tilth

noun

Etymology: From Middle English tilthe, from Old English tilþ, tilþe, corresponding to till + -th (abstract nominal suffix).

1. Agricultural labour; husbandry.
2. The state of being tilled, or prepared for a crop; culture.

   “The land is in good tilth and ready to plant.”

3. Cultivated land

   “Escaped from thicket and from fen at last he saw the tilth of men.”

4. 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.”