fal·low

1 [fal-oh]
adjective
1.
(of land) plowed and left unseeded for a season or more; uncultivated.
2.
not in use; inactive: My creative energies have lain fallow this year.
noun
3.
land that has undergone plowing and harrowing and has been left unseeded for one or more growing seasons.
verb (used with object)
4.
to make (land) fallow for agricultural purposes.

Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English falwe; compare Old English fealga, plural of *fealh, as gloss of Medieval Latin occas harrows

fal·low·ness, noun
un·fal·lowed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged

fal·low

2 [fal-oh]
adjective
pale-yellow; light-brown; dun.

Origin:
before 1000; Middle English fal(o)we, Old English fealu; cognate with German falb

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To fallow
00:10
Fallow is one of our favorite verbs.
So is yaff. Does it mean:
to run away hurriedly; flee.
to bark; yelp.
Collins
World English Dictionary
fallow1 (ˈfæləʊ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  (of land) left unseeded after being ploughed and harrowed to regain fertility for a crop
2.  (of an idea, state of mind, etc) undeveloped or inactive, but potentially useful
 
n
3.  land treated in this way
 
vb
4.  (tr) to leave (land) unseeded after ploughing and harrowing it
 
[Old English fealga; related to Greek polos ploughed field]
 
'fallowness1
 
n

fallow2 (ˈfæləʊ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
of a light yellowish-brown colour
 
[Old English fealu; related to Old Norse fölr, Old Saxon, Old High German falo, Latin pallidus Greek polios grey]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

fallow
O.E. fealh "fallow land," from P.Gmc. *falgo (cf. O.H.G. felga "harrow," E.Fris. falge "fallow," falgen "to break up ground"), perhaps from a derivation of PIE base *pel- "to turn," assimilated in Eng. to fallow (adj.) because of the color of plowed earth. Originally "plowed land," then "land plowed
but not planted" (1523).

fallow
O.E. fealu "pale, faded, dark, yellowish-brown," from P.Gmc. *falwaz (cf. O.N. fölr, M.Du. valu, Ger. falb), from PIE *polwos "dark-colored, gray" (cf. O.C.S. plavu, Lith. palvas "sallow," Gk. polios, Welsh llwyd "gray," L. pallere "to be pale"). It also forms the root of words for "pigeon" in Gk.
(peleia), L. (palumbes), O.Prus. (poalis).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Example sentences
As such, the import regulations are not as strict as those in place for import
  of fallow deer and elk.
There are few swathes of farmland lying fallow and much of the world's
  available fresh water is already being used.
Herds of red and fallow deer are among the residents.
It is used also used for nonselective control of vegetation in chemical fallow.
Synonym Game
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT