mow

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a loft in a barn where hay is stored
  2. verb cut with a blade or mower
  3. verb make a sad face and thrust out one's lower lip

Etymology

From Middle English mowen (participle mowen), from Old English māwan (past tense mēow, past participle māwen), from Proto-West Germanic *māan, from Proto-Germanic *mēaną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂meh₁- (“to mow, reap”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian mjo (“to mow”), Dutch maaien (“to mow”), German mähen (“to mow”), Luxembourgish méien (“to mow”), Danish meje (“to mow”), Swedish meja (“to mow”); see also Hittite [script needed] (ḫamešḫa, “spring/early summer”, literally “mowing time”), Latin metō (“to harvest, mow”), Ancient Greek ἀμάω (amáō, “to mow”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

hayloft, haymow

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