[We never give this name to hay piled in the field or open air. The latter is called a stack or rick.]
MOW, v.t. To lay hay in a heap or mass in a barn, or to lay it in a suitable manner.
MOW, v.t. pret. mower; pp. mowed or mown. [The L. has meto, and the Gr. to mow or reap. The last radical letter is not ascertained.]
1. To cut down with a scythe, as grass or other plants. We say, to mow grass.
2. To cut the grass from; as, to mow a meadow.
3. To cut down with speed; to cut down indiscriminately, or in great numbers or quantity. We say, a discharge of grape shot mows down whole ranks of men. Hence Saturn or Time is represented with a scythe, an emblem of the general and indiscriminate destruction of the human race by death.
MOW, v.i. To cut grass; to practice mowing; to use the scythe. Does the man mow well?
1. To perform the business of mowing; to cut and make grass into hay; to gather the crop of grass, or other crop.
[In America, mow is not applied to the cutting of wheat or rye. When these are cut with a scythe, they are said to be cradled. Oats and barley are sometimes mowed.]
MOW, n. [from mouth.] A wry face.
MOW, v.i. To make mouths.
