What does farrowed mean?
Farrowed is the past tense and past participle of the verb 'to farrow', the specialized farming term meaning to give birth to a litter of piglets. It is used almost exclusively of sows — much as 'calved' applies to cattle and 'lambed' to sheep — making it one of several traditional English verbs that pair each domestic animal with its own word for bearing young. The term is standard vocabulary among pig farmers, veterinarians, and in agricultural writing, where phrases like 'the sow farrowed a litter' are routine; outside those contexts it is rarely encountered. The word carries no strong connotation beyond its practical, husbandry-related use, though it evokes the rhythms of traditional livestock keeping. Its noun counterpart, 'farrow', denotes both an individual piglet and a litter. A related term, 'farrowing crate', refers to the pen in which sows are housed at birth time. For anyone reading agricultural texts or discussing pig production, knowing 'farrowed' is genuinely useful.
verbGiven birth to a litter of piglets. 'Farrowed' is the past tense of the verb 'farrow', used chiefly of sows.
- (of a sow) having given birth to a litter of piglets.
"The sow farrowed eleven healthy piglets early on Tuesday morning."
"The sow farrowed eleven healthy piglets early on Tuesday morning."
"By the time the stockman arrived, the gilt had already farrowed without assistance."
A sow doesn't just 'give birth' — she farrows, using a word farmers have passed down since the days of Old English pig-keeping.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of farrowed
The word descends from Middle English 'farre(n)', meaning a piglet or young pig, which itself goes back to an Old English root; it shares a common Germanic origin with the modern German 'Ferkel', also meaning piglet. Over time the noun came to be used both for a single piglet and for a litter, and a derived verb developed meaning to produce such a litter. It has remained part of the agricultural lexicon of Britain and North America ever since.
Related word forms
How farrowed is actually used
'Farrowed' belongs almost entirely to agricultural and veterinary register — it is the standard term among pig farmers but would sound out of place in everyday conversation. It applies only to pigs; other livestock have their own birthing verbs (a cow calves, a ewe lambs).
Easily confused with farrowed
'Furrowed' describes something grooved or wrinkled (or ploughed into furrows), while 'farrowed' means having given birth to a litter of piglets.