Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a derog. term for a (fat) woman; occas. of a man (see cit. 1972).

1533		J. Heywood Play of Weather in Farmer (1905) 101: A Gentleman, in yonder corner, / And, as I think, his name is Master Horner / A hunter he is, and cometh to make you sport. He would hunt a sow or twain out of this sort. (Here he pointeth to the women).
1694		J. Crowne Married Beau IV i: Oh! th’impudent nasty Sow!
1702		Vanbrugh False Friend Act I: The fat over-grown Sow, has an Air of Importance.
1725		Bailey (trans.) Erasmus’ Colloquies 261: The Husband, instead of my dear Soul, has been call’d Blockhead [...] and the Wife Sow, Fool, dirty Drab.
1764		E. Chicken Collier’s Wedding 24: They call her Bitch, and Jade, and Sow.
1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1823		‘Jon Bee’ Dict. of the Turf, the Ring, the Chase, etc. 163: Sow — [...] is cast opprobriously without discrimination at any full-grown lady of the apple-stall or old clothes’ shop.
1842		Wkly Rake (NY) 26 Nov. n.p.: the rake wants to knowWho came it over an old sow in Church-street with a brass medal.
1846		Proc. Old Bailey 30 Mar. 990: He called me a b—old sow, a b—cow, and used other expressions.
1856		Life in Boston & N.Y. (Boston, MA) 23 Aug. n.p.: [R]unning after the nastiest old sows in Boston.
1865		Leaves from Diary of Celebrated Burglar 17/2: I’ll learn thee to ‘namase’ with the ‘stuff’ what I get, and give it way to a rotten sow like that.
1926		Wood & Goddard Dict. Amer. Sl. 52: sow. A woman not liked.
1934		H. Miller Tropic of Cancer (1963) 121: Don’t mind her [...] she’s just a big sow.
1959		D. Niland Gold in the Streets (1966) 92: Okay, you silly little sow.
1972		B. Rodgers Queens’ Vernacular 187: sow 1. any fat homosexual.
1989		Viz June/July 35: And make sure my egg is soft boiled, you dozy old sow!
1993		I. Welsh Trainspotting 19: Next tae Mikey is an evil-looking bastard, whose eyes are on the bloated sow.
2011		D.R. Pollock Devil All the Time 185: [H]e wished he had met her before he ever married the old sow.

2. a general term of abuse, irrespective of gender.

1796		Watty and Meg 5: Nasty gude-for-naething being! / O ye snuffy, druncken sow!
1907		Sun. Times (Perth) 17 Nov. 4/8: There blasted sow wot come in ’ere an’ polled on me fer three long beers an’ arf me cigarettes.
1915		E. Pound letter 17 May in Paige (1971) 60: He is a rich man who [...] tries to ‘earn a living’, which meant he hogs a minor job which would be a living to some other man, but which wouldn’t pay for the gasoline in S----’s automobile. Blithering sow.

3. (N.Z. prison) a female police officer [added ref. too pig n. (2a)].

2001

D. Looser Boobslang [U. Canterbury D.Phil. thesis] 173/1: sow n. a female police officer.