plowshares

Soil-turning implements

A plowshare is the cutting blade of a plow, the part that slices into the soil.

The word appears most often in the biblical phrase beat swords into plowshares, meaning to convert instruments of war into tools for peaceful agriculture.

This phrase has become a widely used metaphor for disarmament or the transition from conflict to peace.

The spelling ploughshare is standard in British English.

agriculture

furrow

Narrow trench in earth

  • harrowToothed soil-breaking implement
  • seedbedPrepared ground for sprouting
  • discingTilling with rotating blades

cultivation · tractor · sower · moldboard · oxen · yoke · furrowing · ridging · hoeing · coulter

peace

disarmament

Reducing or eliminating weapons

treaties · diplomacy · reconciliation · ceasefire · truce · denuclearization · accords · peacemaking · conversion · Isaiah

soil

furrow

Narrow trench in earth

  • earthSoil or electrical grounding
  • loamFertile soil mixture
  • topsoilNutrient-rich surface earth

clay · silt · turning · tilling · breaking · aeration · trench · humus · compaction · drainage

symbolism

transformation

Thorough change in form

biblical · prophecy · Isaiah · Micah · allegory · metaphor · rebirth · postwar · conversion · civilian

Categories
Opposites
war vs. peace implements

plowsharesswords

Edged fighting weapons

spears · weapons · arms · armaments · missiles

destruction vs. creation

plowsharesengines of war

Military combat machinery

agricultural function

plowsharesscythes

Curved blades for mowing

sickles · harrows · hoes · rakes · seeders

Phrases
Family

plowshare

Familiarity
Top 200,000
Profile
Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G