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Swath vs Windrow - What's the difference?

swath | windrow |

As nouns the difference between swath and windrow

is that swath is the track cut out by a scythe in mowing while windrow is a row of cut grain or hay allowed to dry in a field.

As a verb windrow is

to arrange (e.g. new-made hay) in lines or windrows.

swath

English

Alternative forms

* swathe

Noun

(en noun)
  • The track cut out by a scythe in mowing.
  • (often, figuratively) A broad sweep or expanse.
    • Five days after Hurricane Katrina, large swaths of New Orleans, such as Canal Street seen here, are still submerged in water.
  • * {{quote-news, author=(Jesse Jackson), title=In the Ferguson era, Malcolm X’s courage in fighting racism inspires more than ever, work=(The Guardian) (London), date=20 February 2015 citation
    • , passage=It is undeniable that Malcolm was a beacon of huge strength in his lifetime. He could connect with swaths of people when others could not. }}

    Usage notes

    To be distinguished from main meanings of swathe , but that is also an alternative spelling for this word.

    Related terms

    * cut a wide swath

    Anagrams

    * * *

    windrow

    English

    Noun

    (wikipedia windrow) (en noun)
  • A row of cut grain or hay allowed to dry in a field
  • A line of leaves etc heaped up by the wind
  • A similar streak of seaweed etc on the surface of the sea formed by Langmuir circulation
  • (Canadian) A line of snow or gravel left behind by the edge of a snowplow’s or grader’s blade.
  • (UK) The green border of a field, dug up in order to carry the earth on other land to mend it.

    • Verb

    (en verb)
  • To arrange (e.g. new-made hay) in lines or windrows.
  • * 1899 , January 7, correspondent P.C.M., The Louisiana Planter and Sugar Manufacturer , volume 22, number 1, “Vermilion”, page 7:
    • This cool spell favored the cane shipped to some extent, for if the weather had remained as warm for three or four days as it was Friday, all the cane that was windrowed' after the freeze would have been lost and much of it that was ' windrowed before the freeze would have met a like fate.
  • * 1979 , Ralph E. H. Sims, New Zealand Journal of Experimental Agriculture , ISSN 0301-5521, volume 7, number 4, “Comparative methods of harvesting oilseed rape”, page 79:
    • Threshing a previously windrowed' swath (' windrowing ) or cutting and threshing the crop in one operation (direct heading) are the common methods of harvesting oilseed rape.
  • * 1990 , J. A. Epps, (Transportation Research Board), NCHRP Synthesis of Highway Practice , ISSN 0547-5570, “Cold-Recycled Bituminous Concrete Using Bituminous Materials”, ISBN 0-309-04911-3, “Blade Mixing”, page 13:
    • Using a motor grader to windrow the pulverized reclaimed material.