ploughman

A ploughman is a man whose job is to plough fields, turning the soil before seeds are planted. The word is mostly old-fashioned now and often appears in historical writing, stories, poems, or discussions of traditional farming. It brings to mind country life, hard outdoor work, and the older days when horses or oxen pulled the plough. In modern English, people are more likely to say "farmer" or describe the specific farm job, but "ploughman" is still understood and still appears in cultural phrases such as "ploughman's lunch."

The word "ploughman" refers to a man who ploughs land, especially as part of farm work. He prepares the ground for planting by cutting and turning the soil with a plough. In older times, this was usually done with a horse- or ox-drawn plough, so the word often carries a strong historical and rural feeling. The spelling "ploughman" is standard in British English; in American English, "plowman" is more common.

The word is common in writing about traditional agriculture, village life, and older social history. It can also appear in literature and folk songs, where the figure of the ploughman often suggests honest work, simplicity, and a close connection to the land. Because farming methods have changed, the word is less common in everyday speech today, but readers still meet it in historical novels, poems, and set phrases.

One well-known example is "ploughman's lunch," the name of a simple cold meal associated with the countryside in Britain. Even there, the word keeps its older farming feel. In most cases, though, the meaning is straightforward: a ploughman is a farm worker, usually understood as a man from an earlier time, whose work was to plough the fields.