SOW (2)

sow (2). Sow, v.t. sowed, pret. sowed, sown, pa. to scatter,

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Sow (?), n. [[OE. sowe, suwe, AS. sugu, akin to sū, D. zog, zeug, OHG. sū, G. sau, Icel. sȳr, Dan. so, Sw. sugga, so, L. sus. Gr. ὑ̑σ, συ̑σ, Zend. hu boar; probably from the root seen in Skr. sū to beget, to bear; the animal being named in allusion to its fecundity. √294. Cf. Hyena, Soil to stain, Son, Swine.]] 1. 1. (Zoöl.) The female of swine, or of the hog kind.
2. 2. (Zoöl.) A sow bug.
3. 3. (Metal.) (a) A channel or runner which receives the rows of molds in the pig bed. (b) The bar of metal which remains in such a runner. (c) A mass of solidified metal in a furnace hearth; a salamander.
4. 4. (Mil.) A kind of covered shed, formerly used by besiegers in filling up and passing the ditch of a besieged place, sapping and mining the wall, or the like. Craig.
Sow bread. (Bot.) See Cyclamen. — Sow bug, or Sowbug (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of terrestrial Isopoda belonging to Oniscus, Porcellio, and allied genera of the family Oniscidæ. They feed chiefly on decaying vegetable substances. — Sow thistle [[AS. sugepistel]] (Bot.), a composite plant (Sonchus oleraceus) said to be eaten by swine and some other animals.