DCHP-1 Online
fallow † Hist. 
1a n. a tract of land on which the trees and brush have been chopped down for burning (def. 1).
See also: burning (def. 1)
- 1826 (1916) On Jabez telling me we would need somebody to teach us how to handle oxen and to burn a fallow, I went to see Sloot, and bargained with him for a week's work.
- 1845 After this first burn, a fallow presents a blackened scene of desolation and confusion. . . .
- 1852 (1923) A logging-bee followed the burning of the fallow as a matter of course.
- 1905 During a dry spell in summer, a day was set for the "burn," when the piles in the "fallow" were set on fire.
1b n. a tract marked off for chopping (def. 1).
See also: chopping (def. 1)
- 1853 (1959) "We set sail the first o' May, an' were here in time to chop a sma' fallow for our fall crop."
- 1902 (1957) A fallow of ten acres was staked off into one acre parcels and when a teamster and a gang got their acre logged the day's work was . . . at an end with that gang.
2 n. a tract of land that has just been cleared of trees and is in crop or ready for planting.
- 1826 (1916) All week we worked at getting crop into the fallow.
- 1845 . . . our fallow [is] fenced and filled . . . the buckwheat spreading its broad leaves, and the vines of the pumpkin and cucumbers running along the rich soil. . . .
- 1826 (1916) On Jabez telling me we would need somebody to teach us how to handle oxen and to burn a fallow, I went to see Sloot, and bargained with him for a week's work.