farm
Definitions
An area of land, with its buildings, used for growing crops or raising animals.
农场；农庄。
To use land for growing crops or raising animals.
耕种；务农；经营农场。
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedFrom Old French ferme, a 'fixed rent / lease' (from Latin firmāre, 'to fix, settle' — the same root as firm and confirm). To 'farm' land once meant to rent it for a fixed payment; since the renters worked the land, the word slid from the lease to the land itself, and then to the act of cultivating it.
Root farm still carries 5 more wordsWhy It Means This
The agricultural meaning is a historical accident. farm began as a financial term — a fixed rent paid for leased land, from Latin firmāre ('to settle'). The tenants who held land on these fixed-rent terms happened to be the ones plowing and planting, so the word gradually transferred from the payment arrangement to the land and the work. The original money sense now hides in plain sight in phrases like 'tax farming.'
Common Collocations
- 1.dairy farm奶牛场
- 2.farm animals农场动物
- 3.run a farm经营农场
- 4.farm land农田
- 5.fish farm养鱼场
Example Sentences
- 1.
They run a small dairy farm in the hills.
- 2.
Her family has farmed this valley for generations.
- 3.
Most of the wheat is grown on large industrial farms.
- 4.
After the city, he wanted to farm and live off the land.
Synonym Comparison
- farm — general: land plus buildings for crops or animals
- ranch — large farm for raising livestock (cattle, sheep, horses), esp. in the Americas
- plantation — large estate growing a single cash crop (sugar, coffee, cotton), often in the tropics
- orchard — land planted specifically with fruit trees