Fal"low (?), a. [AS. fealu, fealo, pale yellow or red; akin to D. vaal fallow, faded, OHG. falo, G. falb, fahl, Icel. fölr, and prob. to Lith. palvas, OSlav. plavŭ white, L. pallidus pale, pallere to be pale, Gr. polio`s gray, Skr. palita. Cf. Pale, Favel, a., Favor.] 1. Pale red or pale yellow; as, a fallow deer or greyhound. Shak.

2. [Cf. Fallow, n.] Left untilled or unsowed after plowing; uncultivated; as, fallow ground.

Fallow chat, Fallow finch(Zoöl.), a small European bird, the wheatear (Saxicola œnanthe). See Wheatear.

Fal"low, n. [So called from the fallow, or somewhat yellow, color of naked ground; or perh. akin to E. felly, n., cf. MHG. valgen to plow up, OHG. felga felly, harrow.] 1. Plowed land. [Obs.]

Who . . . pricketh his blind horse over the fallows.

Chaucer.

2. Land that has lain a year or more untilled or unseeded; land plowed without being sowed for the season.

The plowing of fallows is a benefit to land.

Mortimer.

3. The plowing or tilling of land, without sowing it for a season; as, summer fallow, properly conducted, has ever been found a sure method of destroying weeds.

Be a complete summer fallow, land is rendered tender and mellow. The fallow gives it a better tilth than can be given by a fallow crop.

Sinclair.

Fallow crop, the crop taken from a green fallow. [Eng.] -- Green fallow, fallow whereby land is rendered mellow and clean from weeds, by cultivating some green crop, as turnips, potatoes, etc. [Eng.]

Fal"low (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fallowed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Fallowing.] [From Fallow, n.] To plow, harrow, and break up, as land, without seeding, for the purpose of destroying weeds and insects, and rendering it mellow; as, it is profitable to fallow cold, strong, clayey land.