different between sow vs till

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English sowe, from Old English sugu, from Proto-Germanic *sug? (compare West Frisian sûch, Dutch zeug, Low German Söög, German Sau, Swedish sugga, Norwegian sugge), from Proto-Indo-European *suh?kéh? (compare Welsh hwch (“pig”), Sanskrit ???? (s?kará, “swine, boar”)), from *suH- ‘pig’ (compare German Sau, Latin s?s, Tocharian B suwo, Ancient Greek ?? (hûs), Albanian thi, Avestan ????????? (h?, “boar”). See also swine.

Alternative forms

• (dial.): zew, soo

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sa?/
• Rhymes: -a?
• Homophone: sough

Noun

sow (plural sows or swine)

1. A female pig.
2. A female bear, she-bear.
3. A female guinea pig.
4. A channel that conducts molten metal to molds.
5. A mass of metal solidified in a mold.
   • 1957, H.R. Schubert, History of the British Iron and Steel Industry, p. 160:

     In England, it was generally termed a 'sow', if the weight was above 10 cwts., if below, it was termed a 'pig' from which the present term 'pig iron' is derived.

6. (derogatory, slang) A contemptible, often fat woman.
7. A sowbug.
8. (military) 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, etc.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Craig to this entry?)

Usage notes

The plural form swine is now obsolete in this sense.

Synonyms

• (mass of metal solidified in a mold): ingot
• (contemptible woman): bitch, cow

Derived terms

• make a silk purse of a sow's ear

Translations

See also

• boar
• hog
• pig

Etymology 2

From Middle English sowen, from Old English s?wan, from Proto-Germanic *s?an?, from Proto-Indo-European *seh?-. Compare Dutch zaaien, German säen, Danish så, Norwegian Bokmål så.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /s??/
• (US) IPA^(key): /so?/
• Rhymes: -??
• Homophones: seau, sew, so, soe, soh

Verb

sow (third-person singular simple present sows, present participle sowing, simple past sowed, past participle sown or sowed)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To scatter, disperse, or plant (seeds).

   When I had sown the field, the day's work was over.

   As you sow, so shall you reap.

2. (figuratively) To spread abroad; to propagate.

   • And sow dissension in the hearts of brothers.
3. (figuratively) To scatter over; to besprinkle.
   • 1677, Matthew Hale, The Primitive Origination of Mankind, Considered and Examined According to the Light of Nature

     The intellectual faculty is a goodly field, […] and it is the worst husbandry in the world to sow it with trifles.

Synonyms

• plant, scatter

Derived terms

• besow
• intersow
• oversow
• reap what one sows
• sower
• sown
• sow one's wild oats
• sow the wind, reap the whirlwind

Translations

Anagrams

• OSW, OWS, W.O.s, WOs, wos

Middle English

Noun

sow

1. Alternative form of sowe

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: t?l, IPA^(key): /t?l/
• Rhymes: -?l

Etymology 1

From Middle English til, from Northern Old English til, from or akin to Old Norse til (“to, till”); both from Proto-Germanic *til (“to, toward”), from Proto-Germanic *til? (“planned point in time”). Not a shortening of until; rather, until comes from till with the prefix un- (“against; toward; up to”) also found in unto. Cognate with Old Frisian til (“to, till”), Danish til (“to”), Swedish till (“to, till”), Icelandic til (“to, till”). Also related to Old English til (“good”), German Ziel (“goal”), Gothic ???????????? (til, “something fitting or suitable”).

Preposition

till

1. Until; to, up to; as late as (a given time).
   • 1854, Prof. John Wilson, The Genius and Character of Burns, p.194 (Google preview):

     Similar sentiments will recur to everyone familiar with his writings all through them till the very end.
2. (obsolete) To, up to (physically).
3. (dialectal) To make it possible that.
   • 1953?, Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot

     VLADIMIR: Together again at last! We'll have to celebrate this. But how? (He reflects.) Get up till I embrace you.

Usage notes

"till" in this context is usually considered colloquial in modern English (except for in some regional variants such as Indian English) and in most cases can be replaced by "until" or "to".

Synonyms

• (until): til (nonstandard), 'til (nonstandard), until

Translations

Conjunction

till

1. Until, until the time that.

   Maybe you can, maybe you can't: you won't know till you try.

   • 1846, Edward Lear, The Book of Nonsense:

     She twirled round and round, / Till she sunk underground, […]

   • 1912, anonymous, Punky Dunk and the Mouse, P.F. Volland & Co.:

     And the Mouse sat and laughed till he cried.

Synonyms

• (until): til (nonstandard), 'til (poetic), until; see also Thesaurus:until

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English tylle (“till”), possibly from Middle English tillen (“to draw”) from Old English *tyllan (“to draw, attract”) (as in betyllan (“to lure, decoy”) and fortyllan (“to draw away”); related to *tollian > Middle English tollen). Cognate with Albanian ndjell (“I lure, attract”).

Alternatively, Middle English tylle is from Anglo-Norman tylle (“compartment”), from Old French tille (“compartment, shelter on a ship”), from Old Norse þilja (“plank”).

Noun

till (plural tills)

1. A cash register.
2. A removable box within a cash register containing the money.

   Pull all the tills and lock them in the safe.

3. The contents of a cash register, for example at the beginning or end of the day or of a cashier's shift.

   My count of my till was 30 dollars short.

4. (obsolete) A tray or drawer in a chest.

Derived terms

• have one's hand in the till

Translations

Etymology 3

From Middle English tilyen, from Old English tilian.

Verb

till (third-person singular simple present tills, present participle tilling, simple past and past participle tilled)

1. (transitive) To develop so as to improve or prepare for usage; to cultivate (said of knowledge, virtue, mind etc.).
2. (transitive) To work or cultivate or plough (soil); to prepare for growing vegetation and crops.
3. (intransitive) To cultivate soil.
4. (obsolete) To prepare; to get.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of W. Browne to this entry?)

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:till.

Translations

Etymology 4

Unknown, but possibly via etymology 3 (the verb) because alluvial deposit is used as a fertilizer.

Noun

till

1. glacial drift consisting of a mixture of clay, sand, pebbles and boulders
2. (dialect) manure or other material used to fertilize land

Derived terms

• glacial till

Translations

Etymology 5

From Middle English tylle; shortened from lentile (English lentil).

Noun

till (plural tills)

1. A vetch; a tare.

References

General

• till in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• till in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• Until, Till, 'Til, or 'Till? in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, 11 June 2019.

Footnotes

Anagrams

• it'll, lilt

Estonian

Noun

till (genitive tilli, partitive tilli)

1. dill (herb)
2. (slang) penis

Declension

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Middle English

Verb

till

1. Alternative form of tillen (“to enthrall”)

Scottish Gaelic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t??i??/

Verb

till (past thill, future tillidh, verbal noun tilleadh, past participle tillte)

1. to return, come back
2. to relapse

References

• A Pronouncing and Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language (John Grant, Edinburgh, 1925, Compiled by Malcolm MacLennan)

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish til, from Old Norse til, from Proto-Germanic *tila- (“goal”), from Proto-Indo-European *ád (“near, at”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t?l/

Preposition

till

1. to

   Välkommen till Sverige!

   Welcome to Sweden!

   Ge den till mig.

   Give it to me.

   Vi behöver två till fem nya datorer.

   We need two to five new computers.

2. for

   en bra TV till ett bra pris

   a good TV for a good price

   Vad vill du ha till middag?

   What do you want for dinner?

   en present till min syster

   a present for my sister

   pengar till resan

   money for the trip

3. with

   Jag tar mjölk till mitt kaffe

   I take milk with my coffee

Usage notes

• Earlier, till governed the genitive case. Remains can still be found in certain expressions: tillbaka (“back”), till bords (“to the table”), till buds (“to aid, at hand”), till doms (“to judgement”), tillfreds (“at peace, content”), till godo (“for good, as credit”), till hands (“at hand”), tillhanda (“at hand, available”), till havs (“to sea”), till kojs (“to bed”), till kungs (“to the king”), till lags (“of service, to please”), till lands (“on land”), till livs (“to life, to eat”), till påska (“until Easter”), till reds (“to aid”), till sjöss (“to sea”), till skogs (“to the forest”), till sängs (“to bed”), till torgs (“to the market”), till väders (“in the air”)

Derived terms

• hur står det till?

Adverb

till

1. another; in addition
   • Jag ska vara här en vecka till.
     • I'll be here for another week.

Wolof

Noun

till (definite form till gi)

1. jackal