Where does “fallow” come from?
Fallow comes from Middle English falowen, from Old English fealu combined with the Old English verb-forming suffix -ian, ultimately deriving from Proto-Indo-European pelH- with the feminine suffix -eh₂.
fallow (English): Ground ploughed and harrowed but left unseeded...
Definitions
- Ground ploughed and harrowed but left unseeded...
Ancestry of “fallow”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | falowen | Alternative form of falwen |
| 2 | Old English | fealgian | to fallow; break up land |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | falgōn | to break up ground; till; plough land; fallow |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | -ōn | Creates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates... |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | -ōną | Creates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -eh₂yéti | Creates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 9 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |