I. ˈfa(ˌ)lō, -_lə, often -_ləw+V adjective
Etymology: Middle English falow, from Old English fealo, fealu; akin to Old High German falo pale, faded, dun-colored, fallow, Old Saxon falu, Old Norse fölr pale, fallow, Latin pallēre to be pale, Greek polios gray, Sanskrit palita gray, hoary, Old Slavic plavŭ white
: of the color fallow
a fallow greyhound
also : of any pale color or warm hue
II. noun
( -s )
: a light yellowish brown that is lighter and slightly redder and stronger than khaki, less strong and slightly yellower and darker than walnut brown, yellower and paler than cinnamon, and less strong than manila
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English falwe, falow, from Old English fealg, fealh — more at felly
1. obsolete : plowed land or a piece of it
2. : land ordinarily used for crop production when allowed to lie idle either in a tilled or untilled condition during the whole or the greater portion of the growing season
3. : the plowing or tilling of land without sowing it for a season ; also : the state or period of being fallow
summer fallow is a method of destroying weeds
IV. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English falwen, falowen, from Old English fealgian, from fealg, n.
1. obsolete : to plow (land) for sowing
2. : to plow, harrow, and break up (land) without seeding for the purpose of destroying weeds and conserving soil moisture
V. adjective
Etymology: Middle English falwe, falow, from falwe, falow, n.
1. : left untilled or unsown after plowing : uncultivated
fallow ground
2. obsolete : fit for cultivation : plowed ready for sowing
3.
a. : not pregnant
a fallow sow
b. : marked by the absence of pregnancy
a long fallow period followed by the birth of two sons in rapid succession
4.
a. : having large potential value or utility but being unused — used especially in the phrase to lie fallow
at this very moment there are probably important inventions lying fallow — Harper's
the skills of the men displaced by … up-to-date machinery will not lie fallow for long — Sam Pollack
b. : characterized by a state of creative or recuperative rest or dormancy : gathering strength while lying idle — used especially in the phrase to lie fallow
and now the period of lying fallow , of incorporating a new approach, came to an end — Dorothy Lee
the spirit that actuated the grandfather having lain fallow in the son and being refreshed by repose so as to be ready for fresh exertion in the grandson — Samuel Butler †1902
VI.
Scotland
variant of fellow