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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 2
stranger
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OP
stranger
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 2 |
Hello All
I know this may sound a dumb question but something is puzzling me about a wonderful farm animal that we all know and many including myself love to eat.
The Male is called a Bull
The Female is called a Cow
In plural they are called Cattle
But what is the animals name in its singlar tense? Not in Latin but in English. If the word Cow refers to the female then that cannot be it, there must be another word surely!?
Wikipedia has told me much about Latin names and classifications for this animal but what is it's name is in English is puzzling me. Anybody able to help ?
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Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 724
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 724 |
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
check your favorite dictionary again; it will usually give something like this as a second meaning for cow:
2 : a domestic bovine animal regardless of sex or age [MWCD]
(in Old English the singular form of kine was cu)
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Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,948 Likes: 3
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,948 Likes: 3 |
----please, draw me a sheep----
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295 |
I once thought a cow was a cow and more of them were cows.
A bull was a bull and more of them was bulls.
And cattle was the whole menagery that walks on four legs together. But reading this I don't know head from tail anymore.
I wonder , LukeJavan if that steer is gonna draw you a sheep.
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Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,948 Likes: 3
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,948 Likes: 3 |
There is a newspaper comic here called "Boy and Cow" and the
Cow is quite intelligent. Probably could draw a sheep.
----please, draw me a sheep----
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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 2
stranger
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OP
stranger
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 2 |
So this animal shall remain nameless.
If anybody has herd any different and it is not bull then please bring this old heffer in the barn for milking and blow the horn so we can all chew over the cud together.
Ok I'll get my suede jacket about now......
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Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,948 Likes: 3
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,948 Likes: 3 |
And please don't steer us wrong.
----please, draw me a sheep----
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027 |
So this animal shall remain nameless - not really. In technical language (statistics etc), reference is commonly made to bovines. Bovine is a noun as well as an adjective.
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Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,948 Likes: 3
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,948 Likes: 3 |
----please, draw me a sheep----
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