fallow

¹

[ fal-oh ]

adjective

1. (of land) plowed and left unseeded for a season or more; uncultivated.
2. not in use; inactive:

   My creative energies have lain fallow this year.

noun

1. land that has undergone plowing and harrowing and has been left unseeded for one or more growing seasons.

verb (used with object)

1. to make (land) fallow for agricultural purposes.

fallow

²

[ fal-oh ]

adjective

1. pale-yellow; light-brown; dun.

fallow

¹

/ ˈfæləʊ /

adjective

1. of a light yellowish-brown colour

fallow

²

/ ˈfæləʊ /

adjective

1. (of land) left unseeded after being ploughed and harrowed to regain fertility for a crop
2. (of an idea, state of mind, etc) undeveloped or inactive, but potentially useful

noun

1. land treated in this way

verb

1. tr to leave (land) unseeded after ploughing and harrowing it

Derived Forms

• ˈfallowness, noun

Other Words From

• fallow·ness noun
• un·fallowed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of fallow¹

1275–1325; Middle English falwe; compare Old English fealga, plural of *fealh, as gloss of Medieval Latin occas harrows

Origin of fallow²

before 1000; Middle English fal ( o ) we, Old English fealu; cognate with German falb

Word History and Origins

Origin of fallow¹

Old English fealu ; related to Old Norse fölr, Old Saxon, Old High German falo , Latin pallidus Greek polios grey

Origin of fallow²

Old English fealga ; related to Greek polos ploughed field

Example Sentences

There are reports of farmers allowing fields to go fallow this spring because there probably will not be enough water to sustain some crops through the season.

From Washington Post

If their dispute is not resolved in the next few weeks, Crummell could remain fallow for years to come.

From Washington Post

If their dispute is not resolved in the next few weeks, Crummell could remain fallow for years to come, a prospect that infuriates residents such as Brenda Ingram, who lives down the street, in a house next door to where she grew up.

From Washington Post

By allowing fields to lie fallow, or planting cover crops, they can return nutrients to the soil.

From Washington Post

Hachimura had 17 points but, like Beal, was fallow from beyond the arc, missing his three attempts.

From Washington Post

The mobilizing energy of the campaign fell fallow after Inauguration Day in 2009.

From The Daily Beast

Many of the signs posted on the fields that are supposed to be left fallow now litter the road ditches.

From The Daily Beast

But cider production and consumption is on the rise after a long fallow period.

From The Daily Beast

Professionally, Vidal's last decade while not fallow was not golden.

From The Daily Beast

For the next three decades the team lay fallow, promising much, achieving nothing.

From The Daily Beast

In no farm, however, is the fallow laid aside; it is considered as indispensable for wheat, and on poor lands for rye.

From Project Gutenberg

This appears clear from Aristotle placing the bubalus with the stags and fallow deer, and not with the oxen.

From Project Gutenberg

There are many herds of them in the royal menagerie; and they produce together as freely as the fallow-deer.

From Project Gutenberg

It would be a difficult point to determine the original species of the fallow-deer.

From Project Gutenberg

The smallest roe-bucks are generally of a fallow colour, and the largest brown.

From Project Gutenberg