manure
n. uncountablen. animal waste, like cow or horse poop, that farmers put on soil to help plants grow.
n. animal excrement, often mixed with straw or bedding, used as organic fertiliser for crops and gardens.
The farmer spread manure over the fields to prepare for spring planting.
The smell of fresh manure hung heavy in the air as we drove past the dairy farm.
While synthetic fertilisers provide a quick nutrient boost, organic manure improves the long-term structure of the soil by increasing its ability to hold water and support beneficial microbes.
From Middle English maynouren, manuren (“to supervise, toil”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman meinourer and Old French manovrer (whence also English maneuver, or in French manœuvrer) from Vulgar Latin *manuoperare (“work by hand”), from Latin manū (“by hand”) + operārī (“to work”).