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cow

noun
/kaʊ/US/kuː/

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws Proto-Germanic *kōz Proto-West Germanic *kō Old English cū Middle English cow English cow Inherited from Middle English cow, cou, from Old English cū (“cow”), from Proto-West Germanic *kō, from Proto-Germanic *kōz (“cow”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws (“cow”). Cognate with Sanskrit गो (go), Ancient Greek βοῦς (boûs), Persian گاو (gâv)), Latvian govs (“cow”), Proto-Slavic *govędo (Serbo-Croatian govedo, Russian говядина (govjadina, “beef”), Scots coo (“cow”), North Frisian ko, kø (“cow”), West Frisian ko (“cow”), Dutch koe (“cow”), Low German Koh, Koo, Kau (“cow”), German Kuh (“cow”), Swedish ko (“cow”), Norwegian ku (“cow”), Icelandic kýr (“cow”), Latin bōs (“ox, bull, cow”) (whence English beef), Armenian կով (kov, “cow”). Doublet of beef. The plural kine is from Middle English kyne, kyn, kuin, kiin, kien (“cows”), either a double plural of Middle English ky, kye (“cows”), equivalent to modern kye + -en, or inherited from Old English cūna (“cows', of cows”), genitive plural of cū (“cow”).

  1. inherited from cūna — “cows', of cows”
  2. inherited from kyne
  3. inherited from *gʷṓws✻
  4. inherited from *kōz✻
  5. inherited from *kō✻
  6. inherited from cū
  7. inherited from cow

Definitions

  1. An adult female of the species Bos taurus, especially one that has calved.

    • The whole herd is out to pasture right now — the cows, calves, and heifers are out back, and the bulls are down by the creek.

  2. Any member of the species Bos taurus that is not of a bucking breed or fighting breed,…

    Any member of the species Bos taurus that is not of a bucking breed or fighting breed, regardless of sex or age, including steers and calves.

    • We saw lots of cows at the farm show, including some surprisingly gigantic bulls.

  3. Beef

    Beef: the meat of cattle as food.

    • The only meat I eat is cow.
  4. ›+ 15 more definitions

    1. Any bovines or bovids generally, including yaks, buffalo, etc.

    2. A female member of other large species of mammal, including the bovines, moose, whales,…

      A female member of other large species of mammal, including the bovines, moose, whales, seals, hippos, rhinos, manatees, and elephants.

    3. A woman considered unpleasant in some way, particularly one considered nasty, stupid,…

      A woman considered unpleasant in some way, particularly one considered nasty, stupid, fat, lazy, or difficult.

      • […] the worst insult to a woman, either in London or Paris, is "cow"; a name which might even be a compliment, for cows are among the most likeable of animals.
      • Greville Preston: You've been set up, you silly cow. Now, don't let me hear any more about this unless you have absolute stand-up-in-court proof it's kosher... Mattie Storin: Pig.

    4. A chock

      A chock: a wedge or brake used to stop a machine or car.

    5. A third-year cadet at West Point.

      • When I was a cow (junior) at West Point, I dated a plebe (freshman), which is considered fraternization in the cadet realm.

    6. A fish that is very large for its species, such as a large striped bass or large bluefin…

      A fish that is very large for its species, such as a large striped bass or large bluefin tuna.

    7. To intimidate

      To intimidate; to daunt the spirits or courage of.

      • Con artists are not cowed by the law.
      • To vanquish a people already cowed.

    8. A chimney cowl.

    9. LFBOT

      LFBOT: Synonym of luminous fast blue optical transient.

    10. Acronym of copy-on-write.

    11. Acronym of chief of watch.

    12. Alternative form of C of W.

    13. Initialism of clerk of works.

    14. A surname

    15. A placename

The neighborhood

  • synonymmoo-cowfemale animal; female bovine
  • synonymdolphinetfemale animal; female dolphin
  • synonymbitch
  • synonymbugger
  • antonymbullantonym(s) of “female domesticated ox or other bovine”
  • antonymoxantonym(s) of “female domesticated ox or other bovine”
  • antonymsteerantonym(s) of “female domesticated ox or other bovine”
  • antonymheiferantonym(s) of “female domesticated ox or other bovine”
  • neighborbeef
  • neighborbovine
  • neighborbull
  • neighborcalf
  • neighborcattle
  • neighborheifer
  • neighborlow
  • neighbormoo
  • neighborox
  • neighborsteer
  • neighborveal
  • neighborcowletyoung or little

Derived

all cows eat grass, ant cow, anticow, bell cow, black cow, Blue Cow, brown cow, bull and cow, bulls and cows, bush cow, cash cow, cat-cow, cowback, cowbane, cowbarn, cow bell, cowbell, cow belt, cowberry, cow bingo, cowbird, cow bite, cow blowing, cowboy, cow bunny, cow cat, cow catcher, cowcatcher, cowchild, cow chip, cow-chip, cow-clicker, cow cocky, cow cod soup, cow college, cow corner, cow creamer, cowdom, cow-dung, cowdung · +161 more

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at cow. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01cow02breed03mate04shipmate05serving06drink07beverages08beverage09milk10cows

A definitional loop anchored at cow. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

10 hops · closes at cow

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA