farrow
/ˈfærəʊ/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈfærəʊ/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈfer-(ˌ)ō ˈfa-(ˌ)rō/ (ame, mw)
farrow — noun
1. a group of young pigs that were all born from one mother at the same time on a f
a group of young pigs that were all born from one mother at the same time on a farm.
Joaquín counted nine wriggling piglets in the new farrow inside the barn.
countable noun: a farrow of [number] piglets
The vet weighed each piglet in the small farrow before lunchtime.
Last spring's farrow at the Watanabe pig farm grew faster than the previous one.
Trang sold the whole farrow to a neighbouring farmer for a good price.
A healthy farrow usually has between eight and twelve pink piglets.
文法句型
a farrow of [N]
用法筆記
Mainly used by pig farmers and vets; everyday speakers say 'litter of piglets' instead. Distinguish from sense 2: this noun is the group of baby pigs themselves, not the birthing event.
常見錯誤
2. the event when a mother pig pushes her piglets out of her body and they are born
the event when a mother pig pushes her piglets out of her body and they are born.
Defne stayed in the barn all night to watch over the sow's farrow.
collocation: the sow's farrow
Two piglets sadly died during the farrow last Tuesday morning.
during the farrow (an event)
Élise prepared clean straw and warm water before her best sow's first farrow.
A normal farrow can last between three and eight hours from start to finish.
- pigging
rare informal/dialect noun for the same birthing event
- parturition
formal scientific term for any animal's birthing event
文法句型
[possessive] farrow
during the farrow
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: this refers to the act of giving birth (the event), not the group of piglets produced. Often used with possessives or with 'during the …'.
farrow — verb
- farrowpresent simple I / you / we / they
- farrows3rd person singular
- farrowing-ing form
- farrowedpast simple
1. (of a female pig) to push her babies out of her body so that they are born.
(of a female pig) to push her babies out of her body so that they are born.
The old sow farrowed eleven healthy piglets in the warm barn last night.
transitive: [sow] farrowed [number] piglets
Christopher checked the pen every two hours because the sow was about to farrow.
be about to farrow
Most sows on Tamar's farm farrow twice a year, usually in spring and autumn.
Amira's prize sow has already farrowed three large litters this year.
- give birth
general everyday phrase; works for any animal or human
- pig
rare informal verb meaning to give birth to piglets; very dialectal
文法句型
[sow] farrows
[sow] farrows [piglets]
用法筆記
Subject is almost always a sow or female pig; other animals 'give birth' or are named with species-specific verbs (cows calve, sheep lamb). Often appears in the progressive ('is farrowing') when describing an active birth.
常見錯誤
farrow — adjective
- farrowpositive
- farrowercomparative
- farrowestsuperlative
1. describing a female pig that is not carrying babies inside her body.
describing a female pig that is not carrying babies inside her body.
Nila separated the farrow sows from the pregnant ones for easier feeding.
attributive: a farrow sow
The buyer wanted only farrow sows that were ready to breed again soon.
Putri checked each pig and marked the farrow ones with a small blue tag.
On Jack's farm, every farrow sow gets a vet check before the next mating season.
- open
modern pig-farming term for a sow that is not pregnant; preferred in commercial farming today
- non-pregnant
plain general term used for any female animal or person
文法句型
a farrow [sow]
[sow] is farrow
用法筆記
Used almost exclusively in pig farming; do not apply to other animals or to humans. Despite the shared spelling, this adjective is etymologically a different word from the noun 'farrow' (litter); the two converged in modern English.