cow

cow
\ \ English has two completely distinct words cow. The commoner, ‘female of cattle’ [OE], is a word of very ancient ancestry. It goes back via West and North Germanic *kōuz to a hypothetical Indo-European *gwōus, which was also the source of Latin bōs (from which English gets bovine, beef, and bugle, not to mention Bovril). In modern English its plural is cows, but Old English cū had an anomalous plural, cy, which in the remodelled form kine survived dialectally into the 20th century. The other cow, ‘intimidate, daunt’ [17], probably comes from Old Norse kúga ‘oppress’.
\ \ Cf.⇒ BEEF, BOVINE, BUGLE

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Cow — COW, sigle composé des trois lettres C, O et W, peut faire référence à : Coquimbo au Chili, selon la liste des codes AITA des aéroports, Copy On Write, une stratégie d optimisation utilisée en programmation informatique. Chat Over the World …   Wikipédia en Français

  • cow — cow1 [kou] n. [ME cou, cow, pl. kye (southern doubled pl. kyn) < OE cū, pl. cy < IE base * gwou , cow, ox > Sans gauḥ, Gr bous, L bos, OIr bo, Ger kuh] 1. the mature female of domestic cattle (genus Bos), valued for its milk 2. the… …   English World dictionary

  • COW — COW, sigle composé des trois lettres C, O et W, peut faire référence à : Coquimbo au Chili, selon la liste des codes AITA des aéroports, Copy On Write, une stratégie d optimisation utilisée en programmation informatique. Chat Over the World …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Cow — Cow, n. [Prob. from same root as cow, v. t.] (Mining) A wedge, or brake, to check the motion of a machine or car; a chock. Knight. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Cow — Cow, n.; pl. {Cows} (kouz); old pl. {Kine} (k[imac]n). [OE. cu, cou, AS. c[=u]; akin to D. koe, G. kuh, OHG. kuo, Icel. k[=y]r, Dan. & Sw. ko, L. bos ox, cow, Gr. boy^s, Skr. g[=o]. [root]223. Cf. {Beef}, {Bovine}, {Bucolic}, {Butter},… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Cow — (kou), n. [See {Cowl} a hood.] A chimney cap; a cowl [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Cow — Cow, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Cowed} (koud); p. pr. & vb. n. {Cowing}.] [Cf. Icel. kuga, Sw. kufva to check, subdue, Dan. kue. Cf. {Cuff}, v. t.] To depress with fear; to daunt the spirits or courage of; to overawe. [1913 Webster] To vanquish a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • COW — копирование при записи (англ. Copy on write) COW диалект языка программирования Brainfuck …   Википедия

  • cow — Ⅰ. cow [1] ► NOUN 1) a fully grown female animal of a domesticated breed of ox. 2) the female of certain other large animals, such as the elephant or whale. 3) informal, derogatory a woman. 4) Austral./NZ an unpleasant person or thing. ● …   English terms dictionary

  • cow|er — «KOW uhr», intransitive verb. 1. to crouch or draw back in fear or shame: »The dog cowered under the table after being whipped by its master. SYNONYM(S): cringe, quail. 2. to draw back tremblingly from another s threats or blows. SYNONYM(S):… …   Useful english dictionary

  • cow|ry — cow|rie or cow|ry «KOW ree», noun, plural ries. 1. the brightly colored, smooth shell of a tropical mollusk, used as money in some parts of Africa and Asia: »The cowry, aristocrat among shells, is noted for its high natural polish (Science News… …   Useful english dictionary

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