Definition mow
Etymology 1
From Middle English mowen (participle mowen), from Old English māwan (past tense mēow, past participle māwen), from Proto-Germanic *mēaną (compare Dutch maaien, German mähen, Danish meje, Swedish meja), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂meh₁- (“to mow, reap”); compare Hittite [script needed] (ḫamešḫa, “spring/early summer”, literally “mowing time”), Latin metō (“I harvest, mow”), Ancient Greek ἀμάω (amáō, “I mow”).
Verb
mow (third-person singular simple present mows, present participle mowing, simple past mowed, past participle mowed or mown)
- (transitive) To cut down grass or crops.
- (transitive) To cut down or slaughter in great numbers.
Etymology 2
Middle English mowe, from Middle French moue (“lip, pout”), borrowed from Old French moe (“grimace”), from Frankish *mauwa (“pout, protruding lip”), from Proto-Germanic *mawwō (“muff, sleeve”). Akin to Middle Dutch mouwe (“protruding lip”). Cognate to moue (“pout”).
Noun
mow (plural mows)
- (now only dialectal) A scornful grimace; a wry face. [from 14th c.]
Verb
mow (third-person singular simple present mows, present participle mowing, simple past and past participle mowed)
- To make grimaces, mock.
Etymology 3
Old English mūga. Cognate with Norwegian muge (“heap, crowd, flock”).
Noun
mow (plural mows)
- (now regional) A stack of hay, corn, beans or a barn for the storage of hay, corn, beans.
- The place in a barn where hay or grain in the sheaf is stowed.
Verb
mow (third-person singular simple present mows, present participle mowing, simple past and past participle mowed)
- (agriculture) To put into mows.
Etymology 4
Noun
mow (plural mows)
- Alternative form of mew (a seagull)