sow

Etymology 1

From Middle English sowe, from Old English sugu, from Proto-Germanic *sugō, from Proto-Indo-European *suh₂kéh₂, from *suH- (“pig”). See also West Frisian sûch, Dutch zeug, Low German Söög, German Sau, Swedish sugga, Norwegian sugge; also Welsh hwch (“pig”), Sanskrit सूकर (sūkará, “swine, boar”); also German Sau, Latin sūs, Tocharian B suwo, Ancient Greek ὗς (hûs), Albanian thi, Avestan 𐬵𐬏 (hū, “boar”). See also swine.

noun

1. A female pig.
2. A female bear, she-bear.
   Lucky he wasn't a sow. They've usually just dropped a cub this time of year. A sow would have been cranky as hell. 1995, Dana Stabenow, Play with Fire, page 11
3. A female guinea pig.
4. A channel that conducts molten metal to molds.
5. A mass of metal solidified in a mold.
   In England, it was generally termed a 'sow', if the weight was above 10 cwts., if below, it was termed a 'pig' from which the present term 'pig iron' is derived. 1957, H.R. Schubert, History of the British Iron and Steel Industry, page 160
6. (derogatory, slang) A contemptible, often fat woman.
7. A sowbug.
8. (military) A kind of covered shed, formerly used by besiegers in filling up and passing the ditch of a besieged place, sapping and mining the wall, etc.

Etymology 2

From Middle English sowen, from Old English sāwan, from Proto-West Germanic *sāan, from Proto-Germanic *sēaną, from Proto-Indo-European *seh₁-. Compare Dutch zaaien, German säen, Danish så, Norwegian Bokmål så.

verb

1. (transitive, intransitive) To scatter, disperse, or plant (seeds).
   When I had sown the field, the day's work was over.
   As you sow, so shall you reap.
2. (figurative) To spread abroad; to propagate.
   Not surprisingly, it has sown doubt among other operators of diesel-hydraulics; …. 1963 June, G. Freeman Allen, “The success of diesel-hydraulics on the German Federal Railway”, in Modern Railways, page 386
3. (figurative) To scatter over; to besprinkle.
4. Obsolete spelling of sew