tilth means agricultural labour; husbandry. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 80 out of 100.
tilth is pronounced /tɪlθ/.
Why “tilth” is a great word
TILTH — [Noun] The physical condition of soil, especially its suitability for supporting plant growth through its structure, texture, and aeration. From Middle English tilthe, from Old English tilþ, tilþe ("labor, husbandry"), corresponding to till ("to cultivate") + -th (an abstract nominal suffix). Unlike "soil" (which neutrally names the earthy material) or "husbandry" (which broadly denotes the management of a farm), tilth is the specific, hard-won reward for that labor. It is the dark, friable loam that parts like dark sugar for a seed, the sweet, damp scent of a turned furrow in spring, and the satisfying collapse of a clod under a thumb—the quiet signature of care left upon the ground, a fragile order wrested from its persistent entropy.
noun
- Agricultural labour; husbandry.
- The state of being tilled, or prepared for a crop; culture.“The land is in good tilth and ready to plant.”
- Cultivated land“Escaped from thicket and from fen at last he saw the tilth of men.”
- Rich cultivated soil.“One morning she was kneeling on an old grain sack on the wet black soil, turning the thick rich tilth over and smoothing it ready for the new lettuces.”