# Terms for Bos Taurus **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 22, 2019, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-for-bos-taurus/845211 "2019-12-22T00:44:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-for-bos-taurus/845211/1 "2019-12-22T00:44:22Z")
A cow that identifies a bull is a transbull. And a bull that identifies as a cow is a transcow. But what would you call a non-binary agendered _Bos Taurus_? (I don’t think freemartin is the word I’m looking for; that term is too specific.) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-for-bos-taurus/845211/2 "2019-12-22T00:51:35Z")
Beef (plural “beeves”) Kine Bovine Ox ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-for-bos-taurus/845211/3 "2019-12-22T01:03:33Z")
That sounds like a question for Gary Larsen. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-for-bos-taurus/845211/4 "2019-12-22T03:20:37Z")
> [@Ynnad](#): > > A cow that identifies a bull is a transbull. And a bull that identifies as a cow is a transcow. But what would you call a non-binary agendered _Bos Taurus_? (I don’t think freemartin is the word I’m looking for; that term is too specific.) Ferdinand? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-for-bos-taurus/845211/5 "2019-12-22T05:03:51Z")
And what would their pronouns be? Bo, be, bos, bom / boms ? ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-for-bos-taurus/845211/6 "2019-12-22T06:04:39Z")
> [@Ynnad](#): > > A cow that identifies a bull is a transbull. And a bull that identifies as a cow is a transcow. But what would you call a non-binary agendered _Bos Taurus_? (I don’t think freemartin is the word I’m looking for; that term is too specific.) I’d ask the animal if it had a preference, and be guided by that. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-for-bos-taurus/845211/7 "2019-12-22T15:45:48Z")
> [@Ynnad](#): > > But what would you call a non-binary agendered _Bos Taurus_? Non-binary: omnibove. Agendered: traditionally, called a steer. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-for-bos-taurus/845211/8 "2019-12-22T15:59:56Z")
cow heifer calf bull steer ox beeves bovine kine cattle taurus aurochs Lotta words, there. I think you can call the agender and nonbinary ones kine, cattle, or bovine. The other words all seem gendered or having other connotations. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-for-bos-taurus/845211/9 "2019-12-22T16:10:23Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > And what would their pronouns be? Bo, be, bos, bom / boms ? moo ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-for-bos-taurus/845211/10 "2019-12-22T17:36:27Z")
Don’t fence it in. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2019, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-for-bos-taurus/845211/11 "2019-12-22T20:13:16Z")
This won’t be solved until they come home. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-for-bos-taurus/845211/12 "2019-12-23T04:19:29Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > cow > heifer > calf > bull > steer > ox > beeves > bovine > kine > cattle > taurus > aurochs > > Lotta words, there. I think you can call the agender and nonbinary ones kine, cattle, or bovine. The other words all seem gendered or having other connotations. This is very reminiscent of those discussions about some Guinean language having dozens of words for “yam” or Eskimos having dozens of words for variations of ice and snow, whereas English allegedly does not have any such cases. I think **Cecil** wrote about this once upon a time. Baloney. We don’t have separate words for every variation on yams and snow because ice and snow and yams aren’t all that deeply entrenched in White Western culture. But horses are. Look at all the different words we have for variations on horse – mostly age or gender specific, or specific breeds. Foal, colt, filly, stallion, mare, gelding, and all the different breed names. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terms-for-bos-taurus/845211/13 "2019-12-23T14:42:23Z")
Hey Bud, look at all those bos over there. Not “bunch”, “herd”. Heard what? A bos herd. Of course a bos heard, it’s standing right there. No …, I don’t think that quite works.