# harrow

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈhæɹəʊ/ · frequency rank #26,107

## Definitions
1. A device consisting of a heavy framework having several disks or teeth in a row, which is dragged across ploughed land to smooth or break up the soil, to remove weeds or cover seeds; a harrow plow.
2. An obstacle formed by turning an ordinary harrow upside down, the frame being buried.

## Etymology
From Middle English harwe, harow, from Old English *hearwa (perhaps ultimately cognate with harvest), or from Old Norse harfr/herfi; compare Danish harve (“harrow”), Dutch hark (“rake”). Akin to Latin carpere. According to the OED, the verb senses are partly derived from the noun sense, partly from a by-form of the verb harry, itself from Old English hergian.

## Easily confused with
- **harry** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/harrow-vs-harry)
- **horror** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/harrow-vs-horror)
- **Harris** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/harris-vs-harrow)
- **harbor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/harbor-vs-harrow)
- **Harmon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/harmon-vs-harrow)
- **Harlow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/harlow-vs-harrow)
- **hadron** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hadron-vs-harrow)
- **harlot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/harlot-vs-harrow)

## Common misspellings (7)
`ahrrow`, `harorw`, `harow`, `harroww`, `harrwo`, `hharrow`, `hrarow`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/harrow