"Cattle" also can be used in another, generic sense. I've heard it used to mean any kind of livestock (except poultry.) I understand it comes from the same ancestor word as "chattel," and originally meant anything one owned. It then (as "cattle") came to mean livestock and only fairly recently has come to mean bovine livestock exclusively.

"Corn" has followed a similar path I'm told, having originally been a generic word meaning "seed," then recently assuming the exclusive meaning of Zea mays, and that only in American English. "Kernel," "acorn," and probably others (definitely some German words) are descended from the original "seed" meaning. "Colonel" is not.

Last edited by beck123; 03/19/10 12:02 AM.
"I don't know which is worse: ignorance or apathy. And, frankly, I don't care." - Anonymous