fallow

fallow
\ \ English has two words fallow, both of considerable antiquity. Fallowuncultivated’ [OE] originally meant ‘ploughed land’. Its present-day adjectival meaning ‘ploughed but not sown’ or, more broadly, just ‘uncultivated’, developed in the 15th century. Fallowpale yellowish-brown’ [OE] (now used only in fallow deer) comes via Germanic *falwaz from Indo- European *polwos, a derivative of the base *pol-, *pel-, which also produced English appal [14] (originally ‘grow pale’), pale, and pallid. Its Germanic relatives include German fahlpale, fawn’ and falbpale yellow’. (Germanic *falwaz, incidentally, was the ancestor of French fauvewild animal’, source of the term fauvism [20] applied to an early 20th-century European art movement that favoured simplified forms and bold colours.)
\ \ Cf.APPAL, PALE, PALLID

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • fallow — fal‧low [ˈfæləʊ ǁ loʊ] adjective 1. FARMING fallow land has been dug but is not being used for growing crops, giving the quality of the soil a chance to improve: • fallow land • a fallow field 2. lie fallow FARMING if …   Financial and business terms

  • Fallow — Fal low, n. [So called from the fallow, or somewhat yellow, color of naked ground; or perh. akin to E. felly, n., cf. MHG. valgen to plow up, OHG. felga felly, harrow.] 1. Plowed land. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Who . . . pricketh his blind horse over …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Fallow — Fal low, a. [AS. fealu, fealo, pale yellow or red; akin to D. vaal fallow, faded, OHG. falo, G. falb, fahl, Icel. f[ o]lr, and prob. to Lith. palvas, OSlav. plav[u^] white, L. pallidus pale, pallere to be pale, Gr. polio s gray, Skr. palita. Cf.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • fallow — fallow1 [fal′ō] n. [ME falow < OE fealh, akin to fealh, harrow, felly (of wheel) < IE base * pelk , to turn > Gael olca, fallow land] 1. land plowed but not seeded for one or more growing seasons, to kill weeds, make the soil richer, etc …   English World dictionary

  • Fallow — Fal low, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Fallowed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Fallowing}.] [From {Fallow}, n.] To plow, harrow, and break up, as land, without seeding, for the purpose of destroying weeds and insects, and rendering it mellow; as, it is profitable to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • fallow — ► ADJECTIVE 1) (of farmland) ploughed and harrowed but left for a period without being sown. 2) characterized by inactivity. 3) (of a sow) not pregnant. ► NOUN ▪ a piece of fallow land. DERIVATIVES fallowness noun …   English terms dictionary

  • fallow — index barren, idle, otiose, unproductive Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • fallow — [adj] inactive dormant, idle, inert, neglected, quiescent, resting, slack, uncultivated, undeveloped, unplanted, unplowed, unproductive, unseeded, untilled, unused, vacant, virgin; concepts 485,560 Ant. active, cultivated, developed, used …   New thesaurus

  • fallow — {{11}}fallow (adj.) pale yellow, brownish yellow, O.E. fealu reddish yellow, yellowish brown, tawny, dusk colored, from P.Gmc. *falwa (Cf. O.S. falu, O.N. fölr, M.Du. valu, Du. vaal, O.H.G. falo, Ger. falb), from PIE *pal wo dark colored, gray… …   Etymology dictionary

  • fallow — [[t]fæ̱loʊ[/t]] 1) ADJ Fallow land has been dug or ploughed but nothing has been planted in it, especially so that its quality or strength has a chance to improve. ...great red barns in empty fallow fields... The fields lay fallow. 2) ADJ: usu… …   English dictionary

  • fallow — I. adjective Etymology: Middle English falow, from Old English fealu; akin to Old High German falo pale, fallow, Latin pallēre to be pale, Greek polios gray Date: before 12th century of a light yellowish brown color II. noun Etymology: Middle… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”