plow
An implement for cutting and turning soil; to till the earth.
Etymology
Modern English plow (also plough) comes from Old English plōh "a measure of land" and later "plough" itself, from Proto-Germanic *plōgaz, possibly from a base related to PIE *pleh₂- "flat, broad, to spread." The plough is the tool that spreads or turns the earth flat. The word may also have been influenced by a Rhaetic or pre-Germanic substrate term. The Germanic word was borrowed into Late Latin as plovum and into Romance languages. Within the Germanic family, German Pflug, Dutch ploeg, and Swedish plog are all cognates. Intriguingly, the Slavic languages have plug "plough" as an early Germanic loan, showing the technology and its name spreading together. Related English words from PIE *pleh₂- include flat, place, plain, plane, plate, and plaza — all carrying the sense of something spread out or broadened.
The Journey: *pleh₂- → plow
*pleh₂-
*plōgaz
plōh
plough, plow
plow / plough
Cognates Across Languages
These words in other languages descend from the same PIE root *pleh₂-. They are not borrowings but independent inheritances from a common ancestor.
| Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| German | Pflug | plough |
| Dutch | ploeg | plough |
| Old Norse | plógr | plough |
| Russian | plug | plough (Germanic loan) |
| Swedish | plog | plough |
Did You Know?
The Plough (or Big Dipper) constellation gets its name because its shape resembles the farming implement. Meanwhile, the word plough was so important that Old English plōh originally meant a unit of land area — the amount one plough team could till in a day — before transferring to the implement itself.