Unploughed

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Land that has not been ploughed or turned over with a plough
2. Soil or ground that remains unturned and untilled by ploughing
3. Describing earth or a field that has not undergone ploughing to break up the soil

Etymology: "Unploughed" is simply the English prefix "un-" attached to "ploughed," the past participle of "plough." The prefix "un-" is one of the oldest living parts of English: it descends from Proto-Indo-European roots for negation, passed through Proto-Germanic and Old English, and has been used to make adjectives meaning "not" ever since. Its use is so productive that writers can form a negative version of almost any participle. "Ploughed" itself is the past participle of "plough," meaning to turn over soil with a tool pulled by animals or machinery. So "unploughed" describes ground that has never been turned over, such as a field left as wild grassland or a meadow not yet broken for crops. The word is a straightforward compound with no surprising shifts in meaning, which is why it reads so transparently.

Synonyms: unplowed, unfurrowed

Antonyms: ploughed, plowed