plough
UK[plaʊ]US[plaʊ]
n
A large farming implement with one or more blades fixed in a frame, drawn by a tractor or animals, and used for cutting furrows in soil and turning it over, especially for sowing seeds.
v
To turn over the earth with a plough, especially before sowing.
v
To advance or move through something with force and difficulty, like a ship moving through water or a vehicle through snow.
Etymology
The word 'plough' has a deep agricultural history within the Germanic language family. It descends from the Old Norse 'plógr', which was borrowed into late Old English, replacing the native term 'sulh'. The term can be traced back to Proto-Germanic 'plōgaz' or 'plōguz', likely referring to the plough or a specific plot of land. While its ultimate pre-Germanic origin is uncertain, one hypothesis connects it to a Proto-Indo-European root related to pulling or stripping, conceptually linked to the action of the implement tearing through soil. The word's journey reflects the central importance of the tool in Northern European farming societies and its adoption into English vocabulary.
Analysis
The word 'plough' is a simplex form. It is a loanword into English from Old Norse, with a deeper Germanic origin. Its spelling and form are not productively divisible into smaller, meaningful morphemes in modern English.
Examples
The farmer used a heavy plough to prepare the field for the spring planting.
We watched the ship plough through the rough waves of the North Sea.
After the blizzard, a snowplow worked through the night to plough the main roads.