Stouke

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. A bundle of harvested grain stalks propped upright in a group to dry in the field ; to set cut sheaves upright together in such groups
2. A small upright cluster of cut cereal sheaves left standing in a field ; to gather and prop sheaves into these clusters so they can dry
3. A sheaf-built heap of grain stood on end to ripen in the open air ; the act of arranging cut sheaves into these upright groupings

Etymology: "Stouke" is a Scots and northern English word for a stack of sheaves set upright in a field so the grain could dry before threshing. The name comes from Middle English "stouk" or "stook," probably of Scandinavian origin, related to Old Norse "stúka," a word for a shock or heap, and possibly tied to the idea of standing up or propping. Early forms are recorded in northern dialects, which is why the word stayed strongest in Scotland and the north of England while farmers further south used other terms. The verb sense follows naturally from the noun: to stook is to gather sheaves and set them up in this way. Harvest workers who did this work, often in the autumn fields, were said to be stooking, and the word carried the rhythm and labour of that season with it.