Mow

Mow

Verb / Noun · /məʊ/

Definition

(Verb) to cut down grass, crops, or similar vegetation with a machine or tool; to cut the grass of a lawn; mow down — to kill or knock down in large numbers; (Noun) a stack of hay or grain stored in a barn; a barn loft where hay is stored.

Origin

From Old English māwan (to mow, cut grass), from Proto-Germanic *mēaną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂meh₁- (to reap, mow). Cognate with German mähen (to mow), Dutch maaien, and Latin metere (to reap). The noun mow (a haystack) coming from Old English mūga (a heap, stack of hay), which is a different etymological root. Mow down as a phrasal verb meaning to kill or sweep away in large numbers being a metaphorical extension of cutting grass in large swaths.