to early modern Dutch mouwe muscle (in Kiliaan), cognate with German †Maue muscle (also in †mauicht muscular); further etymology uncertain (perhaps related to Middle Dutch mouwe grimace: see mow n.²).

Obsolete. rare.

The fleshy or muscular area of a part of the body.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > structural parts > muscle > muscle substance > [noun]

brawnc1325

mow1490

muscle1710

muscle cell1840

myosin1866

muscle-box1874

fibre-cell1878

myoblast1884

muscle-case1885

inogen1889

muscle casket1890

sarcomere1891

myofibril1898

myoplasm1907

myofibrilla1913

myotube1933

myofilament1949

myofibre1965

1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) vii. 173 Mawgys..came to bayarde, and bounde hym the mowes of the feete [Fr. luy lya la pasture] there wyth all well streyghte.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

† mown.⁵

Forms: pre-1700 1700s mow, pre-1700 1700s mowe.

Origin: A variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: mull n.¹

Etymology: Variant of mull n.¹

Scottish. Obsolete.

Dust, mould; impure or foreign matter.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirt > [noun] > dust or fluff

dustc825

mow?a1500

pelf1584

slut's wool1841

beggar's velvet1847

dowl1879

the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > corruption or putridness > [noun] > mustiness, mouldiness, or mould

moulda1400

mow?a1500

mustiness1526

vinny1538

mouldiness1559

vinniedness1565

foistiness1576

hoariness1580

must1602

mucor1656

vinnewinessa1722

a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Preaching of Swallow l. 1921 in Poems (1981) 74 Lyke to the mow befoir the face of wind Quhiskis away and makis wretchis blind.

a1538 A. Abell Roit or Quheill of Tyme f. 12, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue (at cited word) All riches aganis the greif of God is bot powdir and mow.

c1586 J. Stewart Poems (1913) 224 As the dustie mow This kingis seid sall all the erth ourflow.

a1600 ( W. Stewart tr. H. Boece Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) II. 79 For-quhy that wall wes nocht biggit with lyme, Bot with dry mow that wes of lytill effect.

1755 R. Forbes Jrnl. London to Portsmouth in tr. Ovid Ajax his Speech (new ed.) 29 Turned o'er our gallant cart amon' a heap o' shirrels an' peat-mow.

1776 D. Herd Anc. & Mod. Sc. Songs (ed. 2) II. 121 Another was kiss'd on the green, The third behind the pease stack, Till the mow flew up to her een.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

mown.⁶

Brit.

/məʊ/, U.S.

/moʊ/

Forms: 1800s maw (Scottish), 1900s– mow.

Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: mow v.¹

Etymology: < mow v.¹

†1. Scottish. A sweeping stroke (of a scythe). Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > harvesting > [noun] > cutting, reaping, or mowing > cutting with scythe or sickle > stroke of scythe

swatha1643

swaff1688

mow1825

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > harvesting > [noun] > cutting, reaping, or mowing > cutting with scythe or sickle > extent of scythe's sweep

swath1577

mow1825

1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. Maw, a single sweep with the scythe, Clydes[ide].

2. Cricket (chiefly colloquial). An inelegant pull shot to the leg side. Cf. cow-shot n. at cow n.¹ Compounds 2.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > batting > [noun] > types of stroke

long ball1744

nip1752

catch1816

no-hit1827

cut1833

short hit1833

draw1836

drive1836

square hit1837

skylarker1839

skyer1840

skyscraper1842

back-cut1845

bum1845

leg sweep1846

slog1846

square cut1850

driver1851

Harrow drive1851

leg slip1852

poke1853

snick1857

snorter1859

leg stroke1860

smite1861

on-drive1862

bump ball1864

rocketer1864

pull1865

grass trimmer1867

late cut1867

off-drive1867

spoon1871

push1873

push stroke1873

smack1875

Harrow drive1877

pull-stroke1880

leg glance1883

gallery-hit1884

boundary-stroke1887

glide1888

sweep1888

boundary1896

hook1896

leg glide1896

backstroke1897

flick1897

hook stroke1897

cover-drive1898

straight drive1898

square drive1900

edger1905

pull-drive1905

slash1906

placing stroke1907

push drive1912

block shot1915

if-shot1920

placing shot1921

cow-shot1922

mow1925

Chinese cut1937

haymaker1954

hoick1954

perhapser1954

air shot1956

steepler1959

mishook1961

swish1963

chop-

1925 D. J. Knight in Country Life 15 Aug. 244/1 Leg-side shots. They are the glides,..the mow and the pull.

1926 J. B. Hobbs Test Match Surprise xvi. 171 What he intended for a leg glance was nothing more than a ‘mow’ between square leg and mid-on.

1999 Wisden Cricket Monthly Apr. 25/1 His pièce de résistance was a belligerent cross-batted mow that was liable to send the ball anywhere.

3. colloquial. An act or instance of mowing something, esp. a lawn.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > harvesting > [noun] > cutting, reaping, or mowing

reapingc1350

mowinga1425

shearing1779

grass seeding1882

mow1975

1975 Times 10 Apr. 11/4 The inclement weather..has enabled me to put off..the first mow of the lawn.

1987 S. Oxf. Courier 16 Apr. 17/3 Never be tempted to cut off more than one third of the length of the grass in one mow as it weakens the growth.

1999 Your Garden June 62/1 Mowing twice a week will lead to a thicker sward (grass), but if you leave it when you're away on holiday then raise the height of the cut for the first mow.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

mowv.¹

Brit.

/məʊ/, U.S.

/moʊ/

Forms: Old English mawan, Middle English ma, Middle English moue, Middle English mouwe, Middle English–1700s (1900s– English regional) mowe, Middle English– maw (now English regional), Middle English– mawe (now English regional), Middle English– mow, 1600s mough, 1800s ma (English regional (northern)), 1800s maa (English regional (northern)), 1800s meauw (English regional (northern)), 1800s– mew (English regional); also Scottish pre-1700 moaw, pre-1700 1700s– maw, 1800s ma, 1800s– maa (Shetland and Orkney). Past tense

α. Old English meowan (plural indicative), Middle English meowen (plural indicative), Middle English mewen (plural indicative), Middle English 1700s (1800s– English regional) mew, Middle English 1700s (1800s– English regional) mewe, 1800s maew (English regional (northern)); Scottish 1800s– meuw.

β. 1600s– mowed, 1800s– mawed (English regional), 1900s– mew'd (English regional); also Scottish pre-1700 mawit, 1800s– mawed.

Past participle

α. Old English–Middle English mawen, Middle English mawene, Middle English mowe, Middle English–1600s mowen, 1500s–1600s mowne, 1500s– mown; English regional 1800s maan (northern), 1800s mahn (northern), 1800s meowun (East Anglian), 1800s– mawn, 1900s– mew; also Scottish pre-1700 mavin, pre-1700 mawin, 1700s– mawn, 1800s maan.

β. 1500s– mowed; English regional 1800s– mawed, 1900s– mewed; also Scottish pre-1700 mawed.

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.

Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian miā , Middle Dutch maeyen , mayen , meyen (Dutch maaien ), Middle Low German meien , meigen , mēgen , Old High German māen (Middle High German mæjen , German mähen ) < a Germanic base cognate with ancient Greek ἀμᾶν to reap, and, from a variant of the same base, classical Latin metere to reap, Middle Breton midiff to mow, Middle Cornish midil reaper, Early Irish methel group of reapers. Compare ( < Middle Low German) Old Swedish mäiare (Swedish meja ), Danish meje . Compare post-classical Latin meiare , meyare to pile into a stack (from 1279 in British sources), to store in a barn (from c1321 in British sources). Compare mead n.²In Old English a strong verb of Class VII (with the exception of Frisian, the verb is weak in the other Germanic languages). Weak past forms are attested from the 16th cent. onwards; the past tense is now chiefly mowed , while in the past participle the strong and weak forms are both current. The prefixed form āmāwan to cut down (compare a- prefix¹ ) is also attested in Old English.

a. transitive. To cut down (grass, corn, etc.) with a scythe or (now usually) a machine operating with a similar cutting action. Of a machine: to effect the cutting down of (grass, corn, etc.). Also with down, †away.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > cutting > cut [verb (transitive)] > cut down

fellOE

mowOE

sweepa1300

undercuta1382

swinge1573

OE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Cambr. Univ. Libr.) i. i. 28 Þær nænig mann for wintres cyle on sumera heg ne maweþ.

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 5253 Þe gode kniȝtes leye adoun, as gras þat me doþ mowe.

1417 in Norfolk Archaeol. (1904) 15 131 (MED) Dies Mercurii, Dies Jovis, Mew corne bothe dayes.

c1482 in Cal. Proc. Chancery Queen Elizabeth (1830) II. Pref. 69 Alianore..mewe down his corn growyng grene on the felde.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 641/1 I mowe with a sythe, je fauche. Wyll you mowe this corne or shere it?

a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) i. iii. 38 Like to a Haruest man..task'd to mowe Or all, or loose his hyre.

1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 371 They mowed green corn, to give the blades to horses.

1671 J. Dryden Evening's Love i. ii. 8 Our Love here is like our Grass; if it be not mow'd quickly 'tis burnt up.

1711 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 13 May (1948) I. 267 The hay of our town is almost fit to be mowed.

1782 J. H. St. J. de Crèvecoeur Lett. from Amer. Farmer xi. 256 By these simple means I mow, one year with another, fifty-three hundreds of excellent hay per acre.

1847 F. Marryat Children of New Forest I. v. 84 It was time to mow down grass to make into hay for the winter.

1854 G. Flagg Let. 15 July in Flagg Corr. (1986) 214 Ludwig has been Mowing with two horses from eight to ten acres of heavy grass pr day.

1875 Encycl. Brit. I. 323/1 It can..be kept going sixteen hours a day, and will easily mow from 16 to 18 acres of seeds or meadow in that time.

1922 ‘R. Crompton’ More William (1924) v. 85 He rather liked mowing the grass.

1970 G. E. Evans Where Beards wag All xix. 215 There used to be a boy and girl behind each man as they mew the grass.

1989 Austin (Texas) Amer.-Statesman 29 Apr. c31/8 (advt.) Have Tractor—Will mow weeds on lots.

b. intransitive. To cut down grass, corn, etc., with a scythe or (now usually) a mowing machine.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > harvesting > harvest [verb (intransitive)] > reap or mow

reapeOE

mowlOE

sheara1325

kemp1513

lOE Laws: Gerefa (Corpus Cambr.) x. 454 Me mæig..in Agusto & Septembri & Octobri mawan.

c1300 St. Michael (Laud) 126 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 303 (MED) He ne þurte carie of non oþur weork, noþur to ripe ne mowe.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 214 Huo þanne ssolde erye and zawe, ripe and mawe.

c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. vi. 14 (MED) Canstow..Mowe oþer mowen oþer make bond to sheues, Repe oþer be a repereyue?

a1475 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Godstow Nunnery (1906) ii. 612 (MED) Þey shall make hey & mow thorowe on day.

?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xiiii In the later ende of Iune is tyme to begyn to mowe.

1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning i. sig. L3^v Like an ill Mower, that mowes on still, and neuer whets his Syth.

1670 in M. B. Johnston Kirkcudbright Sheriff Court Deeds (1939) I. 300 [He promises] to maw or ditch to the said James at six shilling a darke or so mutch a perch.

1711 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 19 May (1948) I. 272 About our town we are mowing already and making hay.

1772 C. Robinson Let. to J. Grimston 19 July in Grimston Papers My mowers the other day mew over a partridge nest with sixteen eggs.

1787 R. Burns Death & Dr. Hornbook viii, in Poems (new ed.) 57 Friend! hae ye been mawin, When ither folk are busy sawin?

1863 A. H. Charteris Life J. Robertson iii. 48 Saying, he was going to mow.

1913 W. Cather O Pioneers! ii. viii. 158 Emil gripped the hand-holds of his scythe and began to mow.

1992 Entrepreneur Mar. 69/1 My father..helped the greenskeeper pick up all the tees before they mowed.

†c. transitive and intransitive. In figurative context. Obsolete.Formerly used antithetically (instead of reap) with sow.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > cutting > cut [verb (transitive)] > cut off or away (with an instrument)

thwitea900

telwec1440

mowc1450

top1509

summer top1548

whittle1552

white1567

shave1605

the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > face with expression or expression > face with expression [verb (intransitive)] > distort

fleer?a1400

mowc1450

snowrec1450

to make (also pull) a facec1522

to throw one's facea1525

pot1549

mop1567

murgeonc1586

to cut facesa1616

wrimple1657

work1753

grimace1762

mowl1837

wrinkle1843

mug1856

girn1900

a1225 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Lamb.) 20 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 161 (MED) Þenne ȝe mawen sculen and repen þet ho er sowen.

a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 155 (MED) Heo oden wepende and sowen, and sculen eft cumen mid blisse and mawen.

a1250 (?c1200) Prov. Alfred (Galba) (transcript of damaged MS) (1955) 78 After þat te man soweþ, þer after he scall mowen.

a1325 (c1280) Southern Passion (Pepys 2344) (1927) 649 (MED) Ich rype þer ich nouȝt ne sowe, And þat ich ne spradde nouȝt abrod, ich gadery and mowe.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) ii. 2375 (MED) Supplant..Fulofte happneth forto mowe Thing which an other man hath sowe.

a1450 (?1404) in J. Kail 26 Polit. Poems (1904) 16 (MED) For suche seed he doþ sowe In stones, in thornes, and in clay, The same he schal repe and mowe.

c1450 tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Lyfe Manhode (Cambr.) (1869) 135 (MED) J wole gerde thee with the sythe that j haue..It is thilke that moweth [Fr. fauche et coupe] the lyfe and the gost out of the bodi.

c1450 (?a1400) Long Charter of Christ, B Text (Calig.) 316 (MED) Ryȝth as þou sowest, so sha[l]t þu mowe.

1549 M. Coverdale et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. II. Gal. vi. f. xx^v Suche seede as euery man soweth, suche shal he mowe.

1628 G. Wither Britain's Remembrancer iii. 67 And I mow Oft times with mirth, what I in teares did sow.

1631 Bp. J. Hall Occas. Medit. (ed. 2) (2nd state) §cxxxi Hee therefore that spends his whole time in recreation, is ever whetting, never mowing.

1655 E. Waller Panegyric to Ld. Protector 63 Ours is the Harvest where the Indians mowe.

1690 W. Walker Idiomatologia Anglo-Lat. 305 What you sow so that you must mow.

2. transitive. To cut down the crop, grass, etc., of (a tract of land) with a scythe or (now usually) a mowing machine. Of a machine, an animal: to effect the mowing of (a field, a lawn, etc.).In early use chiefly with the etymologically related mead or meadow as cognate object.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > harvesting > harvest (a crop) [verb (transitive)] > reap or mow a crop

moweOE

reapeOE

cutc1300

sheara1325

barb1652

demess1657

hack1681

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > harvesting > harvest (a crop) [verb (transitive)] > reap or mow a crop > reap or mow a field

moweOE

reapOE

shave1764

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > harvesting > harvest (a crop) [verb (transitive)] > reap or mow a crop > mow with scythe

moweOE

swinge1573

cradle1746

skim1831

scythe1892

eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) ii. viii. 52 Gelice & mon mæd mawe, hie wæron þa burg hergende & sleande buton ælcre ware.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) 1942 Cornes heo seowen, medewen heo meowen [c1300 Otho mewen].

c1300 St. Leonard (Harl.) 98 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 480 (MED) Þo seȝen hi..a place fair & grene þat me miȝte hit mowe.

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 10194 (MED) Þe king..is medes let mowe.

c1450 (c1405) Mum & Sothsegger (BL Add. 41666) (1936) 887 (MED) I tournyd me twyes..Beholding heigges and holtz so grene, The mansions and medues mowen al newe.

a1475 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Godstow Nunnery (1906) ii. 573 (MED) v shillings to Mowe the same mede.

?1510 Treatyse Galaunt (de Worde) sig. Aiij^v Y^e florysshyng mede of our welth we haue begon to mawe.

?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xiiii^v Whan they medowes be mowed they wolde be well tedded and layde euen.

a1550 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Wemyss) lxxx. 1499 It is said in commone sawis that mastry mawis þe medow doune ay.

1630 T. Dekker Second Pt. Honest Whore i. ii. 41 Are not the fields mowen and cut downe?

1664 J. Evelyn Kalendarium Hortense 65 in Sylva Mow Carpet-walks.

1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 203. ⁋8 He may have Grass-plots in the greatest Perfection, if he will..water, mow, and roll them.

1711 in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. v. 153 The Irish foot..were moweing the field of honour.

a1796 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 377 The heather was blooming, the meadows were mawn.

1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus Poems lxiv. 354 As some labourer..Under a flaming sun, mows fields ripe-yellow in harvest.

1900 E. Glyn Visits of Elizabeth (1906) 65 He looks as quiet and respectable as the pony that mows the lawn.

1937 Amer. Home Apr. 148/1 (advt.) This outstanding power mower... Quiet, economical, four-cycle engine mows good-sized lawn at fuel cost of only 5 cents.

1988 A. Lurie Truth about Lorin Jones i. 8 She..gave him a cup of coffee after he finished mowing their field.

3. figurative.

†a. intransitive. To sweep or strike down men in battle, as if with the stroke of a scythe. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > death > killing > slaughter > [verb (intransitive)] > in battle

mowc1300

c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 1852 (MED) But þanne bigan he for to mowe With the barre and let hem shewe Hw he cowþe sore smite.

c1450 (c1400) Sowdon of Babylon (1881) 2941 (MED) Than came forth Dam barrok the bolde, With a sithe large and kene And mewe adown as þikke as shepe in folde.

1763 S. Cobb Female Reign vi. 72 With heaps of slain Th'Heroic Man..Mowing across, bestrews the plain, And with new tenants crowds the wealthy grave.

b. transitive. To cut down (a person) in battle with a sweeping stroke like that of a scythe; to destroy or kill indiscriminately or in great numbers; (also) to kill with a hail or fusillade of shots. Also in extended use. Now usually with down; spec. to knock (a person) down with a car or other vehicle.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > death > killing > slaughter > [verb (transitive)] > in battle

mowa1522

scupper1885

the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (transitive)] > annihilate or blot out of existence > in large numbers

mowa1522

decimate1812

a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1959) x. ix. 10 Than, as wod lyoun, ruschyt he in the fycht, And all quham he arekis nerrest hand Without reskew dovn mawis with his brand.

1595 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 v. vii. 4 What valiant foemen like to Autumnes corne, Haue we mow'd downe in tops of all their pride?

1616 B. Jonson Epicœne iv. v, in Wks. I. 578 Hee has got some-bodies old two-hand-sword, to mow you off at the knees.

1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 83 The Population of a Kingdome, (especially if it be not mowen downe by warrs).

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis x, in tr. Virgil Wks. 521 He..Mows off his Head.

1720 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad V. xx. 406 'Tis not in me, tho' favour'd by the Sky, To mow whole Troops, and make whole Armies fly.

1791 T. Paine Rights of Man i. 118 Mr Burke..has mowed down and thinned the House of Peers, with a scythe as formidable as Death and Time.

1836 A. Alison Hist. Europe from French Revol. V. xlii. 659 The Imperial, before it ran ashore, had seen 500 of its bravest sailors mowed down by the irresistible fire of the English vessels.

1884 Manch. Examiner 21 Mar. 5/1 The rifle mowed them down as they approached till not more than a score lived to reach the lines.

1917 E. R. Burroughs Princess of Mars viii. 74 The banners and upper works dissolved in spurts of flame as the irresistible projectiles of our warriors mowed through them.

1936 G. Greene in Spectator 10 Apr. 664/2 The captain of the guard..mows down with a machine-gun two of his own men who are held as hostages in the floodlit yard.

1967 R. McGough Blazing Fruit (1990) 15 When I'm 73 And in constant good tumour May I be mown down at dawn By a bright red sports car.

1991 C. Hiaasen Native Tongue (1992) xxv. 283 The 1979 Buick Electra..mowed a row of garbage cans ten feet behind him.

c. transitive. To make (one's way, a passage, etc.) effectively in battle, as if with the sweeping stroke of a scythe. Also in extended use. Also with down, out, through, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > death > killing > slaughter > [verb (transitive)]

to bathe in bloodc1300

murderc1325

to make larder ofa1330

spend1481

to lick upa1500

slaught1535

butcher1562

wipe1577

slaughter1586

massacre1588

dispeople1596

shamble1601

depeople?1611

mow1615

internecate1623

dislaughter1661

mop1899

pogrom1915

decimate1944

overkill1946

1615 E. Sandys Sacred Hymns 15 To save us by thy hand, with swoord mowe doun thy way.

1678 J. Dryden All for Love i. 15 Mowe 'em out a passage, And, entring where the foremost Squadrons yield, Begin the noble Harvest of the Field.

1757 T. Gray Ode II ii. iii, in Odes 17 Long Years of havock..thro' the kindred squadrons mow their way.

1798 H. Brand Huniades v. iv. 121 In the teeth Of half my troops he lands; swift mows his way Athwart their serried ranks.

1843 G. Lippard Battle-Day of Germantown iv. 19 Veterans who had mowed their way through many a fight.

1902 R. H. Barbour Behind Line 227 With her whole back-field behind the ball, Robinson literally mowed her way through, sweeping Paul and Mason..before her.

†4. transitive. colloquial (chiefly humorous). To shave off (a beard, hair, etc.). Obsolete.

ΚΠ

1638 R. Brathwait Psalmes Paraphr. cli. 295 Admit with sithe he mowe his beard, with harrow rake his head.

1650 J. Bulwer Anthropometamorphosis Pref. sig. A3 Here the luxuriant Chin quite down is mown.

1719 T. D'Urfey Wit & Mirth I. 229 My Holiday Cloaths on, and face newly Mow'd.

1812 W. Wheeler Let. 3 Sept. (1951) 96 Old Father Time had mown all the hair off his head.

1833 J. Holland Treat. Manuf. Metal II. 27 ‘So’, said one of the metropolitan journalists, ‘we may one day mow our beards with a relic of old London Bridge’.

a1839 W. M. Praed Poems (1864) II. 99 He..mows his beard en militaire.

1889 N. Amer. Rev. Aug. 241 It would be a barber mowing down a man's beard.

5. transitive. Cricket. To hit (the ball) to leg with an unorthodox sweeping stroke. Also intransitive.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > batting > bat [verb (intransitive)] > types of stroke

chop1776

mow1844

crump1850

poke1851

cut1857

swipe1857

glance1898

glide1899

cart1903

nibble1926

on-drive1930

slash1955

cover-drive1960

push1963

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > batting > bat [verb (transitive)] > hit > hit with specific stroke

take1578

stop1744

nip1752

block1772

drive1773

cut1816

draw1816

tip1816

poke1836

spoon1836

mow1844

to put up1845

smother1845

sky1849

crump1850

to pick up1851

pull1851

skyrocket1851

swipe1851

to put down1860

to get away1868

smite1868

snick1871

lift1874

crack1882

smack1882

off-drive1888

snip1890

leg1892

push1893

hook1896

flick1897

on-drive1897

chop1898

glance1898

straight drive1898

cart1903

edge1904

tonk1910

sweep1920

mishook1934

middle1954

square-drive1954

tickle1963

square-cut1976

slash1977

splice1982

paddle1986

1844 Bradford Observer 8 Aug. 8/3 Holmes..cleverly ‘mowed’ the ball from the off stump on to the leg side.

1868 John Lillywhite's Cricketers' Compan. (ed. 24) 81 H. M. Mills..might score well if he did not think it necessary to mow at straight long-hops.

1925 D. J. Knight in Country Life 15 Aug. 245/1 Supposing there is a deep square-leg, it is better..to kneel down on your right knee and mow or drag the ball round in the direction of long-leg.

Compounds

mow-land n. U.S. land on which grass is grown for mowing; a plot of such land.

ΚΠ

1845 S. Judd Margaret ii. i. 214 She saw..women..raking and turning hay among alders and willows, that yet flourished in their best mow-lands.

1859 J. A. Nash Progressive Farmer 179 This, spread upon mow-land, will be quite equal to barn-yard manure.

1888 Scribner's Mag. June 693/1 The farmers near by go to a distant meadow to cut marsh hay at low tide... This the boys parodied with a damp spot of mow-land as a marsh.

1946 Ecology 27 222/2 Milkweed occupied..2.5 per cent of the hay meadow (mow-land).

mow-lot n. U.S. a plot of mow-land.

ΚΠ

1845 S. Judd Margaret ii. viii. 325 I kept him here in the mow-lot.

1888 Scribner's Mag. June 690/2 Tiny rows of stone for walls and fences, with pasture and mow-lots, and fields planted with real beans.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

mowv.²

Brit.

/maʊ/, U.S.

/maʊ/

Forms: Middle English mouhe, Middle English mouwe, Middle English mowe, Middle English moweye, Middle English mughe, Middle English muwe, Middle English mywe (transmission error), Middle English 1600s (1800s– English regional) mowe, 1600s moow, 1600s mough, 1600s– mow, 1800s– mew (English regional (northern)), 1800s– moo (English regional (northern)), 1800s– mood (English regional (northern)), 1800s– mou (English regional (northern)), 1800s– mye (English regional); Scottish 1800s moue, 1800s– mow.

Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: mow n.¹

Etymology: < mow n.¹ Compare slightly earlier mower n.²

Now British regional and U.S. regional.

transitive. To stack or pile up (hay, corn, etc.) in heaps, usually in a barn. Occasionally intransitive. Also in extended use.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > storage or preservation of crops > [verb (transitive)] > make into stacks or ricks

mowa1325

rick1623

steep1741

to get up1764

a1325 Gloss. W. de Bibbesworth (Cambr.) (1929) 347 (MED) En grange vos blez muez [glossed:] mouwe [v.rr. mouhe; golve].

c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. vi. 14 (MED) Canstow..Mowe oþer mowen [v.rr. mouwen, muwe, mywen], oþer make bond to sheues?

c1450 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 565/17 Archonizo, to moweye.

?c1475 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 15562) f. 83 To mughe [1483 BL Add. 89074 Mughe hay], arconizare.

1609 P. Holland tr. Ammianus Marcellinus Rom. Hist. xxiii. ii. 220 In this maner in those countries such kinds of farage are mowed up.

1620 G. Markham Farwell to Husbandry xii. 80 How to Stacke or Moow your Corne without the dores.

1764 Museum Rusticum 2 xxxiii. 107 Let them be thrown promiscuously into the bay of the barn, and not regularly mowed.

1811 B. Hunt Diary 25 July in Chester County Hist. Soc. Bull. (1898) 19/2 Another man was mowed up in Jams Bones's Barn and not found till the smell became offencive.

1856 G. Henderson Pop. Rhymes Berwick 65 Its no weel mow'd! Its no weel mow'd!—Then its ne'er be mow'd by me again.

1896 Yorks. Weekly Post 14 Mar. 6/2 Chaps 'at's mooed up a bit o' brass.

1917 Dial. Notes 4 396 ‘I pitched off the load and Sam mowed it away.’ ‘I've been mowing away all day.’..It refers to stowing away, tramping down, not to unloading from the wagon.

1950 W. Petrie Folk Tales 17 By the word ‘mowed’ the people of that district meant the way the sheaves were built up in the barn.

1965–70 in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (1996) III. 701/1 When you are putting hay into a building for storage, you are... Mowing the hay... Mowing up (hay) [etc.].

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

mowv.³

Brit.

/maʊ/,

/məʊ/, U.S.

/maʊ/,

/moʊ/, Scottish English

/mu/,

/mʌʊ/

Forms: late Middle English–1500s 1800s mowe, 1500s moo, 1500s mowgh, 1500s– mow, 1600s mew, 1600s 1800s moe, 1800s– meow (English regional), 1800s– mue (English regional), 1800s– myow (English regional); also Scottish pre-1700 mow.

Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: mow n.²

Etymology: < mow n.² Compare slightly earlier mowing n.¹With collocations at sense 1a, compare to mock and mow at mock v. 3c, to mop and mow at mop v.²

a. intransitive. To make a face, to grimace. Frequently in collocation with mock, mop (cf. mock v. 3c, mop v.², and mow n.² 1b).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > beautify (the hair) [verb (transitive)] > shave

shearc897

shave?c1225

strikec1275

razec1460

mow1647

scrapea1774

razora1783

tonsure1793

stubble1836

c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) v. 633 (MED) Fortune..sodeinly change can her face, Smyle a-forn & mowen at þe bak.

c1475 (a1449) J. Lydgate Testament (Harl. 218) 644 in Minor Poems (1911) i. 353 To skoffe and mowen like a wantoun ape.

1522 Worlde & Chylde (de Worde) (1909) sig. A.iii I can mowe on a man And make a lesynge well I can.

1590 R. Harvey Plaine Percevall 11 He spide a Iacke an apes, in a gaie cote, sit mooing on a Marchants bulke.

1603 J. Davies Microcosmos 244 The other..Seem'd greatly chafed with this long discourse, And often mew'd and mopt.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) ii. ii. 9 Sometime like Apes, that moe and chatter at me, And after bite me.

1647 J. Trapp Comm. Epist. & Rev. (Heb. xi. 36) So they mowed at David. mocked at Isaiah..jeared our Saviour.

1748 T. Smollett Roderick Random II. lviii. 240 A noise like that of a baboon when he mows and chatters.

a1822 P. B. Shelley Peter Bell III vi, in Poet. Wks. (?1840) 244/1 With Flibbertigibbet, imp of pride, Mocking and mowing by his side.

1856 J. H. Newman Callista 206 An animal of some wonderful species..proceeded to creep and crawl, moeing and twisting as it went.

1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan 45 Every streak of mist..Pointed and mowed and mocked and laughed at him.

1947 M. Lowry Under Volcano ix. 281 And now Yvonne Griffaton's father, who had been implicated in the Dreyfus case, came to mock and mow at her.

1969 W. H. Auden City without Walls 91 Mopped and mowed at, as their train worms through a tunnel.

1981 R. Davies Rebel Angels (1983) ii. 17 He was in his monk's robe at the funeral, mopping and mowing in the very Highest of High Anglican style.

b. transitive. To cause to grimace.Apparently an isolated use.

ΚΠ

1909 T. Hardy in Collier's 27 Mar. 23/2 Whither have danced those damsels now! Is Death the partner who doth mow Their wormy chaps and bare?

†2. Scottish.

a. transitive. To deride, mock. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > derision, ridicule, or mockery > deride, ridicule, or mock [verb (transitive)]

teleeOE

laughOE

bismerc1000

heascenc1000

hethec1175

scornc1175

hokera1225

betell?c1225

scorn?c1225

forhushc1275

to make scorn at, toc1320

boba1382

bemow1388

lakea1400

bobby14..

triflea1450

japec1450

mock?c1450

mowc1485

to make (a) mock at?a1500

to make mocks at?a1500

scrip?a1513

illude1516

delude1526

deride1530

louta1547

to toy with ——1549–62

flout1551

skirp1568

knack1570

to fart against1574

frump1577

bourd1593

geck?a1600

scout1605

subsannate1606

railly1612

explode1618

subsannea1620

dor1655

monkeya1658

to make an ass of (someone)1680

ridicule1680

banter1682

to run one's rig upon1735

fun1811

to get the run upon1843

play1891

to poke mullock at1901

razz1918

flaunt1923

to get (or give) the razoo1926

to bust (a person's) chops1953

wolf1966

pimp1968

c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 195 He did bot scornyt the marchand—& mowit the lettres of the kingis.

1603 Philotus lxvii. sig. C3^v W^t ȝour words we ar na mair bot mowit This way to sie gif vs ȝe may suppryse.

b. intransitive. To jest, joke, engage in banter (with). Also figurative. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > derision, ridicule, or mockery > banter or good-humoured ridicule > banter [verb (intransitive)]

bourd1303

japec1374

rail?1507

gaud1532

mow1559

railly1612

rally1625

banter1660

badiner1697

chaffa1845

josh1845

persiflate1850

to poke (the) borak1882

kibitz1923

to take the mickey (out of)1948

mickey-take1959

the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > cause laughter [verb (intransitive)] > jest or joke

gameOE

jest1553

mow1559

cog1588

to break a jest1589

droll1654

joke1670

fool1673

crack a jest1721

crack a joke1753

pleasant1848

humorize1851

rot1896

kibitz1923

gag1942

1559 D. Lindsay Complaynt 246 in Wks. (1931) I. 46 Quod the thrid man; thow dois bot mow.

1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 268 The king mowit verie oft with him.

a1599 R. Rollock Sel. Wks. (1849) I. 314 Lyfe and deith ar not maters to mow with.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

† mowv.⁴

Forms: 1500s–1600s mow, 1600s mowe.

Origin: An imitative or expressive formation.

Etymology: Imitative. Compare moo v.

Obsolete. rare.

intransitive. = moo v. Also transitive (figurative): to utter (speech) in a voice resembling the lowing of a cow.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > bos taurus or ox > [verb (intransitive)] > make sound

bellowc1000

lowOE

routc1475

boc1487

lout1530

mooc1550

mow1553

booa1555

blart1896

1553 [implied in: J. Withals Shorte Dict. f. 17^v/1 The mowinge or lowynge of beastes, mugitus. (at mowing n.⁴)].

1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 4 Brute and wilde beasts, which hardly are parted from their companie,..but still they lowe and mowe after them.

1641 J. Jackson True Evangelical Temper ii. 112 S. Luke..an Oxe indeed,..that he did mow and low the Gospel abroad over all the world.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online December 2020).

mowv.⁵

Brit.

/maʊ/, U.S.

/maʊ/, Scottish English

/mʌʊ/

Forms: 1800s– mow (English regional (northern)); Scottish pre-1700 1700s–1800s mow, 1900s– mowe.

Origin: Probably a variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: mow v.³

Etymology: Probably a specific sense development of mow v.³ Compare jape v.

Scottish and English regional (northern). Now rare.

transitive. To have sexual intercourse with (a partner). Also intransitive.Usually with a man or male animal as subject.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > engage in sexual activity with [verb (transitive)] > have sexual intercourse with

mingeOE

haveOE

knowc1175

ofliec1275

to lie with (or by)a1300

knowledgec1300

meetc1330

beliea1350

yknowc1350

touchc1384

deala1387

dightc1386

usea1387

takec1390

commona1400

to meet witha1400

servea1400

occupy?a1475

engender1483

jangle1488

to be busy with1525

to come in1530

visitc1540

niggle1567

mow1568

to mix one's thigh with1593

do1594

grind1598

pepper1600

yark1600

tumble1603

to taste of1607

compressc1611

jumble1611

mix?1614

consort?1615

tastea1616

bumfiddle1630

ingressa1631

sheet1637

carnal1643

night-work1654

bump1669

bumble1680

frig?c1680

fuck1707

stick1707

screw1719

soil1722

to do over1730

shag1770

hump1785

subagitatec1830

diddle1879

to give (someone) onec1882

charver1889

fuckeec1890

plugc1890

dick1892

to make a baby1911

to know (a person) in the biblical sense1912

jazz1920

rock1922

yentz1924

roll1926

to make love1927

shtupa1934

to give (or get) a tumble1934

shack1935

bang1937

to have it off1937

rump1937

tom1949

to hop into bed (with)1951

ball1955

to make it1957

plank1958

score1960

naughty1961

pull1965

pleasurea1967

to have away1968

to have off1968

dork1970

shaft1970

bonk1975

knob1984

boink1985

fand-

1568 D. Lyndesay Kitteis Confessioun in Minor Poems (1871) V. 580 (Quod scho) Wyll Leno mowit me.

1603 Philotus clv. sig. F2^v That mowit my Dochter for a mock.

1719 T. Durfey Pills to Purge V. 18 For when at her Daddy's Ise gang to Bed, Ise mow'd her without any more to do.

a1728 W. Kennett MS Coll. Provinc. Words in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1905) IV. 183/2 [North Country] Ile mow my Meggy.

1780 Session Papers in Sc. National Dict. (1965) VI. (at cited word) He had mow'd Margaret Inglis several times.

1792 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) II. 668 (title) Why should na poor people mow.

1811 Lexicon Balatronicum To Mow, a Scotch word for the act of copulation.

1847 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words II Mow, futuo. North.

1928 A. D. Mackie Poems in Two Tongues 33 As coos will gie sook Or bulls mowe in season.

This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

n.¹eOE

n.²c1330

n.³1440

n.⁴1490

n.⁵?a1500

n.⁶1825

v.¹eOE

v.²a1325

v.³c1425

v.⁴1553

v.⁵1568

单词	mow
释义	mown.¹ Brit. /maʊ/, U.S. /maʊ/ Forms: Old English muga, Old English muha, Old English muwa, early Middle English mug- (in compounds), early Middle English muȝe, early Middle English mugh- (in compounds), Middle English moghe, Middle English mou, Middle English moue, Middle English mughe, Middle English 1600s–1700s 1900s– mough, Middle English–1600s (1900s– (U.S.)) mowe, Middle English– mow, 1500s moow, 1500s moowe, 1500s mowgh, 1500s mowghe, 1500s–1600s mew, 1700s maw- (in compounds); English regional 1800s mu' (northern), 1800s– mew, 1800s– moo (northern), 1800s– mou; Scottish pre-1700 1700s– mow, pre-1700 1800s– mowe, 1700s mu, 1800s mou', 1800s moue, 1800s– mou, 1900s– moo; also Welsh English 1900s– mie; Irish English (northern) 1900s– mou, 1900s– mow. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Old Icelandic múgi swathe, crowd (also múgr crowd, common people, mob), Norwegian (Nynorsk) muge heap, pile, crowd, flock (also Bokmål mug crowd, flock), Old Swedish moghe crowd, common people (also mogher ), of uncertain origin; perhaps < the same Indo-European base as Byzantine Greek μύκων heap. Compare also (as the second element in compounds with cognates of all adj.) Old Icelandic almúgi common people, Norwegian allmuge common people, Old Swedish almoghe common people (Swedish allmoge country people, peasantry), Old Danish almuge common people (Danish almue country people, peasantry). Compare post-classical Latin meia, meya bay in barn for storage of crop (from mid 12th cent. in British sources), mow, rick, stack (from 1245 in British sources).The word is not securely attested in continental West Germanic languages, although a possible cognate may be represented by the first element of Old High German mūwerf mole (see mouldwarp n. and discussion at that entry). Possible early borrowing < Germanic languages may perhaps be indicated by post-classical Latin muga mound, heap (in an undated medieval Spanish source, later than the 11th cent.; compare Spanish muga landmark, pile (1734 in sense ‘boundary post’; although an alternative etymology derives this from Basque muga boundary)), mugium haystack (1334 in one isolated attestation in a north Italian source). Now chiefly regional. 1. a. A stack of hay, corn, beans, peas, etc.; esp. a heap of grain or hay in a barn. Also: the quantity of grain or hay stacked in one bay of a barn. Cf. hay-mow n. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > storage or preservation of crops > [noun] > stacking or ricking > stack or rick moweOE rickeOE pease-ricka1325 stackc1330 tassc1330 rucka1382 hayrick14.. haystack14.. sedge reekc1440 hay-mow1483 hay-goaf1570 rack1574 hovel1591 scroo1604 mow-stack1611 sow1659 corn-rick1669 bean-rick1677 barley-mow1714 pea rick1766 rickle1768 bike1771 stacklet1796 bean-stack1828 eOE Corpus Gloss. (1890) 10/2 Aceruus, muha. eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in W. G. Stryker Lat.-Old Eng. Gloss. in MS Cotton Cleopatra A.III (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1951) 5 Aceruum, muwan. OE Old Eng. Hexateuch: Exod. (Claud.) xxii. 6 Gyf fyr bærne mugan oððe standende æceras. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 14612 Þa sparwen..i þan eouesen..grupen. swa heo duden in þen muȝen. ?a1300 Iacob & Iosep (Bodl.) (1916) 357 (MED) Bernes ful riche & mowen ful heye, Muche was þe blisse after here swinke. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 6760 (MED) Thorn feld or corn or mou or stak. c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 4434 (MED) Þan as a Mare at a moghe ȝoure mawis ȝe fill. ?c1475 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 15562) f. 83 A Mughe, archonicus. 1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) xii. l. 339 A mow off corn he gyhyt thaim about. 1495 Trevisa's Bartholomeus De Proprietatibus Rerum (de Worde) iv. i. 77 As it faryth in a wete mough of whete. ?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xv For and it swete nat in the heycockes it wyll swete in the mowe. 1539 in F. Collins Wills & Admin. Knaresborough Court Rolls (1902) I. 58 The value of a mowghe of hay. 1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) f. 55^v In goeuing at haruest, learne skilfully how, Ech graine for to lay by it selfe on a mow. 1609 P. Holland tr. Ammianus Marcellinus Rom. Hist. 220 The whole mow or stacke being shaken was borne downe. 1678 R. Wodrow Hist. II. 429 He and his servants went into the barn, in the one end of which was a mow of corn and in the other of bear. 1718 A. Ramsay Christ's-kirk on Green iii. 30 But Lawrie he took out his Nap, Upon a Mow of Peas. 1787 W. Marshall Provincialisms in Rural Econ. Norfolk II. 381 Gulph, a mow, or bay-full, in a barn. 1794 J. Billingsley Gen. View Agric. Somerset 188 It is very difficult to keep the mows on stathels free from them [sc. rats and mice]. 1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm II. 264 To pile up the sheaves as they are brought in into what are called mows, that is, the sheaves are placed in rows. 1863 H. W. Longfellow Prelude iii, in Tales Wayside Inn 2 The barns display..their mows of hay. 1896 Daily News 19 Sept. 2/5 The stooks, locally called mows, present a mass of green shoots. 1907 St. Nicholas Sept. 978/1 ‘Be careful what you say,’ interrupted Chub, sliding down from the top of the mow. 1916 D. H. Lawrence Let. 5 Sept. (1962) 473 The corn stands in ‘mews’—small ricks. 1983 S. Donaldson Gilden-fire 41 Ripe wheat rippled like sheets of gold in some of the fields; and in others cut hay was stacked into high fragrant mowes. b. A place in a barn where hay or corn is heaped up. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > storage or preservation of crops > [noun] > barn barnc950 lathea1325 grangec1384 mowa1643 a1643 J. Shute Judgement & Mercy (1645) iii. 65 If it [sc. wheat] be carried into the barne, God can make it mould in the mow. 1755 S. Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. Mow, a loft or chamber where hay or corn is laid up. 1788 W. Marshall Rural Econ. Yorks. II. 43 To prevent waste in the barn, the floor of the mow was covered with soft hay, which stops the running of the seed. 1856 G. Henderson Pop. Rhymes Berwick 91 They were engaged in carrying his corn from the stack in the barn-yard to the mow in the barn. 1884 West Sussex Gaz. 25 Sept. 4/8 Good spacious barn, asphalte floor, and mow. 1912 Scotsman 19 Jan. 10/3 The recess in the barn—the barn moo—where the sheaves of the grain stacks..are built up preparatory to being thrashed with the flail. 1977 Whig-Standard (Kingston, Ont.) 12 Apr. 5/1 All hay was harvested loose and stored in mows or lofts. 1992 Harrowsmith Aug. 25/1 My theory is that he intended to fill the mow in July and then walk along the top of the new hay. †2. More generally: a heap or pile of anything; a heap of earth, a mound, a hillock; (Scottish) a stack of peats. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > land > landscape > high land > rising ground or eminence > [noun] > small mound balkc885 bankc1175 hill1297 hillock1382 mow?1424 sunka1522 tump1589 anthill1598 pustule1651 mound1791 hag1805 moundlet1808 the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > an assemblage or collection > [noun] > mass formed by collection of particles > an accumulation > heap or pile heapc725 cockeOE hill1297 tassc1330 glub1382 mow?1424 bulkc1440 pile1440 pie1526 bing1528 borwen1570 ruck1601 rick1608 wreck1612 congest1625 castle1636 coacervation1650 congestion1664 cop1666 cumble1694 bin1695 toss1695 thurrock1708 rucklea1725 burrow1784 mound1788 wad1805 stook1865 boorach1868 barrow1869 sorites1871 tump1892 fid1926 clamp- ?1424 in J. A. Picton City of Liverpool: Select. Munic. Rec. (1883) (modernized text) I. 23 On a mow within the said town we saw the said Sir Richard. a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1957) iv. ix. 69 Abufe the mowe the foirsaid bed was maid. 1681 W. Robertson Phraseologia generalis (1693) 899 A mow or heap, strues. 1777 Whole Proc. Jockey & Maggy (rev. ed.) i. 8 Down came the bed with a great mu of peets. 1857 J. M. Wilson Hist. Tales Borders x. 67 Wham ye kissed sae snug last nicht ayont the peat-mou. 1862 R. Young Eclogue Dorset Dial. 25 I thote if squire woud allow, I'd put they in a faggot mow. Compounds C1. † mow-breast n. Obsolete rare ΚΠ a1642 H. Best Farming & Memorandum Bks. (1984) 78 Putte them into the hey-howse, and lette them lye att the mowe-brest all night. † mow-cutter n. Obsolete rare ΚΠ 1779 Farmer's Mag. Oct. 314 Stack-Tackle... 1 Mow-cutter. † mow-maker n. Obsolete rare ΚΠ 1767 Ann. Reg. 1766 Chron. 117/2 Let the mow-maker be provided with a quantity of salt. mow-side n. rare ΚΠ 1865 A. D. Whitney Gayworthys xvii. 155 Wealthy tossed down great trusses of hay to them from the mow-side. mow-stack n. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > storage or preservation of crops > [noun] > stacking or ricking > stack or rick moweOE rickeOE pease-ricka1325 stackc1330 tassc1330 rucka1382 hayrick14.. haystack14.. sedge reekc1440 hay-mow1483 hay-goaf1570 rack1574 hovel1591 scroo1604 mow-stack1611 sow1659 corn-rick1669 bean-rick1677 barley-mow1714 pea rick1766 rickle1768 bike1771 stacklet1796 bean-stack1828 1611 in J. S. Moore Clifton & Westbury Probate Inventories (1981) 13 All the wood..one mowe stacke with all other Timber. 1894 R. D. Blackmore Perlycross III. vi. 108 Mowstack, and oakwood, farmhouse, and abbey. mow-yard n. rare ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > storage or preservation of crops > [noun] > stacking or ricking > stack-yard stack-garth1293 haggard1452 stack-yard1569 rickyard1586 mowhay1612 mow-barton1642 rick-barton1656 mow-yard1869 1869 R. D. Blackmore Lorna Doone II. xi. 141 And here was our own mow-yard, better filled than we could remember. C2. mow-barton n. a yard or enclosure containing mows; a stack yard. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > storage or preservation of crops > [noun] > stacking or ricking > stack-yard stack-garth1293 haggard1452 stack-yard1569 rickyard1586 mowhay1612 mow-barton1642 rick-barton1656 mow-yard1869 1642 in J. S. Moore Goods & Chattels Forefathers (1976) 76 In the barne and mowbartone 1 stacke of Corn. 1789 Trans. Soc. Arts 7 12 For [the] Fence of a Maw-Barton on the same Farm. 1895 W. Raymond Tryphena in Love i. 8 He looked upon..the cow-stalls and mow~barton full of yellow stacks. † mow floor n. Obsolete the floor of a barn in which hay or corn is stored. ΚΠ 1869 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Agric. 1868 424 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc.) XV Making chimneys, so to speak, in the mow, by putting barrels on the mow floor and drawing them up as the hay was stowed about them. mowheat n. rare †(a) hay or corn spoilt by being stacked damp or too green (obsolete); (b) the rotting of hay or corn, caused by overheating and fermenting in the mow or stack (cf. mowburning n.). ΘΚΠ the world > plants > disease or injury > [noun] > associated with particular type of plant > crop or food plant > caused by overheating or fermenting mowburning1677 mowburn1710 mowheat1828 1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) Moo-het, the hay or corn heated in the stack or mow. 1896 P. A. Bruce Econ. Hist. Virginia I. 453 Spontaneous combustion, mowheat, and the depreciation resulting from the entrance of sea water. mow-staddle n. (a) the lower part of a stack of hay, corn, etc.; = staddle n. 3a; (b) the framework or stone on which a stack of hay, corn, etc., is built up; = staddle n. 3b. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > storage or preservation of crops > [noun] > stacking or ricking > rick-stand or -place mow-staddle1235 rick-stavel1617 staddle-steada1642 stavel1669 rick staddle1675 staddlingc1706 staffolda1722 staddle1729 rick-stand1776 staddle-stones1785 mowstead1833 1235–52 in C. J. Elton Rentalia et Custumaria (1891) 140 Et debet habere mugstathel et unum sedlep plenum de frumento. 1634 in J. S. Moore Clifton & Westbury Probate Inventories (1981) 54 One pare of mow stathills of Freestone in the said Anthonie Hodges his keepinge. 1652 Will of M. Reeve (Somerset Ho.) The yeoting stone, the mowstadells. 1867 W. F. Rock Jim an' Nell 71 Witch ellem timbers vor mewstaddle. 1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. Mow-staddle, the framework upon which a stack of corn is piled up. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022). mown.² Brit. /maʊ/, /məʊ/, U.S. /maʊ/, /moʊ/, Scottish English /mu/, /mʌʊ/ Forms: Middle English mawe (perhaps transmission error), Middle English mewe (perhaps transmission error), Middle English mouwe, Middle English mowhe, Middle English mowwe, Middle English–1600s (1800s– English regional (northern)) mowe, 1500s–1600s moe, 1600s–1800s mow; Scottish pre-1700 mowe, pre-1700 mowise (plural), pre-1700 1700s– mow, pre-1700 1800s– mou, pre-1700 1800s– mowe, pre-1700 1800s– mowse (plural), 1800s mawse, 1800s– mouze. N.E.D. (1908) records also a form 1500s mew. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French mouwe. Etymology: < Middle French mouwe, moe (late 12th cent. in Old French in phrase faire le moe to grimace, pull a face in derision or discontent; also in form mowe (13th cent.); French moue moue n.), probably < an unattested Frankish cognate of Middle Dutch mouwe grimace (of uncertain etymology, perhaps related to early modern Dutch mouwe muscle: see mow n.⁴). Compare moue n.In later use in Scots in phrase to make a mow probably influenced by mou n.¹ (compare the form mou's in quot. 1924 at sense 1a). Now Scottish and English regional (northern). 1. a. A grimace, esp. a derisive one. Frequently in to make a mow (also mows). ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > face with expression or expression > [noun] > grimace or distortion mowc1330 mopa1475 mocks and mows1508 murgeons?a1513 face1533 smile1550 smilet1591 mump1592 ruffle1602 frown1608 stitcha1625 grimace1651 grimask1671 simagre1680 moppet1693 distortion1718 throw1790 rictus1827 mug1844 monkey-face1939 c1330 in T. Wright Polit. Songs Eng. (1839) 339 He makketh the a mouwe. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1874) V. 75 (MED) He took heede how his fader made a mowe and tornede away þe face. a1425 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (1987) iv. 7 Whan a wight is from hire [sc. Fortune's] whiel ythrowe, Than laugheth she and maketh hym the mowe. Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 346 Mowe or skorne, Vangia vel valgia. c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 4728 (MED) Ieants..stode..glorand on his gome with grisely mawis. 1483 W. Caxton tr. A. Chartier Curial sig. ij^v The man that hath grete corage & vertuous mespriseth her lawhynges and mowes. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms xxxiv. 15 Yee y^e very lame come together agaynst me vnawarres, makynge mowes at me, & ceasse not. 1581 G. Pettie tr. S. Guazzo Ciuile Conuersat. (1586) iii. 170 [They] will not stick to make moes at their maister behinde his back. a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) i. vi. 42 Apes, and Monkeys 'Twixt two such She's, would chatter this way, and Contemne with mowes the other. View more context for this quotation 1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 333 One that we preserved alive was quite amazed, and made us good laughing, with his mows and monkey faces. 1705 R. Beverley Hist. Virginia ii. iv. 24 Another stark naked was sitting up in a Corner, like a Monkey, grinning and making Mows at them. 1794 W. Godwin Caleb Williams I. x. 220 By that devil that..made mows and mockery at his insufferable tortures. 1846 E. Bulwer-Lytton Lucretia II. ii. vii. 252 Bob grinned, made a mow at Mr. Grabman, and scampered up the stairs. 1899 J. Davidson Last Ballad 156 Poor Turlygod..stared and said With a mow and a nod, ‘Whither away, sir?’ 1924 W. Allan in A. B. Harley Sc. Story Recitations 127 Weel ken ye freen's I like a dram o' Hielan' mountain dew, I mak' nae mou's, I winna sham, it aften mak's me fu'. 1962 J. P. Collie in Sc. National Dict. at Mouth There's nae eese roarin at her. She's steen deaf. Jist mak mous an' she'll read yer lips. †b. In phrases mows and mocks, mocks and mows (cf. mow v.³ 1a, to mock and mow at mock v. 3c). Also in mows and mops (cf. mop n.³). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > face with expression or expression > [noun] > grimace or distortion mowc1330 mopa1475 mocks and mows1508 murgeons?a1513 face1533 smile1550 smilet1591 mump1592 ruffle1602 frown1608 stitcha1625 grimace1651 grimask1671 simagre1680 moppet1693 distortion1718 throw1790 rictus1827 mug1844 monkey-face1939 1508 W. Kennedy Flyting (Chepman & Myllar) in Poems W. Dunbar (1998) I. 212 In to thy mowis and mokis, It may be verifyit that thy wit is thin. 1581 G. Pettie tr. S. Guazzo Ciuile Conuersat. (1586) i. f. 32^v The Ape..giueth himself to make vs laugh with his mops and mowes. 1602 W. Fulbecke Parallele or Conf. Law i. 71 Things must be recompenced with things... And wordes with wordes, and taunts with mockes, and mowes. 1681 W. Robertson Phraseologia generalis (1693) 898 Mocks and mows with the mouth, sannæ. 1710 Banbury Apes (ed. 4) 8 Truly, says the Mayor, there's sufficient witness that saw him make Mops and Mows at her. 1808 C. Lamb Let. 26 Feb. in Lett. C. & M. A. Lamb (1976) II. 272 A sort of a frantic yell like..mad geese, with roaring sometimes like bears, mows & mops like ap[e]s. 1817 R. C. Sands Bridal of Vaumond i. iv. 41 A fiend—who lifts with mocks, and mows The film that heaven indulgent throws. 1893 R. L. Stevenson Catriona iii. 29 The mops and mows of the old witch. 2. Scottish. †a. A trick, a prank; a jest, a quip. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > [noun] > a trick, deception wrenchc888 swikec893 braida1000 craftOE wile1154 crookc1175 trokingc1175 guile?c1225 hocket1276 blink1303 errorc1320 guileryc1330 sleightc1340 knackc1369 deceitc1380 japec1380 gaudc1386 syllogism1387 mazec1390 mowa1393 train?a1400 trantc1400 abusionc1405 creekc1405 trickc1412 trayc1430 lirtc1440 quaint?a1450 touch1481 pawka1522 false point?1528 practice1533 crink1534 flim-flamc1538 bobc1540 fetcha1547 abuse1551 block1553 wrinklec1555 far-fetch?a1562 blirre1570 slampant1577 ruse1581 forgery1582 crank1588 plait1589 crossbite1591 cozenage1592 lock1598 quiblin1605 foist1607 junt1608 firk1611 overreach?1615 fob1622 ludification1623 knick-knacka1625 flam1632 dodge1638 gimcrack1639 fourbe1654 juggle1664 strategy1672 jilt1683 disingenuity1691 fun1699 jugglementa1708 spring1753 shavie1767 rig?1775 deception1794 Yorkshire bite1795 fakement1811 fake1829 practical1833 deceptivity1843 tread-behind1844 fly1861 schlenter1864 Sinonism1864 racket1869 have1885 ficelle1890 wheeze1903 fast one1912 roughie1914 spun-yarn trick1916 fastie1931 phoney baloney1933 fake-out1955 okey-doke1964 mind-fuck1971 the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > [noun] > jest or pleasantry > a jest or joke gameOE jape1377 bourda1387 mirthc1390 mowa1393 chapec1400 skauncec1440 sport?1449 popc1540 flirt1549 jest1551 merriment1576 shifta1577 facetiae1577 gig1590 pleasantry1594 lepidity1647 rallery1653 drollery1654 wit-crack1662 joco1663 pleasance1668 joke1670 jocunditya1734 quizzification1801 funniment1826 side-splitter1834 funniness1838 quizzery1841 jocularity1846 rib-tickler1855 jocosity1859 humorism1860 gag1863 gas1914 nifty1918 mirthquaker1921 rib1929 boffo1934 giggle1936 the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > trickery, playing jokes > [noun] > a trick, prank, hoax pratOE mowa1393 pageant?c1430 jimp?1572 prank1576 jest1578 jig1592 frump1593 trick1605 bilk1664 fun1699 plisky1706 humbug1750 hum1751 practical joke1751 marlock1763 quiz1795 practical joke1804 skite1804 hoax1808 skit1815 wrinkle1817 rusty1835 funny business1838 string1851 stringer1851 cod1862 mank1865 spoof1889 leg-pull1893 rannygazoo1896 shenanigan1926 gotcha1967 to throw a fastball1968 wind-up1984 a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iv. 900 (MED) Bejaped with a mowe He goth. a1449 J. Lydgate Fabula Duorum Mercatorum (Harl.) 581 in Minor Poems (1934) ii. 505 (MED) The world with mowhes so weel can vs delude. a1525 (c1448) R. Holland Bk. Howlat l. 831 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 121 The fulis fonde in ye flet And mony mowis at mete On ye flure maid. ?1553 (c1501) G. Douglas Palice of Honour (London) 1727 in Shorter Poems (2003) 108 And bonytas of ane mussil made ane ape With mony othir subtell mow and Iape. a1578 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 198 Everie word was ane mow that he spak. a1600 ( W. Stewart tr. H. Boece Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) II. 375 Mony mow & knak. a1650 D. Calderwood Hist. Kirk Scotl. (1845) VI. 146 The inhabitants of Dumfreis..were for the most part suffered to returne home without punishment after manie mirrie mowes past. 1721 J. Kelly Compl. Coll. Scotish Prov. 254 Mows may come to earnest. b. In plural, frequently with singular agreement. Jest, fun. in mows: in jest (as opposed to in earnest). no mows: no joke, not a laughing matter. ΚΠ 1559 D. Lindsay Test. Papyngo l. 71 in Wks. (1931) I I maid it bot in mowis. 1568 (a1508) W. Kennedy Flyting (Bannatyne) in Poems W. Dunbar (1998) I. 201 Maid maister bot in mows. 1568 Christis Kirk on Grene in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1928) II. 266 The millar wes of manly mak To meit him wes na mowis. a1578 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 175 My lordis, is it mowse or earnest? a1628 J. Carmichaell Coll. Prov. in Scots (1957) No. 866 It is gude mowis that fillis the bellie. 1686 in W. Mackay & G. S. Laing Rec. Inverness (1924) II. 341 He said then to his master that it was not mowes to sturre & remove a march stone. 1720 A. Pennecuik Streams from Helicon (ed. 2) i. 79 Sae tell me, are ye in mows or earnest? 1728 A. Ramsay On seeing Archers divert Themselves 156 Or in earnest, or in mows, Be still successful. a1807 J. Skinner Amusem. Leisure Hours (1809) 80 And gin ye had her a' your ain, Ye might na find it mows to guide her. 1877 G. MacDonald Marquis of Lossie lvii Juist tak tent the morn what ye say whan Jean's i' the room..for she's no mowse. 1888 J. M. Barrie Auld Licht Idylls xii Its not mous to be out at such a time. 1931 Aberdeen Press & Jrnl. 18 Feb. 2/7 Wid it be mowse, think ye, to gang in aboot wi' yon gurby tyke aff the chine? 1957 Bon-accord 24 Jan. 8 Weemin are nae mowse. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022). mown.³ Brit. /məʊ/, U.S. /moʊ/ Forms: late Middle English mowe, 1800s– mow (English regional (East Anglian)). Origin: A variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: maw n.³ Etymology: Variant of maw n.³ (see discussion at that entry on Old English māw, sometimes posited as precursor of the present word). Now English regional (East Anglian). A gull. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > order Charadriiformes > family Laridae (gulls and terns) > [noun] > member of genus Larus (gull) > larus canus (common gull) meweOE larea1425 sea-mawc1425 seamewc1430 mow1440 maw?a1513 sea-cob1530 camose1542 seagull1542 cob1574 mevy1616 sea-pigeon1620 tarrock1674 sea-mall1676 sea-moit1681 gor1697 seed bird1791 Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 346/1 (MED) Mowe, byrd, or semewe: Aspergo. 1893 H. T. Cozens-Hardy Broad Norfolk (Eastern Daily Press) (ed. 2) 49 Mow, gull (in general). 1999 R. Malster Mardler's Compan. 53/2 Mow, gull, the bird, that is. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022). † mown.⁴ Forms: late Middle English mowe. Origin: Probably a borrowing from Dutch. Etymology: Probably < an unattested Middle Dutch noun corresponding to early modern Dutch mouwe muscle (in Kiliaan), cognate with German †Maue muscle (also in †mauicht muscular); further etymology uncertain (perhaps related to Middle Dutch mouwe grimace: see mow n.²). Obsolete. rare. The fleshy or muscular area of a part of the body. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > structural parts > muscle > muscle substance > [noun] brawnc1325 mow1490 muscle1710 muscle cell1840 myosin1866 muscle-box1874 fibre-cell1878 myoblast1884 muscle-case1885 inogen1889 muscle casket1890 sarcomere1891 myofibril1898 myoplasm1907 myofibrilla1913 myotube1933 myofilament1949 myofibre1965 1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) vii. 173 Mawgys..came to bayarde, and bounde hym the mowes of the feete [Fr. luy lya la pasture] there wyth all well streyghte. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online December 2021). † mown.⁵ Forms: pre-1700 1700s mow, pre-1700 1700s mowe. Origin: A variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: mull n.¹ Etymology: Variant of mull n.¹ Scottish. Obsolete. Dust, mould; impure or foreign matter. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirt > [noun] > dust or fluff dustc825 mow?a1500 pelf1584 slut's wool1841 beggar's velvet1847 dowl1879 the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > corruption or putridness > [noun] > mustiness, mouldiness, or mould moulda1400 mow?a1500 mustiness1526 vinny1538 mouldiness1559 vinniedness1565 foistiness1576 hoariness1580 must1602 mucor1656 vinnewinessa1722 a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Preaching of Swallow l. 1921 in Poems (1981) 74 Lyke to the mow befoir the face of wind Quhiskis away and makis wretchis blind. a1538 A. Abell Roit or Quheill of Tyme f. 12, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue (at cited word) All riches aganis the greif of God is bot powdir and mow. c1586 J. Stewart Poems (1913) 224 As the dustie mow This kingis seid sall all the erth ourflow. a1600 ( W. Stewart tr. H. Boece Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) II. 79 For-quhy that wall wes nocht biggit with lyme, Bot with dry mow that wes of lytill effect. 1755 R. Forbes Jrnl. London to Portsmouth in tr. Ovid Ajax his Speech (new ed.) 29 Turned o'er our gallant cart amon' a heap o' shirrels an' peat-mow. 1776 D. Herd Anc. & Mod. Sc. Songs (ed. 2) II. 121 Another was kiss'd on the green, The third behind the pease stack, Till the mow flew up to her een. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online December 2021). mown.⁶ Brit. /məʊ/, U.S. /moʊ/ Forms: 1800s maw (Scottish), 1900s– mow. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: mow v.¹ Etymology: < mow v.¹ †1. Scottish. A sweeping stroke (of a scythe). Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > harvesting > [noun] > cutting, reaping, or mowing > cutting with scythe or sickle > stroke of scythe swatha1643 swaff1688 mow1825 the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > harvesting > [noun] > cutting, reaping, or mowing > cutting with scythe or sickle > extent of scythe's sweep swath1577 mow1825 1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. Maw, a single sweep with the scythe, Clydes[ide]. 2. Cricket (chiefly colloquial). An inelegant pull shot to the leg side. Cf. cow-shot n. at cow n.¹ Compounds 2. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > batting > [noun] > types of stroke long ball1744 nip1752 catch1816 no-hit1827 cut1833 short hit1833 draw1836 drive1836 square hit1837 skylarker1839 skyer1840 skyscraper1842 back-cut1845 bum1845 leg sweep1846 slog1846 square cut1850 driver1851 Harrow drive1851 leg slip1852 poke1853 snick1857 snorter1859 leg stroke1860 smite1861 on-drive1862 bump ball1864 rocketer1864 pull1865 grass trimmer1867 late cut1867 off-drive1867 spoon1871 push1873 push stroke1873 smack1875 Harrow drive1877 pull-stroke1880 leg glance1883 gallery-hit1884 boundary-stroke1887 glide1888 sweep1888 boundary1896 hook1896 leg glide1896 backstroke1897 flick1897 hook stroke1897 cover-drive1898 straight drive1898 square drive1900 edger1905 pull-drive1905 slash1906 placing stroke1907 push drive1912 block shot1915 if-shot1920 placing shot1921 cow-shot1922 mow1925 Chinese cut1937 haymaker1954 hoick1954 perhapser1954 air shot1956 steepler1959 mishook1961 swish1963 chop- 1925 D. J. Knight in Country Life 15 Aug. 244/1 Leg-side shots. They are the glides,..the mow and the pull. 1926 J. B. Hobbs Test Match Surprise xvi. 171 What he intended for a leg glance was nothing more than a ‘mow’ between square leg and mid-on. 1999 Wisden Cricket Monthly Apr. 25/1 His pièce de résistance was a belligerent cross-batted mow that was liable to send the ball anywhere. 3. colloquial. An act or instance of mowing something, esp. a lawn. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > harvesting > [noun] > cutting, reaping, or mowing reapingc1350 mowinga1425 shearing1779 grass seeding1882 mow1975 1975 Times 10 Apr. 11/4 The inclement weather..has enabled me to put off..the first mow of the lawn. 1987 S. Oxf. Courier 16 Apr. 17/3 Never be tempted to cut off more than one third of the length of the grass in one mow as it weakens the growth. 1999 Your Garden June 62/1 Mowing twice a week will lead to a thicker sward (grass), but if you leave it when you're away on holiday then raise the height of the cut for the first mow. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022). mowv.¹ Brit. /məʊ/, U.S. /moʊ/ Forms: Old English mawan, Middle English ma, Middle English moue, Middle English mouwe, Middle English–1700s (1900s– English regional) mowe, Middle English– maw (now English regional), Middle English– mawe (now English regional), Middle English– mow, 1600s mough, 1800s ma (English regional (northern)), 1800s maa (English regional (northern)), 1800s meauw (English regional (northern)), 1800s– mew (English regional); also Scottish pre-1700 moaw, pre-1700 1700s– maw, 1800s ma, 1800s– maa (Shetland and Orkney). Past tense α. Old English meowan (plural indicative), Middle English meowen (plural indicative), Middle English mewen (plural indicative), Middle English 1700s (1800s– English regional) mew, Middle English 1700s (1800s– English regional) mewe, 1800s maew (English regional (northern)); Scottish 1800s– meuw. β. 1600s– mowed, 1800s– mawed (English regional), 1900s– mew'd (English regional); also Scottish pre-1700 mawit, 1800s– mawed. Past participle α. Old English–Middle English mawen, Middle English mawene, Middle English mowe, Middle English–1600s mowen, 1500s–1600s mowne, 1500s– mown; English regional 1800s maan (northern), 1800s mahn (northern), 1800s meowun (East Anglian), 1800s– mawn, 1900s– mew; also Scottish pre-1700 mavin, pre-1700 mawin, 1700s– mawn, 1800s maan. β. 1500s– mowed; English regional 1800s– mawed, 1900s– mewed; also Scottish pre-1700 mawed. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian miā , Middle Dutch maeyen , mayen , meyen (Dutch maaien ), Middle Low German meien , meigen , mēgen , Old High German māen (Middle High German mæjen , German mähen ) < a Germanic base cognate with ancient Greek ἀμᾶν to reap, and, from a variant of the same base, classical Latin metere to reap, Middle Breton midiff to mow, Middle Cornish midil reaper, Early Irish methel group of reapers. Compare ( < Middle Low German) Old Swedish mäiare (Swedish meja ), Danish meje . Compare post-classical Latin meiare , meyare to pile into a stack (from 1279 in British sources), to store in a barn (from c1321 in British sources). Compare mead n.²In Old English a strong verb of Class VII (with the exception of Frisian, the verb is weak in the other Germanic languages). Weak past forms are attested from the 16th cent. onwards; the past tense is now chiefly mowed , while in the past participle the strong and weak forms are both current. The prefixed form āmāwan to cut down (compare a- prefix¹ ) is also attested in Old English. 1. a. transitive. To cut down (grass, corn, etc.) with a scythe or (now usually) a machine operating with a similar cutting action. Of a machine: to effect the cutting down of (grass, corn, etc.). Also with down, †away. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > cutting > cut [verb (transitive)] > cut down fellOE mowOE sweepa1300 undercuta1382 swinge1573 OE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Cambr. Univ. Libr.) i. i. 28 Þær nænig mann for wintres cyle on sumera heg ne maweþ. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 5253 Þe gode kniȝtes leye adoun, as gras þat me doþ mowe. 1417 in Norfolk Archaeol. (1904) 15 131 (MED) Dies Mercurii, Dies Jovis, Mew corne bothe dayes. c1482 in Cal. Proc. Chancery Queen Elizabeth (1830) II. Pref. 69 Alianore..mewe down his corn growyng grene on the felde. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 641/1 I mowe with a sythe, je fauche. Wyll you mowe this corne or shere it? a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) i. iii. 38 Like to a Haruest man..task'd to mowe Or all, or loose his hyre. View more context for this quotation 1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 371 They mowed green corn, to give the blades to horses. 1671 J. Dryden Evening's Love i. ii. 8 Our Love here is like our Grass; if it be not mow'd quickly 'tis burnt up. 1711 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 13 May (1948) I. 267 The hay of our town is almost fit to be mowed. 1782 J. H. St. J. de Crèvecoeur Lett. from Amer. Farmer xi. 256 By these simple means I mow, one year with another, fifty-three hundreds of excellent hay per acre. 1847 F. Marryat Children of New Forest I. v. 84 It was time to mow down grass to make into hay for the winter. 1854 G. Flagg Let. 15 July in Flagg Corr. (1986) 214 Ludwig has been Mowing with two horses from eight to ten acres of heavy grass pr day. 1875 Encycl. Brit. I. 323/1 It can..be kept going sixteen hours a day, and will easily mow from 16 to 18 acres of seeds or meadow in that time. 1922 ‘R. Crompton’ More William (1924) v. 85 He rather liked mowing the grass. 1970 G. E. Evans Where Beards wag All xix. 215 There used to be a boy and girl behind each man as they mew the grass. 1989 Austin (Texas) Amer.-Statesman 29 Apr. c31/8 (advt.) Have Tractor—Will mow weeds on lots. b. intransitive. To cut down grass, corn, etc., with a scythe or (now usually) a mowing machine. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > harvesting > harvest [verb (intransitive)] > reap or mow reapeOE mowlOE sheara1325 kemp1513 lOE Laws: Gerefa (Corpus Cambr.) x. 454 Me mæig..in Agusto & Septembri & Octobri mawan. c1300 St. Michael (Laud) 126 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 303 (MED) He ne þurte carie of non oþur weork, noþur to ripe ne mowe. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 214 Huo þanne ssolde erye and zawe, ripe and mawe. c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. vi. 14 (MED) Canstow..Mowe oþer mowen oþer make bond to sheues, Repe oþer be a repereyue? a1475 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Godstow Nunnery (1906) ii. 612 (MED) Þey shall make hey & mow thorowe on day. ?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xiiii In the later ende of Iune is tyme to begyn to mowe. 1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning i. sig. L3^v Like an ill Mower, that mowes on still, and neuer whets his Syth. View more context for this quotation 1670 in M. B. Johnston Kirkcudbright Sheriff Court Deeds (1939) I. 300 [He promises] to maw or ditch to the said James at six shilling a darke or so mutch a perch. 1711 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 19 May (1948) I. 272 About our town we are mowing already and making hay. 1772 C. Robinson Let. to J. Grimston 19 July in Grimston Papers My mowers the other day mew over a partridge nest with sixteen eggs. 1787 R. Burns Death & Dr. Hornbook viii, in Poems (new ed.) 57 Friend! hae ye been mawin, When ither folk are busy sawin? 1863 A. H. Charteris Life J. Robertson iii. 48 Saying, he was going to mow. 1913 W. Cather O Pioneers! ii. viii. 158 Emil gripped the hand-holds of his scythe and began to mow. 1992 Entrepreneur Mar. 69/1 My father..helped the greenskeeper pick up all the tees before they mowed. †c. transitive and intransitive. In figurative context. Obsolete.Formerly used antithetically (instead of reap) with sow. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > cutting > cut [verb (transitive)] > cut off or away (with an instrument) thwitea900 telwec1440 mowc1450 top1509 summer top1548 whittle1552 white1567 shave1605 the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > face with expression or expression > face with expression [verb (intransitive)] > distort fleer?a1400 mowc1450 snowrec1450 to make (also pull) a facec1522 to throw one's facea1525 pot1549 mop1567 murgeonc1586 to cut facesa1616 wrimple1657 work1753 grimace1762 mowl1837 wrinkle1843 mug1856 girn1900 a1225 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Lamb.) 20 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 161 (MED) Þenne ȝe mawen sculen and repen þet ho er sowen. a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 155 (MED) Heo oden wepende and sowen, and sculen eft cumen mid blisse and mawen. a1250 (?c1200) Prov. Alfred (Galba) (transcript of damaged MS) (1955) 78 After þat te man soweþ, þer after he scall mowen. a1325 (c1280) Southern Passion (Pepys 2344) (1927) 649 (MED) Ich rype þer ich nouȝt ne sowe, And þat ich ne spradde nouȝt abrod, ich gadery and mowe. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) ii. 2375 (MED) Supplant..Fulofte happneth forto mowe Thing which an other man hath sowe. a1450 (?1404) in J. Kail 26 Polit. Poems (1904) 16 (MED) For suche seed he doþ sowe In stones, in thornes, and in clay, The same he schal repe and mowe. c1450 tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Lyfe Manhode (Cambr.) (1869) 135 (MED) J wole gerde thee with the sythe that j haue..It is thilke that moweth [Fr. fauche et coupe] the lyfe and the gost out of the bodi. c1450 (?a1400) Long Charter of Christ, B Text (Calig.) 316 (MED) Ryȝth as þou sowest, so sha[l]t þu mowe. 1549 M. Coverdale et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. II. Gal. vi. f. xx^v Suche seede as euery man soweth, suche shal he mowe. 1628 G. Wither Britain's Remembrancer iii. 67 And I mow Oft times with mirth, what I in teares did sow. 1631 Bp. J. Hall Occas. Medit. (ed. 2) (2nd state) §cxxxi Hee therefore that spends his whole time in recreation, is ever whetting, never mowing. 1655 E. Waller Panegyric to Ld. Protector 63 Ours is the Harvest where the Indians mowe. 1690 W. Walker Idiomatologia Anglo-Lat. 305 What you sow so that you must mow. 2. transitive. To cut down the crop, grass, etc., of (a tract of land) with a scythe or (now usually) a mowing machine. Of a machine, an animal: to effect the mowing of (a field, a lawn, etc.).In early use chiefly with the etymologically related mead or meadow as cognate object. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > harvesting > harvest (a crop) [verb (transitive)] > reap or mow a crop moweOE reapeOE cutc1300 sheara1325 barb1652 demess1657 hack1681 the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > harvesting > harvest (a crop) [verb (transitive)] > reap or mow a crop > reap or mow a field moweOE reapOE shave1764 the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > harvesting > harvest (a crop) [verb (transitive)] > reap or mow a crop > mow with scythe moweOE swinge1573 cradle1746 skim1831 scythe1892 eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) ii. viii. 52 Gelice & mon mæd mawe, hie wæron þa burg hergende & sleande buton ælcre ware. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) 1942 Cornes heo seowen, medewen heo meowen [c1300 Otho mewen]. c1300 St. Leonard (Harl.) 98 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 480 (MED) Þo seȝen hi..a place fair & grene þat me miȝte hit mowe. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 10194 (MED) Þe king..is medes let mowe. c1450 (c1405) Mum & Sothsegger (BL Add. 41666) (1936) 887 (MED) I tournyd me twyes..Beholding heigges and holtz so grene, The mansions and medues mowen al newe. a1475 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Godstow Nunnery (1906) ii. 573 (MED) v shillings to Mowe the same mede. ?1510 Treatyse Galaunt (de Worde) sig. Aiij^v Y^e florysshyng mede of our welth we haue begon to mawe. ?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xiiii^v Whan they medowes be mowed they wolde be well tedded and layde euen. a1550 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Wemyss) lxxx. 1499 It is said in commone sawis that mastry mawis þe medow doune ay. 1630 T. Dekker Second Pt. Honest Whore i. ii. 41 Are not the fields mowen and cut downe? 1664 J. Evelyn Kalendarium Hortense 65 in Sylva Mow Carpet-walks. 1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 203. ⁋8 He may have Grass-plots in the greatest Perfection, if he will..water, mow, and roll them. 1711 in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. v. 153 The Irish foot..were moweing the field of honour. a1796 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 377 The heather was blooming, the meadows were mawn. 1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus Poems lxiv. 354 As some labourer..Under a flaming sun, mows fields ripe-yellow in harvest. 1900 E. Glyn Visits of Elizabeth (1906) 65 He looks as quiet and respectable as the pony that mows the lawn. 1937 Amer. Home Apr. 148/1 (advt.) This outstanding power mower... Quiet, economical, four-cycle engine mows good-sized lawn at fuel cost of only 5 cents. 1988 A. Lurie Truth about Lorin Jones i. 8 She..gave him a cup of coffee after he finished mowing their field. 3. figurative. †a. intransitive. To sweep or strike down men in battle, as if with the stroke of a scythe. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > life > death > killing > slaughter > [verb (intransitive)] > in battle mowc1300 c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 1852 (MED) But þanne bigan he for to mowe With the barre and let hem shewe Hw he cowþe sore smite. c1450 (c1400) Sowdon of Babylon (1881) 2941 (MED) Than came forth Dam barrok the bolde, With a sithe large and kene And mewe adown as þikke as shepe in folde. 1763 S. Cobb Female Reign vi. 72 With heaps of slain Th'Heroic Man..Mowing across, bestrews the plain, And with new tenants crowds the wealthy grave. b. transitive. To cut down (a person) in battle with a sweeping stroke like that of a scythe; to destroy or kill indiscriminately or in great numbers; (also) to kill with a hail or fusillade of shots. Also in extended use. Now usually with down; spec. to knock (a person) down with a car or other vehicle. ΘΚΠ the world > life > death > killing > slaughter > [verb (transitive)] > in battle mowa1522 scupper1885 the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (transitive)] > annihilate or blot out of existence > in large numbers mowa1522 decimate1812 a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1959) x. ix. 10 Than, as wod lyoun, ruschyt he in the fycht, And all quham he arekis nerrest hand Without reskew dovn mawis with his brand. 1595 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 v. vii. 4 What valiant foemen like to Autumnes corne, Haue we mow'd downe in tops of all their pride? 1616 B. Jonson Epicœne iv. v, in Wks. I. 578 Hee has got some-bodies old two-hand-sword, to mow you off at the knees. View more context for this quotation 1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 83 The Population of a Kingdome, (especially if it be not mowen downe by warrs). 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis x, in tr. Virgil Wks. 521 He..Mows off his Head. 1720 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad V. xx. 406 'Tis not in me, tho' favour'd by the Sky, To mow whole Troops, and make whole Armies fly. 1791 T. Paine Rights of Man i. 118 Mr Burke..has mowed down and thinned the House of Peers, with a scythe as formidable as Death and Time. 1836 A. Alison Hist. Europe from French Revol. V. xlii. 659 The Imperial, before it ran ashore, had seen 500 of its bravest sailors mowed down by the irresistible fire of the English vessels. 1884 Manch. Examiner 21 Mar. 5/1 The rifle mowed them down as they approached till not more than a score lived to reach the lines. 1917 E. R. Burroughs Princess of Mars viii. 74 The banners and upper works dissolved in spurts of flame as the irresistible projectiles of our warriors mowed through them. 1936 G. Greene in Spectator 10 Apr. 664/2 The captain of the guard..mows down with a machine-gun two of his own men who are held as hostages in the floodlit yard. 1967 R. McGough Blazing Fruit (1990) 15 When I'm 73 And in constant good tumour May I be mown down at dawn By a bright red sports car. 1991 C. Hiaasen Native Tongue (1992) xxv. 283 The 1979 Buick Electra..mowed a row of garbage cans ten feet behind him. c. transitive. To make (one's way, a passage, etc.) effectively in battle, as if with the sweeping stroke of a scythe. Also in extended use. Also with down, out, through, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > life > death > killing > slaughter > [verb (transitive)] to bathe in bloodc1300 murderc1325 to make larder ofa1330 spend1481 to lick upa1500 slaught1535 butcher1562 wipe1577 slaughter1586 massacre1588 dispeople1596 shamble1601 depeople?1611 mow1615 internecate1623 dislaughter1661 mop1899 pogrom1915 decimate1944 overkill1946 1615 E. Sandys Sacred Hymns 15 To save us by thy hand, with swoord mowe doun thy way. 1678 J. Dryden All for Love i. 15 Mowe 'em out a passage, And, entring where the foremost Squadrons yield, Begin the noble Harvest of the Field. 1757 T. Gray Ode II ii. iii, in Odes 17 Long Years of havock..thro' the kindred squadrons mow their way. 1798 H. Brand Huniades v. iv. 121 In the teeth Of half my troops he lands; swift mows his way Athwart their serried ranks. 1843 G. Lippard Battle-Day of Germantown iv. 19 Veterans who had mowed their way through many a fight. 1902 R. H. Barbour Behind Line 227 With her whole back-field behind the ball, Robinson literally mowed her way through, sweeping Paul and Mason..before her. †4. transitive. colloquial (chiefly humorous). To shave off (a beard, hair, etc.). Obsolete. ΚΠ 1638 R. Brathwait Psalmes Paraphr. cli. 295 Admit with sithe he mowe his beard, with harrow rake his head. 1650 J. Bulwer Anthropometamorphosis Pref. sig. A3 Here the luxuriant Chin quite down is mown. 1719 T. D'Urfey Wit & Mirth I. 229 My Holiday Cloaths on, and face newly Mow'd. 1812 W. Wheeler Let. 3 Sept. (1951) 96 Old Father Time had mown all the hair off his head. 1833 J. Holland Treat. Manuf. Metal II. 27 ‘So’, said one of the metropolitan journalists, ‘we may one day mow our beards with a relic of old London Bridge’. a1839 W. M. Praed Poems (1864) II. 99 He..mows his beard en militaire. 1889 N. Amer. Rev. Aug. 241 It would be a barber mowing down a man's beard. 5. transitive. Cricket. To hit (the ball) to leg with an unorthodox sweeping stroke. Also intransitive. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > batting > bat [verb (intransitive)] > types of stroke chop1776 mow1844 crump1850 poke1851 cut1857 swipe1857 glance1898 glide1899 cart1903 nibble1926 on-drive1930 slash1955 cover-drive1960 push1963 society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > batting > bat [verb (transitive)] > hit > hit with specific stroke take1578 stop1744 nip1752 block1772 drive1773 cut1816 draw1816 tip1816 poke1836 spoon1836 mow1844 to put up1845 smother1845 sky1849 crump1850 to pick up1851 pull1851 skyrocket1851 swipe1851 to put down1860 to get away1868 smite1868 snick1871 lift1874 crack1882 smack1882 off-drive1888 snip1890 leg1892 push1893 hook1896 flick1897 on-drive1897 chop1898 glance1898 straight drive1898 cart1903 edge1904 tonk1910 sweep1920 mishook1934 middle1954 square-drive1954 tickle1963 square-cut1976 slash1977 splice1982 paddle1986 1844 Bradford Observer 8 Aug. 8/3 Holmes..cleverly ‘mowed’ the ball from the off stump on to the leg side. 1868 John Lillywhite's Cricketers' Compan. (ed. 24) 81 H. M. Mills..might score well if he did not think it necessary to mow at straight long-hops. 1925 D. J. Knight in Country Life 15 Aug. 245/1 Supposing there is a deep square-leg, it is better..to kneel down on your right knee and mow or drag the ball round in the direction of long-leg. Compounds mow-land n. U.S. land on which grass is grown for mowing; a plot of such land. ΚΠ 1845 S. Judd Margaret ii. i. 214 She saw..women..raking and turning hay among alders and willows, that yet flourished in their best mow-lands. 1859 J. A. Nash Progressive Farmer 179 This, spread upon mow-land, will be quite equal to barn-yard manure. 1888 Scribner's Mag. June 693/1 The farmers near by go to a distant meadow to cut marsh hay at low tide... This the boys parodied with a damp spot of mow-land as a marsh. 1946 Ecology 27 222/2 Milkweed occupied..2.5 per cent of the hay meadow (mow-land). mow-lot n. U.S. a plot of mow-land. ΚΠ 1845 S. Judd Margaret ii. viii. 325 I kept him here in the mow-lot. 1888 Scribner's Mag. June 690/2 Tiny rows of stone for walls and fences, with pasture and mow-lots, and fields planted with real beans. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022). mowv.² Brit. /maʊ/, U.S. /maʊ/ Forms: Middle English mouhe, Middle English mouwe, Middle English mowe, Middle English moweye, Middle English mughe, Middle English muwe, Middle English mywe (transmission error), Middle English 1600s (1800s– English regional) mowe, 1600s moow, 1600s mough, 1600s– mow, 1800s– mew (English regional (northern)), 1800s– moo (English regional (northern)), 1800s– mood (English regional (northern)), 1800s– mou (English regional (northern)), 1800s– mye (English regional); Scottish 1800s moue, 1800s– mow. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: mow n.¹ Etymology: < mow n.¹ Compare slightly earlier mower n.² Now British regional and U.S. regional. transitive. To stack or pile up (hay, corn, etc.) in heaps, usually in a barn. Occasionally intransitive. Also in extended use. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > storage or preservation of crops > [verb (transitive)] > make into stacks or ricks mowa1325 rick1623 steep1741 to get up1764 a1325 Gloss. W. de Bibbesworth (Cambr.) (1929) 347 (MED) En grange vos blez muez [glossed:] mouwe [v.rr. mouhe; golve]. c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. vi. 14 (MED) Canstow..Mowe oþer mowen [v.rr. mouwen, muwe, mywen], oþer make bond to sheues? c1450 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 565/17 Archonizo, to moweye. ?c1475 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 15562) f. 83 To mughe [1483 BL Add. 89074 Mughe hay], arconizare. 1609 P. Holland tr. Ammianus Marcellinus Rom. Hist. xxiii. ii. 220 In this maner in those countries such kinds of farage are mowed up. 1620 G. Markham Farwell to Husbandry xii. 80 How to Stacke or Moow your Corne without the dores. 1764 Museum Rusticum 2 xxxiii. 107 Let them be thrown promiscuously into the bay of the barn, and not regularly mowed. 1811 B. Hunt Diary 25 July in Chester County Hist. Soc. Bull. (1898) 19/2 Another man was mowed up in Jams Bones's Barn and not found till the smell became offencive. 1856 G. Henderson Pop. Rhymes Berwick 65 Its no weel mow'd! Its no weel mow'd!—Then its ne'er be mow'd by me again. 1896 Yorks. Weekly Post 14 Mar. 6/2 Chaps 'at's mooed up a bit o' brass. 1917 Dial. Notes 4 396 ‘I pitched off the load and Sam mowed it away.’ ‘I've been mowing away all day.’..It refers to stowing away, tramping down, not to unloading from the wagon. 1950 W. Petrie Folk Tales 17 By the word ‘mowed’ the people of that district meant the way the sheaves were built up in the barn. 1965–70 in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (1996) III. 701/1 When you are putting hay into a building for storage, you are... Mowing the hay... Mowing up (hay) [etc.]. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022). mowv.³ Brit. /maʊ/, /məʊ/, U.S. /maʊ/, /moʊ/, Scottish English /mu/, /mʌʊ/ Forms: late Middle English–1500s 1800s mowe, 1500s moo, 1500s mowgh, 1500s– mow, 1600s mew, 1600s 1800s moe, 1800s– meow (English regional), 1800s– mue (English regional), 1800s– myow (English regional); also Scottish pre-1700 mow. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: mow n.² Etymology: < mow n.² Compare slightly earlier mowing n.¹With collocations at sense 1a, compare to mock and mow at mock v. 3c, to mop and mow at mop v.² 1. a. intransitive. To make a face, to grimace. Frequently in collocation with mock, mop (cf. mock v. 3c, mop v.², and mow n.² 1b). ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > beautify (the hair) [verb (transitive)] > shave shearc897 shave?c1225 strikec1275 razec1460 mow1647 scrapea1774 razora1783 tonsure1793 stubble1836 c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) v. 633 (MED) Fortune..sodeinly change can her face, Smyle a-forn & mowen at þe bak. c1475 (a1449) J. Lydgate Testament (Harl. 218) 644 in Minor Poems (1911) i. 353 To skoffe and mowen like a wantoun ape. 1522 Worlde & Chylde (de Worde) (1909) sig. A.iii I can mowe on a man And make a lesynge well I can. 1590 R. Harvey Plaine Percevall 11 He spide a Iacke an apes, in a gaie cote, sit mooing on a Marchants bulke. 1603 J. Davies Microcosmos 244 The other..Seem'd greatly chafed with this long discourse, And often mew'd and mopt. a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) ii. ii. 9 Sometime like Apes, that moe and chatter at me, And after bite me. View more context for this quotation 1647 J. Trapp Comm. Epist. & Rev. (Heb. xi. 36) So they mowed at David. mocked at Isaiah..jeared our Saviour. 1748 T. Smollett Roderick Random II. lviii. 240 A noise like that of a baboon when he mows and chatters. a1822 P. B. Shelley Peter Bell III vi, in Poet. Wks. (?1840) 244/1 With Flibbertigibbet, imp of pride, Mocking and mowing by his side. 1856 J. H. Newman Callista 206 An animal of some wonderful species..proceeded to creep and crawl, moeing and twisting as it went. 1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan 45 Every streak of mist..Pointed and mowed and mocked and laughed at him. 1947 M. Lowry Under Volcano ix. 281 And now Yvonne Griffaton's father, who had been implicated in the Dreyfus case, came to mock and mow at her. 1969 W. H. Auden City without Walls 91 Mopped and mowed at, as their train worms through a tunnel. 1981 R. Davies Rebel Angels (1983) ii. 17 He was in his monk's robe at the funeral, mopping and mowing in the very Highest of High Anglican style. b. transitive. To cause to grimace.Apparently an isolated use. ΚΠ 1909 T. Hardy in Collier's 27 Mar. 23/2 Whither have danced those damsels now! Is Death the partner who doth mow Their wormy chaps and bare? †2. Scottish. a. transitive. To deride, mock. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > derision, ridicule, or mockery > deride, ridicule, or mock [verb (transitive)] teleeOE laughOE bismerc1000 heascenc1000 hethec1175 scornc1175 hokera1225 betell?c1225 scorn?c1225 forhushc1275 to make scorn at, toc1320 boba1382 bemow1388 lakea1400 bobby14.. triflea1450 japec1450 mock?c1450 mowc1485 to make (a) mock at?a1500 to make mocks at?a1500 scrip?a1513 illude1516 delude1526 deride1530 louta1547 to toy with ——1549–62 flout1551 skirp1568 knack1570 to fart against1574 frump1577 bourd1593 geck?a1600 scout1605 subsannate1606 railly1612 explode1618 subsannea1620 dor1655 monkeya1658 to make an ass of (someone)1680 ridicule1680 banter1682 to run one's rig upon1735 fun1811 to get the run upon1843 play1891 to poke mullock at1901 razz1918 flaunt1923 to get (or give) the razoo1926 to bust (a person's) chops1953 wolf1966 pimp1968 c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 195 He did bot scornyt the marchand—& mowit the lettres of the kingis. 1603 Philotus lxvii. sig. C3^v W^t ȝour words we ar na mair bot mowit This way to sie gif vs ȝe may suppryse. b. intransitive. To jest, joke, engage in banter (with). Also figurative. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > derision, ridicule, or mockery > banter or good-humoured ridicule > banter [verb (intransitive)] bourd1303 japec1374 rail?1507 gaud1532 mow1559 railly1612 rally1625 banter1660 badiner1697 chaffa1845 josh1845 persiflate1850 to poke (the) borak1882 kibitz1923 to take the mickey (out of)1948 mickey-take1959 the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > cause laughter [verb (intransitive)] > jest or joke gameOE jest1553 mow1559 cog1588 to break a jest1589 droll1654 joke1670 fool1673 crack a jest1721 crack a joke1753 pleasant1848 humorize1851 rot1896 kibitz1923 gag1942 1559 D. Lindsay Complaynt 246 in Wks. (1931) I. 46 Quod the thrid man; thow dois bot mow. 1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 268 The king mowit verie oft with him. a1599 R. Rollock Sel. Wks. (1849) I. 314 Lyfe and deith ar not maters to mow with. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022). † mowv.⁴ Forms: 1500s–1600s mow, 1600s mowe. Origin: An imitative or expressive formation. Etymology: Imitative. Compare moo v. Obsolete. rare. intransitive. = moo v. Also transitive (figurative): to utter (speech) in a voice resembling the lowing of a cow. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > bos taurus or ox > [verb (intransitive)] > make sound bellowc1000 lowOE routc1475 boc1487 lout1530 mooc1550 mow1553 booa1555 blart1896 1553 [implied in: J. Withals Shorte Dict. f. 17^v/1 The mowinge or lowynge of beastes, mugitus. (at mowing n.⁴)]. 1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 4 Brute and wilde beasts, which hardly are parted from their companie,..but still they lowe and mowe after them. 1641 J. Jackson True Evangelical Temper ii. 112 S. Luke..an Oxe indeed,..that he did mow and low the Gospel abroad over all the world. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online December 2020). mowv.⁵ Brit. /maʊ/, U.S. /maʊ/, Scottish English /mʌʊ/ Forms: 1800s– mow (English regional (northern)); Scottish pre-1700 1700s–1800s mow, 1900s– mowe. Origin: Probably a variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: mow v.³ Etymology: Probably a specific sense development of mow v.³ Compare jape v. Scottish and English regional (northern). Now rare. transitive. To have sexual intercourse with (a partner). Also intransitive.Usually with a man or male animal as subject. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > engage in sexual activity with [verb (transitive)] > have sexual intercourse with mingeOE haveOE knowc1175 ofliec1275 to lie with (or by)a1300 knowledgec1300 meetc1330 beliea1350 yknowc1350 touchc1384 deala1387 dightc1386 usea1387 takec1390 commona1400 to meet witha1400 servea1400 occupy?a1475 engender1483 jangle1488 to be busy with1525 to come in1530 visitc1540 niggle1567 mow1568 to mix one's thigh with1593 do1594 grind1598 pepper1600 yark1600 tumble1603 to taste of1607 compressc1611 jumble1611 mix?1614 consort?1615 tastea1616 bumfiddle1630 ingressa1631 sheet1637 carnal1643 night-work1654 bump1669 bumble1680 frig?c1680 fuck1707 stick1707 screw1719 soil1722 to do over1730 shag1770 hump1785 subagitatec1830 diddle1879 to give (someone) onec1882 charver1889 fuckeec1890 plugc1890 dick1892 to make a baby1911 to know (a person) in the biblical sense1912 jazz1920 rock1922 yentz1924 roll1926 to make love1927 shtupa1934 to give (or get) a tumble1934 shack1935 bang1937 to have it off1937 rump1937 tom1949 to hop into bed (with)1951 ball1955 to make it1957 plank1958 score1960 naughty1961 pull1965 pleasurea1967 to have away1968 to have off1968 dork1970 shaft1970 bonk1975 knob1984 boink1985 fand- 1568 D. Lyndesay Kitteis Confessioun in Minor Poems (1871) V. 580 (Quod scho) Wyll Leno mowit me. 1603 Philotus clv. sig. F2^v That mowit my Dochter for a mock. 1719 T. Durfey Pills to Purge V. 18 For when at her Daddy's Ise gang to Bed, Ise mow'd her without any more to do. a1728 W. Kennett MS Coll. Provinc. Words in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1905) IV. 183/2 [North Country] Ile mow my Meggy. 1780 Session Papers in Sc. National Dict. (1965) VI. (at cited word) He had mow'd Margaret Inglis several times. 1792 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) II. 668 (title) Why should na poor people mow. 1811 Lexicon Balatronicum To Mow, a Scotch word for the act of copulation. 1847 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words II Mow, futuo. North. 1928 A. D. Mackie Poems in Two Tongues 33 As coos will gie sook Or bulls mowe in season. This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.¹eOEn.²c1330n.³1440n.⁴1490n.⁵?a1500n.⁶1825v.¹eOEv.²a1325v.³c1425v.⁴1553v.⁵1568
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mown.1

Compounds

mown.2

mown.3

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mown.6

mowv.1

Compounds

mowv.2

mowv.3

† mowv.4

mowv.5

mown.¹

mown.²

mown.³

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† mown.⁵

mown.⁶

mowv.¹

mowv.²

mowv.³

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mowv.⁵