# what beast is a bovine? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 20, 2000, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-beast-is-a-bovine/10811 "2000-04-20T07:59:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![fbagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7c8e57/32.png) [@fbagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fbagner)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2000, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-beast-is-a-bovine/10811/1 "2000-04-20T07:59:00Z")
Female pigs are sows Male pigs are boars Female sheep are ewe Male sheep are ram Now, female \*\*\*\*\* are cows and male \*\*\*\*\* are bulls. What are \*\*\*\*\*? Bovine? ---
**Author:** ![Trout\_Mask\_Replica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a88e57/32.png) [@Trout\_Mask\_Replica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trout_Mask_Replica)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2000, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-beast-is-a-bovine/10811/2 "2000-04-20T08:14:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by fbagner: > \*\*What are \*\*\ ***? Bovine?** Cattle? * * * **TMR** _If you believed in yourself, and tore enough holes in your pants, there was always a mist-filled alley right around the corner._ ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2000, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-beast-is-a-bovine/10811/3 "2000-04-20T11:00:00Z")
**Correct!** You win… a _priiiiiize!!!_ Just choose one from behind one of these three doors. You _could_ win… John? **"A new carrrrrrrrr!!!"** * * * [The Legend Of PigeonMan](http://www.hotkey.net.au/~guanolad/pigeonman/) - **Shadow of the Pigeon** - Weirdo of the Night ---
**Author:** ![funneefarmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@funneefarmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/funneefarmer)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2000, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-beast-is-a-bovine/10811/4 "2000-04-20T11:10:00Z")
[[http://www.tc.umn.edu/~puk/cowguide.html](http://www.tc.umn.edu/~puk/cowguide.html)]A Field Guide To Cows (Bovine) For a list of the various bovine breeds. ---
**Author:** ![funneefarmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@funneefarmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/funneefarmer)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2000, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-beast-is-a-bovine/10811/5 "2000-04-20T11:11:00Z")
Grrrr Retry… [A Field Guide To Cows (Bovine)](http://www.tc.umn.edu/~puk/cowguide.html) For a list of the various bovine breeds. ---
**Author:** ![Beruang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/77aa72/32.png) [@Beruang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beruang)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2000, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-beast-is-a-bovine/10811/6 "2000-04-20T13:35:00Z")
One may also find enlightenment, as one so very often does, in the works of the Master: [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3\_097b.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_097b.html) * * * “The dawn of a new era is felt and not measured.” Walter Lord ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2000, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-beast-is-a-bovine/10811/7 "2000-04-20T16:21:00Z")
Yeah, “cow” is the generic, and there is no specific word commonly used for the female of the animal. But it’s certainly not the only example of an animal with a specific name for only one gender, which is what the original poster seemed to be in a quandry about: dog = dog or bitch. And it’s probably not the only example of an animal with a specific name only for the male. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of a specific name for a female cat. If it exists, it’s not as common as male cat = tom. BTW, why view of non-existence of the specific term as being a triumph for that gender? I guess it depends on whether you view the more specific term as “distinguishing” or “stigmatizing”. ---
**Author:** ![Turpentine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Turpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turpentine)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2000, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-beast-is-a-bovine/10811/8 "2000-04-20T16:36:00Z")
This question was in The Straight Dope! Cecil suggested “cattlebeast”, then he got a bunch of letters that suggested other things. I think the final answer seemed to be that there was no proper term for “cattlebeast”, the closest thing was “cow.” Then again, there is rarely a need to refer to the cattlebeast as such, since to specify the sex of the animal as cow or steer is usually sufficient for most purposes. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2000, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-beast-is-a-bovine/10811/9 "2000-04-20T16:40:00Z")
The Merriam-Webster Online Collegiate Thesaurus gives the following synonyms for “cat”: > [@](#): > > \*\* > Entry Word: | |cat > Function: noun > Text: Synonyms MAN 3, | |bloke, boy, buck, chap, fellow, | |gee, gent, gentleman, guy \*\* Now I’m even more confused than I was before. Going to lunch now… * * * “Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast!” - the White Queen ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2000, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-beast-is-a-bovine/10811/10 "2000-04-21T05:11:00Z")
There is a specific word for a pregnant female cat - “queen” - but I can’t think of one for all female cats in general. I just call mine “girls.” ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2000, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-beast-is-a-bovine/10811/11 "2000-04-21T05:38:00Z")
At the Westminster Kennel Club show, the two genders of dogs were “Bitches” and “Dogs”. In horse racing, a three-year old (or older) male with all his “parts” is a “horse”. The American Cat Fanciers Association uses the terms “male” and “female” if the cat still has the original factory equipment. Other cats are referred to as “neuters” or “spays.” ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2000, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-beast-is-a-bovine/10811/12 "2000-04-20T18:06:00Z")
> [@](#): > > This may be the only remnant in English of the gender parity more common in archaic speech. Cow may be the last word left which means both “female animal” and “generic animal.” This is not true. Goose is both the female and the generic animal. And this remnant is not due to gender parity but rather simple economics. Female cows and geese were more important than male cows and geese. ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2000, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-beast-is-a-bovine/10811/13 "2000-04-20T18:34:00Z")
Let’s say you’re driving through farm country and you see a bunch of cattle. You might exclaim to your spouse, “Oh look, honey, cows!” Well, in all likelihood, the herd you see _is_ mostly or completely cows, since there are usually a lot less bulls in a herd than cows, and they don’t usually hang out together. Maybe that’s why we refer to all of them as female - because the ones we usually see, are. Obviously this theory collapses if, when you see a horned animal with a ring in its nose, stamping the ground, and running after a guy with a red cape, you still call it a “cow.” But I grew up around a lot of farm people, and I don’t recall any of them ever referring to a bull as a cow. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2000, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-beast-is-a-bovine/10811/14 "2000-04-20T18:41:00Z")
To extend this, my father used to be a dairy farmer. If he sees a herd of Holsteins, he calls them “cows.” However, as we once drove up Interstate 5 in Central California and passed a large cattle ranch, we referred to the enormous number of “cows.” He quickly corrected us and told us to call them “steers.” You do rarely see a bunch of bulls together unless it’s in a facility designed to gather semen. I don’t believe bulls get along well each other. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2000, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-beast-is-a-bovine/10811/15 "2000-04-20T19:51:00Z")
The dairy farmer (I grew up around them, too), will often use the more specific subdivision of cow, “heifer” as well, since they often have cause to deal with them separately. Curious bit of terminology - a newborn calf is generally referred to as a “bull calf” or just a “heifer”, not a “heifer calf”, though technically, the animal is a heifer until it has a calf itself (I suppose if it wasn’t bred, it wouldn’t be young enough to be a heifer at some point, but cows on a dairy farm don’t have this option). ---
**Author:** ![aseymayo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@aseymayo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aseymayo)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2000, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-beast-is-a-bovine/10811/16 "2000-04-20T20:28:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Now, female \*\*\*\*\* are cows > and male \*\*\*\*\* are bulls. > > What are \*\*\*\*\*? Elephants. ---
**Author:** ![fbagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7c8e57/32.png) [@fbagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fbagner)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2000, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-beast-is-a-bovine/10811/17 "2000-04-20T22:19:00Z")
ex-see-lent. i see that i’ve received many-a-reply with many-a-differing answer. thanks to all that replied! ---
**Author:** ![coosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@coosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coosa)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2000, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-beast-is-a-bovine/10811/18 "2000-04-21T01:53:00Z")
Re cats: Females are queens, males are toms. A rarely used word for a neutered male is ‘gib’. In the cat fancy and among many veterinarians, ‘queen’ is usually reserved for intact breeding females. For some reason, ‘tom’ is usually used together with ‘cat’ as ‘tom cat’. Most cat breeders seem to refer to their intact breeding males as ‘studs’. Guess it sounds better than ‘tom’. Altered cats are usually called ‘spays’ (female) and ‘neuters’ (male). As a group, they are usually called ‘alters’. There’s a TICA cat show in Atlanta next weekend if any one wants to go see a bunch of different kinds of cats! * * * God is love. Love is blind. Ray Charles is blind. Therefore, Ray Charles is God. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2000, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-beast-is-a-bovine/10811/19 "2000-04-21T05:29:00Z")
Ducks as well as cows are female and generic. A male duck is a drake. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2000, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-beast-is-a-bovine/10811/20 "2000-04-21T06:39:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by fbagner: > \*\* > > Now, female \*\*\*\*\* are cows > and male \*\*\*\*\* are bulls. > > What are \*\*\ ***? Bovine?** The term you want is “beef” (plural “beeves”). This word refers to any bovine, female, male, or castrated male, whether the beast is raised for meat or for milk. Didn’t you ever watch _Bonanza_? * * * Work is the curse of the drinking classes. (Oscar Wilde) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-beast-is-a-bovine/10811.md?page=2)