▪ I. fallow, n.
(ˈfæləʊ)
Forms: 3–4 falwe, 5 falghe, (valwe), 5–6 falow(e, 6–7 fallowe, 6– fallow. See also fauch n.
[The relation between this and the cognate fallow a.2 and v. is not quite clear. The OE. fælᵹing, glossed novalia (‘fallows’) and occas. (‘harrows’) in Corpus Glossary, seems to imply a vb. *fealᵹian (= fallow v.), f. *fealh, recorded in pl. fealᵹa harrows, implements for breaking clods (occas. Epinal Gl.). The n. and adj., which have not been found in OE., were either f. fealh or f. the vb. Cf. OHG. felga harrow, mod.Ger. (Sanders) and East Fris. falge fallow (n.), falgen to break up ground, plough. As fallow a.1 was used to denote the colour of exposed soil, it is probable that some confusion may have arisen at an early date between the two words.]
† 1. A piece of ploughed land; also collect. ploughed land in general, arable land. Obs.
| c 1300 Havelok 2509 Thei..drowen him unto the galwes, Nouth bi the gate, but ouer the falwes. c 1386 Chaucer Wife's Prol. 656 Who..pricketh his blind hors over the falwes. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 148 Falow, lond eryd, novale. c 1450 Lat. & Eng. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 618 Varratum, i. novale, valwe. 1483 Cath. Angl. 121 Falghe (Falowe A.), terra sacionalis. a 1535 Fisher Wks. (1876) I. 365 He must treade vppon the fallowes. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, v. ii. 54 All our Vineyards, Fallowes, Meades, and Hedges..grow to wildnesse. 1713 Rowe Jane Shore ii. i, Around it Fallows, Meads, and Pastures fair. |
2. Ground that is well ploughed and harrowed, but left uncropped for a whole year or more; called also summer fallow, as that season is chosen for the sake of killing the weeds. green fallow, cropped fallow, or bastard fallow: one from which a green crop is taken.
| 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §13 Euery good housbande hath his barleye falowe..lyenge rygged all the..wynter. 1552 Huloet, Fallowe or tylthe of land, called the somer fallowe or tylth, veruactum. c 1611 Chapman Iliad xiii. 628 So close to earth they plow The fallow with their horns. 1707 Mortimer Husb. ii. 38 The best Ploughs to plow up Lays or Summer Fallows with. 1784 Cowper Task iv. 315, I saw far off the weedy fallows smile With verdure not unprofitable. 1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. x. 369 Green fallows or what are termed fallow crops such as beans, peas, cabbages [etc.]. 1810 Scott Lady of L. i. xxxi, The lark's shrill fife may come At the daybreak from the fallow. 1813 Sir H. Davy Agric. Chem. (1814) 353 A summer fallow, or a clean fallow, may be sometimes necessary in lands over⁓grown with weeds. 1889 Wrightson Fallow & Fodder Crops 5 The superiority of cropped over naked fallows. |
3. The state of being fallow; an interval during which land is allowed to lie fallow.
| 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §17 So shal he mucke all his landes ouer at euerye seconde falowe. Ibid. §34 That is vsed, where they make falowe in a fyelde euery fourthe yere. 1797 Billingsley Agric. Somerset 177 Ten or twelve successive crops of wheat, without an intervening fallow. 1858 J. B. Norton Topics 211 To withhold the land from cultivation..with the view of making it, by a fallow, doubly profit⁓able the next year. 1866 Geo. Eliot F. Holt 5 They resisted the rotation of crops and stood by their fallows. |
| fig. 1772 Burke Corr. (1844) I. 356 Your fallow adds to your fertility. 1796 ― Regic. Peace i. Wks. VIII. 140 Unless the fallow of a peace comes to recruit her [France's] fertility. |
4. attrib. Of or pertaining to a fallow; esp. grown on a fallow, as in fallow-crop, fallow-hay; and in local names for the Wheatear (Saxicola œnanthe), as fallow-chat, fallow-finch, fallow-lunch, fallow-smich, fallow-smiter, from its frequenting fallows. Also fallow-break: see break n. 12; fallow-field: see quot. 1851.
| 1678 Ray Willughby's Ornith. 233 The Fallow-Smich, in Sussex the Wheat-ear. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Oenanthe, the Wheat-ear..In Warwickshire it is call'd a Fallow⁓smiter. 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp., Fallow-finch. 1787 Winter Syst. Husb. 153 Beans are a good fallow crop. 1821 Clare Vill. Minstr. I. 182 Nor wilt thou fallow-clods disdain. 1834 D. Low Pract. Agric. v. 161 The culture of fallow-crops. 1843 Yarrell Brit. Birds I. 254 The Wheat⁓ear or Fallowchat. 1851 Gloucestersh. Gloss., Fallow⁓field, a common. 1885 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 9) I. 338 A large portion of the fallow-break can thus be dressed with home⁓made manure. 1885 Swainson Prov. Names Brit. Birds (E.D.S.) 9 Wheatear..Fallow-finch; Fallow-smich; or Fallow-lunch. |
▪ II. fallow, a.1
(ˈfæləʊ)
Forms: 1 falu, fealo, -u, 3 falau, (3–4 inflected falewe), 4 fale, -u, -we, 4–6 falow(e, 6 fallo, 6– fallow. See also fauch a.
[OE. falu, fealo, fealu, pl. fealwe = OS. falu, (MDu. vale, mod. vaal), OHG. falo (mod. Ger. fahl, falb), ON. fǫlr, pl. fǫlvar:—OTeut. *falwo-, prob. cognate with Gr. πολιός grey, L. pallēre to be pale.]
1. Of a pale brownish or reddish yellow colour, as withered grass or leaves. Obs. exc. of the coat of an animal; now chiefly in fallow-deer.
| Beowulf 865 (Gr.) Fealwe mearas. a 1000 Riddles xvi. 1 (Gr.) Hais is min hwit and heafod fealo. c 1205 Lay. 18449 Pendragun and his cnihtes..sluȝen ȝeond þan feldes falewe lockes. Ibid. 27468 Blod ut ȝeoten, ueldes falewe wurðen. a 1300 Cursor M. 1263 (Cott.) Þe falau slogh sal be þi gate. c 1325 Coer de L. 461 On in atyr blak Com prickande ovyr the falewe feld. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 506 His hewe falow [Corpus falwe] and pale as Asshen colde. 1494 Fabyan Chron. vii. 667 Many a dere both rede and falowe to be slayne before them. 1547 Boorde Brev. Health lxxiii. 25 An urine that is falowe lyke the heare of a falowe beast. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. i. i. 91 How do's your fallow Greyhound, Sir. 1667 Lond. Gaz. No. 185/4 A Fallow Dog..lost about a Fort⁓night since. 1727 Bradley Fam. Dict. s.v. Hart, The Coats and Colours of this noble Beast..are usually of three several sorts, viz. Brown, Red, and Fallow. 1759 tr. Adanson's Voy. Senegal 24 His belly was of a pale blue, and his back fallow. 1865 Athenæum No. 1954. 484/1 The horn of a fallow-ox. |
2. absol. (quasi-n.), as the name of a colour.
| 1741 Compl. Fam. Piece ii. i. 289 Those that are of a lively red Fallow have a black List down..their Backs. |
3. Comb., as fallow-coloured.
| 1688 Lond. Gaz. No. 2347/4 Lost or stolen..a fallow coloured Bitch. 1825 Hone Every-day Bk. I. 983 The fallow-coloured dog was taken away. |
▪ III. fallow, a.2
(ˈfæləʊ)
Forms: 5–6 falow(e, 6 fallowe, 6– fallow.
[See fallow n.]
Of land: frequent in phrases, to lie fallow, to lay fallow. a. That is uncropped for the current year. b. Uncultivated. † c. Fit for tillage; ploughed ready for sowing (obs.). d. transf. and fig.
| a. ? c 1475 Hunt. Hare 12 He fond a hare full fayr syttand Apon a falow lond. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §18 He that hath a falowe felde. 1611 Cotgr., Nouvellis, fallowes; ground that lies fallow euerie other yeare. a 1689 Navarette China in Churchill's Coll. Voy. (1732) I. 52 The land in China never lies fallow. 1846 M{supc}Culloch Acc. Brit. Empire (1854) I. 473 There appears to have been little or no fallow land. 1875 Lyell Princ. Geol. II. iii. xlii. 457 We are..compelled to let it lie fallow the next [year]. |
| b. c 1460 Towneley Myst. 98 The tylthe of oure landes lyys falow as the floore. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, v. ii. 44 Her fallow Leas..The Darnell, Hemlock, and ranke Femetary, Doth root vpon. 1611 Bible Jer. iv. 3 Breake vp your fallow ground, and sow not among thornes. 1716 Addison Freeholder No. 40 ¶4 The soil must lie fallow. 1797 F. Burney Lett. Dec., He is like a fallow field..one that has been left quite to itself. 1870 Bryant Iliad II. xviii. 226 A broad fallow field Of soft rich mould. |
| c. 1530 Palsgr. 218/2 Faloweland, terre labourable. 1580 Baret Alv. F. 103 The Fallowe field, or that is tilled redy to be sowen. a 1627 Hayward Edw. VI (1630) 32 The ridges of the fallow field lay traverse. |
| d. 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. iii. xiii. 183 The head..hath lain fallow all night. 1673 Ess. Educ. Gentlewom. 33, I suppose you do not intend to lay Fallow all Children that will not bring forth Fruit of themselves. 1752 Foote Taste i. Wks. 1799 I. 11 Then I lay fallow—but the year after I had twins. 1827 Hare Guesses Ser. ii. (1873) 459 Fields of thought seem to need lying fallow. 1842 Tennyson Audley Court 77 The fallow leisure of my life. 1850 Kingsley Alt. Locke xxxvii, My heart lay fallow for every seed that fell. |
▪ IV. † ˈfallow, v.1 Obs.
Forms: 1 fealuwian, fealewian, fealwian, 3–4 falewe(n, 3 falewi, falwy, falowen, (south. dial. 3 valewen, valuwen, 4 valouwe), 4–5 falwe, 4–6 falow.
[OE. fealuwian, fealewian, fealwian, f. fealo, fealu fallow a.1 Cf. OHG. falewên.]
a. To become pale or yellow; hence, to fade, wither. b. Of the face, etc.: To blanch, grow pale.
| a. a 1000 Salomon & Sat. 313 (Gr.) Lytle hwile leaf beoð grene, Þonne hy eft fealewiað. c 1205 Lay. 16414 Faȝeden þa feldes & þat gras falewede. a 1310 in Wright Lyric P. 89 Falewen shule thy floures. a 1400 Leg. Rood (1871) 132 Mi fruit..is fouled and falwed. 1584 T. Bastard Chrestoleros ii. xiv. (1598) 35 Here lies a bounch of haire deepe falowed. |
| fig. a 1225 Ancr. R. 132 Þe blisse of heouene þet neuer ne valeweð auh is euer grene. a 1310 in Wright Lyric P. xv. 50 Y-cast in care, Y falewe as flour. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints, Johannes 175 Florysand a quhile ȝe be, Þat ȝe ma eftirwart falow. |
| b. c 1205 Lay. 30987 Faleweden nebbes. a 1300 E.E. Poems (1862) 20 His [Christ's] fair lere falowiþ. 1340 Ayenb. 81 Þis uayrhede..fayleþ and ualouweþ ase þet flour of þe uelde. a 1400 Death & its Precursors 15 in Rel. Ant. I. 65 His hew shal falewen. c 1440 Sir Gowther 62 Al falwyd hire faire chere. |
▪ V. fallow, v.2
(ˈfæləʊ)
Forms: 4 falewe(n, 5 falwe, (valwe), 5–6 falowe(n, 6 fallo(we, 6– fallow. See fauch v. Also in Comb., twifallow, trifallow, etc.
[? OE. *fealᵹian: see fallow n.]
1. trans. To plough or break up (land); to prepare for sowing. Also rarely, to fallow up.
| 13.. Chron. Eng. 94 in Ritson Met. Hom. II. 274 Hy faleweden erthe, and feolden wode. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 148 Falwe londe (falowen P.), novo. c 1450 Lat. & Eng. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 618 Varro, valwe londe. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §4 He setteth it in the vttermoste nycke, that is beste for falowynge. 1591 Harington Orl. Fur. Pref. (1634) ¶5 To heare one of my ploughmen tell how an acre of wheat must be fallowed and twyfallowed. 1604 Ant. Scoloker Daiphantus (1880) 37 Ile fallow vp the wrinkles of the earth. 1767 A. Young Farmer's Lett. People 263, I fallowed and ploughed two acres of light gravelly land. 1846 J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) II. 239 Fifth year, tares, which should be fed on the ground, and immediately fallowed for backward turnips or rape. |
2. To plough and break up (land) without sowing (it), for the purpose of destroying weeds, etc., and for mellowing the soil; to lay fallow. Also absol.
| 14.. in Walter of Henley's Husb. (1890) 46 In aprell it is good seasone to falowe land. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §8 If thou haue any leys, to falowe or to sowe otes vpon. 1616 Swift & Markh. Countrie Farme 20 He shall breake vp or fallow that Earth which he intends to keepe tilth the yeare following. 1741 Compl. Fam. Piece iii. 522 Fallow your Wheat Land, which will kill the Weeds, and mellow the Ground. 1780 A. Young Tour Irel. I. 172 Scarce any fallow, a few sow clover. 1886 Holland Chester Gloss. |
| fig. a 1764 Churchill Journey 27 Genius..Must, to ensure his vigour, be laid down, And fallow'd well. 1855 De Morgan in Graves Life Sir W. R. Hamilton (1889) II. 501 A teacher who does not either fallow or sow another crop is sure to get into mere routine. |
▪ VI. fallow
Sc. f. of fellow n., follow v.
▪ VII. fallow
obs. f. felloe, felly.