cow

views updated May 23 2018

cow1 / kou/ • n. a fully grown female animal of a domesticated breed of ox, used as a source of milk or beef: a dairy cow. See cattle. ∎  (loosely) a domestic bovine animal, regardless of sex or age. ∎  (in farming) a female domestic bovine animal that has borne more than one calf. Compare with heifer. ∎  the female of certain other large animals, for example elephant, rhinoceros, whale, seal, or reindeer. ∎  inf., derog. a woman, esp. a fat or stupid one: what does he see in that cow?PHRASES: have a cow inf. become angry, excited, or agitated.till the cows come home inf. for an indefinitely long time.cow2 • v. [tr.] (usu. be cowed) cause (someone) to submit to one's wishes by intimidation: the intellectuals had been cowed into silence.

cow

views updated May 14 2018

cow a cow is the emblem of St Bridget of Ireland and St Perpetua, a 3rd-century martyr of Carthage, who was gored by a mad heifer in her martyrdom.

In Egyptian mythology, the goddess Hathor may be represented as a cow; in Greek mythology, Io was turned into a heifer by Zeus to protect her from Hera.
why buy a cow when milk is so cheap? an argument for choosing the least troublesome alternative; frequently used as an argument against marriage. The saying is recorded from the mid 17th century. With why keep a dog, and bark yourself?, it is one of the few proverbs in the form of a rhetorical question. (Compare also, a slice off a cut loaf isn't missed.)

See also a bellowing cow soon forgets her calf, better a good cow than a cow of a good kind, sacred cow, three acres and a cow.

cow

views updated May 21 2018

cow 1 female bovine animal. OE. = OS. (Du. koe), OHG. kuo (G. kuh), ON. kýr :- Gmc. *kō(u)z :- IE. *gwōus, whence also Skr. gāú-, Arm. kov, Gr. boûs, L. bōs, OIr. , Latv. gùovs. The normal descendant of the mutated OE. pl. cȳ is north. kye; the form kine (now arch.) descends from a ME. (XIII) extension of this with -n from the weak decl.

cow

views updated May 09 2018

cow Mature female cattle that produce more than one calf. It also applies to other mammals, such as elephants and seals.

Cow

views updated May 23 2018

Cow

a bunch of twigs; a birch or besom of twigs.

Examples: cow of heather, 1651; of birch; of broom; of twigs.

cow

views updated May 11 2018

cow 2 depress with fear. XVII. prob. — ON. kúga oppress, tyrannize over.

Cow

views updated May 29 2018

Cow character-oriented windows