Plough
/plaʊ/noun
A farm implement used for cutting, lifting, and turning over soil.
Did you know?The word is ancient Germanic, and its older forms were so widespread that it also gave English the verb sense of cutting a furrow through something—proof that language, like farming, is all about making deep marks.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*pleu-
“to flow, float”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*plōgaz
“plough, plow”
Old English
OE
plōh
“plough, plow”
Middle English
ME
plough
“plough, plow”
Modern English
English
plough
“a farm implement for turning soil”