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Fallow

//ˈfæloʊ// adj, noun, verb

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Ploughed but left unseeded for more than one planting season.
  2. 2
    Of a pale red or yellow, light brown; dun.

    "a fallow deer or greyhound"

  3. 3
    Left unworked and uncropped for some amount of time.
  4. 4
    Inactive; undeveloped. figuratively

    "a fallow period in one's career"

Adjective
  1. 1
    undeveloped but potentially useful wordnet
  2. 2
    left unplowed and unseeded during a growing season wordnet
Noun
  1. 1
    Ground ploughed and harrowed but left unseeded for one year. uncountable
  2. 2
    cultivated land that is not seeded for one or more growing seasons wordnet
  3. 3
    Uncultivated land. uncountable
  4. 4
    The ploughing or tilling of land, without sowing it for a season. countable, uncountable

    "By a complete summer fallow, land is rendered tender and mellow. The fallow gives it a better tilth than can be given by a fallow crop."

Verb
  1. 1
    To make land fallow for agricultural purposes. transitive

Etymology

Etymology 1

[Alt: A photograph of a ploughed field.] From Middle English falwe, from Old English fealh, fealg (“fallow land”), from Proto-West Germanic *falgu (compare Saterland Frisian Falge, West Frisian falig, felling, Dutch valg, German Felge), from Proto-Indo-European *polḱéh₂ (“arable land”) (compare Gaulish olca, Russian полоса́ (polosá)).

Etymology 2

[Alt: A photograph of a ploughed field.] From Middle English falwe, from Old English fealh, fealg (“fallow land”), from Proto-West Germanic *falgu (compare Saterland Frisian Falge, West Frisian falig, felling, Dutch valg, German Felge), from Proto-Indo-European *polḱéh₂ (“arable land”) (compare Gaulish olca, Russian полоса́ (polosá)).

Etymology 3

From Middle English falowen, falwen, from Old English fealgian (“to fallow; break up land”), from Proto-West Germanic *falgōn (“to fallow”). Cognate with Dutch valgen (“to plow lightly; fallow”), German Low German falgen (“to till; dig a hole”).

Etymology 4

[Alt: A photograph of a light brown deer.] From Middle English falwe, from Old English fealu, from Proto-West Germanic *falu, from Proto-Germanic *falwaz (compare West Frisian feal, Dutch vaal, German falb, fahl, French fauve), from Proto-Indo-European *polwos (compare Lithuanian pal̃vas (“sallow, wan”), Russian поло́вый (polóvyj, “wan, light yellow”), Serbo-Croatian plâv (“blond, blue”), Ancient Greek πολιός (poliós, “grey”)), from Proto-Indo-European *pelH- (“pale, gray”).

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