Exploring Fabius Township and St. Joseph County, Michigan, with side trips all over this Great Lakes state

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Tilling


It is ABC Wednesday again and the letter is T, in this case for tilling.  If you click on the photo, it will enlarge and you will be able to see part of the tractor's cab in the dust cloud.  This field is just across the road from the Cowling Road Bridge.  I wondered if tilling and plowing are the same.  In the American Heritage Dictionary, till, tilling is defined as preparing the land for raising crops by plowing, harrowing, cultivating, so this word encompasses anything done to prepare the soil.  Well, what soil is left if you are tilling very dry land.  This photo was taken at the end of last week before the badly needed rains came on Sunday.

Till by the way comes from the Old English, tilian, via the Middle English, tilen, and it is another one of those wonderful words that mean several things.  'Till we meet again is the shortened until and comes from Old Norse.  How much is in the till denotes the compartment for money in a store and also a purse or a supply of money,  And then it denotes glacial drift and the mixture of clay, sand, pebbles, boulders it brings with it.  And with that definition of till you are describing the land of Fabius Township. 

Happy T on ABC Wednesday everyone!   Click for more tours of T.

5 comments:

  1. lovely post.
    the image brings forth freshness...

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  2. Beautiful photo, sure brings memories!

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  3. Yes, words like stoop mean different thinks, rooted in different languages. Love that description of till.

    ROG, ABC Wednesday team

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  4. «Louis» appreciates the inclusion of the etymology! Nice post, Helen!

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  5. Learn something here everyday.

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