Plow (English spelling) plough

Japanese: すき(犂) - すき（英語表記）plough

A farm tool pulled by animals to cultivate land. Along with irrigation technology, the plow is said to be a notable invention in the history of agriculture, and improvements to the plow brought about a major leap in agricultural productivity. The appearance of the plow, along with the oxcart, was also an important event in the history of technology, as it was the first time that humans used a power source other than their own muscle power. In contrast to the plow, which is an animal-powered farming tool, digging sticks, hoes, and spades are called human-powered farming tools. In the first half of the 19th century, before the Industrial Revolution and the invention of the tractor, plows were sometimes pulled by steam engines in Europe and America for plowing, but today mechanical plowing using steam plows has been replaced by tractor plowing.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

役畜に牽引させて耕地を耕起する農具。灌漑技術とともに，農業史における特筆すべき発明といわれ，犂の改良が農業の生産力の大きな飛躍をもたらした。犂の登場はまた，牛車と並んで，人間が自らの筋力以外の〈動力〉を初めて使用した例として，技術史的にも重要な事件であった。畜力用耕具の犂に対し，掘棒，鍬（くわ）(耨)，鋤（すき）などは人力用耕具と呼ぶ。産業革命を経てトラクターが発明されるまでの19世紀前半には，ヨーロッパやアメリカでは蒸気機関に犂をひかせて耕起することもあったが，今日では蒸気犂による機械耕はトラクター耕に取って代わられた。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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