Middle English Dictionary Entry
harwe n.
Entry Info
| Forms | harwe n. Also haru, har(r)ou, harewe, harow(e, harrowe. Pl. harwes, etc. & harwen. |
| Etymology | OE *hearwa; ?akin to OE hyrwan to abuse, ill-treat, etc. Prob. also akin to OI herfi harrow & harfr Dan. Swed. harv, Norw. dial. horv & to MLG. MDu. harke harrow; but borrowing from either ON or MLG is unlikely on phonological grounds. |
Definitions (Senses and Subsenses)
1.
(a) A harrow for cultivating land, a drag; gon at ~, to drive a harrow; (b) fig. the Old or New Testament; the power of Love (with pun on arwe); also, in proverb; (c) ~ tind (toth), a tooth of a harrow; ~ maker, a maker of harrows [see also hors ~, oxe ~, whel ~].
Associated quotations
a
- c1300 SLeg.Inf.Chr.(LdMisc 108)1367 : Josep..Ȝwane he ouȝht on honde nam, Þat scholde to harewe oþur to plouȝ, He couþe it wurchen.
- c1350 Cmb.Ee.4.20.Nominale (Cmb Ee.4.20)400 : Homme va a la herce; M. goth at the harewe.
- (1377-8) Acc.R.Dur.in Sur.Soc.100387 : In yokys, plushone, harows, cribris, 3 s. 4 d.
- (1381) Doc.in Morsbach Origurk.4 : Jtem ii harwen wiþ iren [?ti]ndes.
- (1394) Invent.Monk-Wear.in Sur.Soc.29183 : In curia sunt..vij harows cum geris pro tractu earum.
- a1400(a1325) Cursor (Vsp A.3)12388 : Plogh and haru [Frf: harou; Trin-C: harwe] cuth he dight.
- (1417) J.Dernell in Nrf.Archaeol.15137 : Dies Mercurii, ij plowes, ij harowes, goyng all day sewyng Ry.
- a1425 *Medulla (Stnh A.1.10)25a/a : Erpica: an harwe.
- c1425(c1400) Ld.Troy (LdMisc 595)15724 : Paris & his gode Archeres..Sclow hem thikkere with her arwes Than tyndes of tre stondis in harwes.
- (1429-30) Let.Coldingham in Sur.Soc.12104 : Thomas..sall have tymbre..also for plewes and harowes for tylth made within the said lande.
- (1446) Invent.Lytham in Chet.n.s.6080 : vj ploghes, vij harrous, quereof j lackes xij teth.
- c1450(?a1400) Wars Alex.(Ashm 44)5573 : Þai ware tacchid full of tethe as tyndis ere of harows.
- (1451) Will York in Sur.Soc.45120 : De j harowe cum dentibus ferri, ij s.
- a1470 Ordin.War Hen.V in RS 55.1 (Lnsd 285)469 : Also, that nomaner man be so hardy to take fro noman gayng to the plough, harrowe, or carte, hors, mare, nor oxe, nor none other beste longyng to labour.
- ?c1475 *Cath.Angl.(Add 15562)61a : A harowe [Monson: an Harow]: Erpica.
- a1500 Henley Husb.(Sln 686)47 : When þe lande is sowen, þe harowe shall caste þe corne in þe hoolis & valeis.
b
- c1400(c1378) PPl.B (LdMisc 581)19.268 : Þis foure..harwed in an handwhile al holy scripture Wyth two harwes þat þei hadde, an olde & a newe.
- a1425 Wycl.Serm.(Bod 788)2.280 : Cristene men may seye, as þe poete seiþ in proverbe -- þe frogge seide to þe harwe, 'Cursid be so many lordis.'
- (?a1439) Lydg.FP (Bod 263)9.691 : The god of loue persed thoruh hir siht..The firy tyndis of his brennyng harwe Made the soil so pliaunt of hir thouht.
c
- (1404) Acc.R.Dur.in Sur.Soc.100398 : Item in Orreo..1 harpice cum 28 harowtynd' de ferro.
- c1425(c1400) Ld.Troy (LdMisc 595)8537 : Thei wolde his hond were an harowe-tynde.
- (1446) Invent.Lytham in Chet.n.s.6083 : iiij pykforkes, iiij harowteth of yren, viij Milnpikkez, ix horsshone ald.
- ?c1475 *Cath.Angl.(Add 15562)61a : A harowe tothe: paxillus.
- 1483 Cath.Angl.(Monson 168)176 : An Harow or a harow maker: erpicarius.
2.
(a) A frame with pegs or spikes on which skins were stretched to dry, a parchment-maker's frame; (b) a sledge or sled, a wheelless vehicle; (c) ?some kind of hurdle or wickerwork frame.
Associated quotations
a
- c1410 Medit.5 WChrist (UC 97)440 : Oure blessed fadir..suffrede hym to be streyned on the harde cros, moore dispitously & greuously þan euer was schepys skyn streyned on the wal or vp-on þe parchemyn-makeris harowe aȝens þe sonne to drye.
- c1440 Bonav.Medit.(3) (Thrn)206 : He was thus sprede o-brode one þe crosse more straite þan any parchemyne-skyne es sprede one þe harowe.
- a1500(?a1390) Mirk Fest.PP (GoughETop 4)126/18 : Cristis body..was drawon on þe crosse as ys a skyn of parchement on þe harow.
- a1500 Rolle MPass.(2) (CmbAdd 3042)100 : Þi bodi is streyned as a parchemyn-skyn upon þe harowe [Upps: a racke].
b
- a1425 *Medulla (Stnh A.1.10)66b/a : Traha: an harewe or a slede.
- (1440) PParv.(Hrl 221)228 : Harowe [vrr. Harow, harwe]:..traha..et traho [vr. traha], Anglice, a slede.
- a1475(a1450) Tourn.Tott.(Hrl 5396)203 : And sum broȝt gret harwes, Þer husbandes hom for to fech.
- ?c1475 *Cath.Angl.(Add 15562)61a : A harowe:..traha.
c
- a1475(a1450) Tourn.Tott.(Hrl 5396)66 : Ilkon toke a blak hat insted of a crest, A harow brod as a fanne [Cmb: a baskett or a panyer] aboune on þer brest.
Supplemental Materials (draft)
- a1400 Trin-C O.9.39 Recipes (Trin-C O.9.39) 42/18,20 : Sette þy skyn vpon a harrowe made for þe same þyngys in manere of a synoper tente, and takke hit wel on þat harowe and faste with a gode stronge pak þred.
Note: Antedates sense 2.(a).