cow1
/kaʊ
/noun
1A fully grown female animal of a domesticated breed of ox, kept to produce milk or beef: a dairy cow...
- When rBGH gets injected into dairy cows, milk production increases by as much as 10-15%.
- The dairy needs 130,000 cows to provide enough milk every year.
- This genetically modified hormone was designed to increase milk production in dairy cows.
1.1(Loosely) a domestic bovine animal, regardless of sex or age.A close relative of the domestic cow, Banteng have curvy horns and white ‘stockings’ on their legs....
- In this regard it should be noted that cows slaughtered under the Scheme account for 31% of the total.
- Conventional farmers feed dairy and beef cows grain and corn and sometimes cow by-products to increase the protein in their diet.
1.2(In farming) a female domestic bovine animal which has borne more than one calf. Compare with heifer.Suckler cows with calves will also benefit from early turnout provided the fields are sheltered and dry and you take steps to prevent tetany....
- Heifers also meet with good demand and the trade for suckler cows and calves was ‘exceptional’.
- For suckler cows with calves, the biggest risk now is grass tetany.
1.3The female of certain other large animals, for example elephant, rhinoceros, whale, or seal.When we pass a rock where a seal cow has just had a pup, we spot them out swimming, the baby piggy-backing on its mother's back....
- A handler was killed by an elephant cow which was being used on a film set in Broederstroom on Sunday.
- While elephants are indisputably social animals the social lives of males and females - bulls and cows - may be contrasted.
2 informal An unpleasant or disliked woman.Do you know that stupid cow gave me a 17 out of 20 on my last quiz?...
- I'd give anything to be able to spend a week with my parents again, you don't know how lucky you are you stupid cow.
- She's a shameless flirt and might I add, a stupid cow.
2.1Australian /NZ An unpleasant person or thing.Why one of the silly cows didn't call me on Tuesday to ask where I was is beyond me....
- In my experience, all women with hyphenated names are cows by default, but Emma-Kate was just terrible.
- The 20 babes being absolute cows to each other is unedifying for all.
Phrases
a cow of a ——
have a cow
till the cows come home
Origin
Old English cū, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch koe and German Kuh, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin bos and Greek bous.
The female animal is an Old English word. The verb cow, meaning ‘to intimidate’, is a different word, probably from Old Norse kúga ‘to oppress’. See also bull. The expression till the cows come home, ‘for an indefinitely long time’, dates from at least the 16th century. ‘I warrant you lay a bed [in bed] till the cows came home’, wrote Jonathan Swift in 1738.
Rhymes
cow2
/kaʊ/verb [with object]
Cause (someone) to submit to one’s wishes by intimidation: the intellectuals had been cowed into silence...
- But we have reached a frightening turning point if artists are cowed into silence by violence and threats.
- Would we do it if we were not cowed by the threat of a US backlash?
- Garang had a broad impassive face; he cultivated a ponderous dignity that often cowed his opponents.
Synonyms
intimidate, daunt, browbeat, bully, badger, dragoon, bludgeon, tyrannize, overawe, awe, dismay, dishearten, unnerve, subdue, scare, terrorize, frighten, petrify
informal psych out, bulldoze, railroad
Origin
Late 16th century: probably from Old Norse kúga 'oppress'.