tillage
TIL-idj
/ˈtɪlɪdʒ/
The preparation of land for growing crops by plowing, digging, or stirring.
While traditional, 'excessive tillage' is now seen as harmful because it destroys soil structure and releases carbon.
The story behind the word. From the Old English 'tilian', which meant to strive after, labor, or gain. It shows that for our ancestors, 'striving' and 'working the land' were essentially the same thing.
Word relationships
- plowing: Plowing is a specific type of tillage using a plow; tillage is the general category.
- no-till: No-till is a farming method that avoids disturbing the soil entirely to protect its health.
Commonly confused with
- cultivation: Cultivation is the whole process of tending the crop; tillage is specifically the soil preparation.
Word family
- till (verb): To prepare and cultivate land for crops.
Collocations
- no-tillage
- conservation tillage
- intensive tillage
Example sentences
- "Tillage is the agricultural preparation of soil by mechanical agitation of various types, such as digging, stirring, and overturning." A technical definition of the process.
Memory hook
You 'till' the soil until it's ready. Tillage is the 'age' of the tilling process. Tillage = Turning the earth.
When not to use
Don't use it to mean 'planting'; it's the preparation of the ground before planting.
Fun facts
- The 'Dust Bowl' of the 1930s was caused in part by excessive tillage, which turned the topsoil into fine dust that blew away in the wind.
Related words
Explore more words
arable, cultivate, slash-and-burn, monoculture, fallow, rotation
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