English Explanatory Dictionary

cattle

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Domesticated animal of the species Bos taurus (cows, bulls, steers, oxen etc), and other hoofed mammals of the genus Bos.
  2. Certain other livestock, such as sheep, pigs or goats. Also rarely applied to horses.
  3. People who resemble domesticated bovine animals in behavior or destiny.
  4. chattel
  5. Used in restricted contexts to refer to the meat derived from cattle.
verb
  1. Ellipsis of cattle truck (“to fuck: to break, destroy”).
name
  1. A surname.

Pronunciation

kăt'l /ˈkætəl/ [ˈkʰæt(ə)ɫ] [ˈkʰæɾ(ə)ɫ] En-us-cattle.ogg

Word forms

cattle cattles cattling cattled

Etymology

From Middle English catel, from Anglo-Norman catel (“personal property”), from Old Northern French (compare French cheptel, Old French chetel, chatel, also English chattel) from Medieval Latin capitāle, from Latin capitālis (“of the head”) (whence also capital, from caput (“head”) + -alis (“-al”)). For the sense evolution, compare pecuniary and fee. Also compare Russian поголо́вье (pogolóvʹje, “total number of livestock”) from Russian голова́ (golová, “head”). Doublet of capital and chattel.

Synonyms

beef Bos bovine cattlebeast cattlehead neat kine sheeple

Related words

capital chattel Angus Bos taurus bovine bull calf cow herd ox steer cattled cattle up

Derived words

all hat and no cattle ant cattle anticattle Australian cattle dog black cattle catalo cattabu cattalo cattelo cattlebeast cattle beast cattle-buyer cattle cake cattle-cake cattle call cattle car cattle catcher cattle chamois cattle class Cattle Creek cattle crush cattle dock cattle dog cattledom cattle-drive cattle drive cattle driver cattle drover cattle egret cattle fair cattle goad cattle grid cattle grub cattleguard cattle-guard cattle guard cattlehead cattleheart cattleless cattle-like cattlelike cattlelog cattleman cattle market cattle pad cattle pen cattleperson cattle plague cattlepost cattle prod cattle-prod cattleproof cattle ranch cattle-rearing cattleshed cattle station cattle tick cattle truck cattle trucked cattle trucking
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