Windrows

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Rows of agricultural products, like hay, arranged to enhance drying by allowing air and sunlight to circulate effectively
2. A structured alignment of cut vegetation placed side by side to promote drying and reduce moisture through better ventilation
3. Long piles of natural materials such as hay or straw arranged in rows to aid in drying or collection

Etymology: Windrows is the plural of "windrow," a compound of "wind" and "row." The "wind" element comes from Old English "wind," which goes back to a Proto-Germanic root meaning the moving air itself. The "row" element descends from Old English "rǣw," a line or series arranged side by side, so the whole word literally describes a line laid out by the wind's action or, more often, by a farmer's rake or machine working with it. The practical logic is what gives the word its shape. Cut hay or straw was left in the field to dry, and a windrow was a deliberate line of it, gathered into a ridge so that air could pass through and the crop could cure evenly before baking in the sun. The word therefore names a working arrangement of the field, not a natural formation, even though the drying itself depends on the breeze.

Synonyms: row, lines, bunches, piles, heaps