Advertisement

Origin and history of furrow

furrow(n.)

Middle English furwe, forowe, forgh, furch, from Old English furh "furrow, trench in the earth made by a plow," from Proto-Germanic *furkh-, which is reconstructed (Watkins) to be from PIE *perk- (2) "to dig, tear out" (source also of Latin porca "ridge between two furrows," Old Irish -rech, Welsh rhych "furrow"). Germanic cognates include Old Frisian furch "furrow;" Middle Dutch vore, Dutch voor; German Furche "furrow;" Old Norse for "furrow, drainage ditch."

The general meaning "narrow trench or channel" is from early 14c. In reference to a deep wrinkle on the face, by 1580s.

furrow(v.)

early 15c., "to plow, make furrows in," from furrow (n.). Meaning "to make wrinkles in one's face, brow, etc." is from 1590s. Old English had furian (v.). Related: Furrowed; furrowing.

also from early 15c.

Entries linking to furrow

furlong(n.)

measure of distance of roughly 660 feet, from Old English furlang, originally the length of a furrow in a common field of 10 acres, from furh "furrow" (see furrow (n.)) + lang "long" (see long (adj.)). The "acre" of the common field being variously measured, the furlong varied but eventually was fixed by custom at 40 rods. Used from 9c. to translate Latin stadium (625 feet), one-eighth of a Roman mile, and so the English word came to be used for "one-eighth of an English mile," though this led to a different measure for the English mile than the Roman one. Furlong being so important in land deed records (where mile hardly figures) it was thought best to redefine the mile rather than the furlong, which was done under Elizabeth I.

thorough(adj.)

Middle English thoro, thorow, "perfect, complete," mid-13c., a two-syllable stressed form of thurgh "passing or cutting all the way through," which is an adverb (represented by modern through, "from end to end, from side to side") used as an adjective. The notion in thorough is "going all the way through."

Þurh-, thurgh- was an active word-forming element and prefix in Old English and Middle English, often in making transitive verbs of motion (thurghcomen, thurghgon, thurghfallen, thurghserchen, and compare thoroughfare) or intensive adjectives (thurgh-fin, thurgh-hot, thurgh-stif, thurgh-wet, and compare thoroughgoing). It also often translates Latin per-.

The stressed form of through began to develop in the adverb in late Old English. The stress and spelling change seems to not directly track with the sense shift. For the form, compare borough from Old English burh, furrow from furh. Related: Thoroughly; thoroughness.

The Old English adverb is attested as þurh, þurg, þuruh, þorh, þorch, þerh. It became through, the common modern form, by transposition. 

    Advertisement

    More to explore

    wrinkle
    early 15c. (transitive), probably from stem of Old English gewrinclod "wrinkled, crooked, winding," past participle of gewrinclian "to wind, crease," from perfective prefix ge- + -wrinclian "to wind," from Proto-Germanic *wrankjan, from a nasalized variant of *werg- "to turn," fr
    crease
    1660s, "long or thin mark made by doubling or folding," altered from creaste "a ridge," perhaps a variant of crest (n.), via meaning "a fold in a length of cloth" (mid-15c.) which produces a "crest." In sports, first in cricket (1779), where originally it was cut into the ground.
    seam
    Middle English seme, from Old English seam, "seam of a garment, suture, junction made by sewing together the edges of two pieces of cloth or two edges of the same piece," from Proto-Germanic *saumaz (source also of Old Frisian sam "hem, seam," Old Norse saumr, Middle Dutch s
    delirium
    occurring during fever or illness," from Latin delirium "madness," from deliriare "be crazy, rave," literally "go off the furrow...," a plowing metaphor, from phrase de lire, from de "off, away" (see de-) + lira "furrow, earth thrown up between two furrows...," from PIE root *lois- "track, furrow."...
    groove
    earth" (late 13c. in place names), from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse grod "pit," or from Middle Dutch groeve "furrow...Sense of "long, narrow channel or furrow," especially as cut by a tool, is 1650s....
    strigil
    move, affect, cause pain," from PIE root *strig- "to stroke, rub, press" (source also of Latin striga "stroke, strike, furrow...," perhaps stria "furrow, channel;" Old Church Slavonic striga "shear;" Old English stracian "to stroke;" German streichen...
    last
    footprint," German Leisten "last," Gothic laistjan "to follow"), related to Old English læran "to teach," from PIE root *lois- "furrow...
    delve
    Middle English delven, from Old English delfan "to dig, turn up with a spade or other tool, excavate" (class III strong verb; past tense dealf, past participle dolfen), common West Germanic (cognates: Old Saxon delban, Dutch delven, Middle High German telben "to dig"). This is pe
    gash
    1540s, an alteration of Middle English garce "a gash, cut, wound, incision" (early 13c.), from Old North French garser "to scarify, cut, slash" (Old French *garse), apparently from Vulgar Latin *charassare, from Greek kharassein "engrave, sharpen, carve, cut" (from PIE *gher- (4)
    shag
    1590s, "cloth having a velvet nap on one side," perhaps ultimately from Old English sceacga "rough matted hair or wool," but the word seems to be missing in Middle English. The Old English word is from Proto-Germanic *skagjan (source also of Old Norse skegg, Swedish skägg "beard"

    Share furrow

    Advertisement
    Trending
    Dictionary entries near furrow
    Advertisement