Pronunciation: free-SONE, noun
Notes: I’ve run across the word, but could not properly define it
Yesterday’s word
The word windrow, as a noun, means
- a row of raked hay laid to dry in the wind before being baled
- a row of leaves, dust, snow, or other material swept together
As a verb, it meas “to arrange in a windrow”
First usage
Our word came into English in the early 1500s
Background / Comments
Growing up on a farm, I have seen multiple windrows, but I didn’t know the name for them. It seems clear that the verb came from the noun. Moreover, I assume that the first definition is the original one, and the second definition arose from non-raked-hay materials that looked like a woodrow. The word is just “wind” and “row” put together.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 