# What exactly are oxen? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 12, 2003, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-are-oxen/201089 "2003-09-12T00:23:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Badbug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Badbug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badbug)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-are-oxen/201089/1 "2003-09-12T00:23:51Z")
I have seen oxen that look like Herfords, brown with a bald face and very stocky. I have also seen some that look more like Holsteins, rangy build with black and white. So, are oxen a breed of cattle like Holsteins and Herfords for example or just what? Seems to me as well that most cattle breeds are a specific color and I have seen different colored oxen. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-are-oxen/201089/2 "2003-09-12T00:28:32Z")
From Random House > [@](#): > > Ox: > > any of various large, bulky bovids, as > domestic cattle, water buffaloes, and > yaks, esp. a castrated adult male used > as a draft animal. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-are-oxen/201089/3 "2003-09-12T02:39:12Z")
My nutrition professor told us that they’re the same animal (genetically) as a bull and steer, just castrated much younger than a steer. Is that true? My mental picture of the two animals seems more different than the age being the only factor, but perhaps the steer and oxen I’ve seen had different types of cows for mothers. ---
**Author:** ![refusal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@refusal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/refusal)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-are-oxen/201089/4 "2003-09-12T12:06:31Z")
There seems to be 2 senses of the word “ox” (of which “oxen” is of course the plural), based on [Dictionary.com](http://Dictionary.com), Cambridge dictionaries online and Random House: 1. Any member of the genus Bos (and possibly other closely-related animals of the subfamily Bovidae), of either sex (includes domestic cows, yaks, etc.) 2. A castrated (male) member of one of the above-mentioned species, particularly of Bos taurus (domestic cattle). [Dictionary.com](http://Dictionary.com) has a good set of definitions: [http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=ox](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=ox) ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-are-oxen/201089/5 "2003-09-12T12:42:14Z")
By the way…What do you call a single adult member of the species that chews its cud and goes “moo”? We call an adult male a “bull”, a castrated male a “steer”, an adult female a “cow”, an young female a “heifer”, an imature one a “calf”, and collectively we call them “cattle”. But when you see one of them on the other side of a large field and you can’t determine its sex or age, what do you call it? Most animals have a way of refering to the singlular animal. We call the male animal that you ride a “stallion”, a female a “mare”, but we call an undifferentiated one a “horse”. What is the equivilant for cattle? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-are-oxen/201089/6 "2003-09-12T12:53:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BrotherCadfael \* > \*\*By the way…What do you call a single adult member of the species that chews its cud and goes “moo”? > \*\* My vote goes for \*[Steakosaurus](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_097b.html) \* psst… scroll down to the bottom ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-are-oxen/201089/7 "2003-09-12T12:57:55Z")
We used to band our calves when they were two days old, I don’t know how much earlier you could do it. I don’t think that’s the difference. ---
**Author:** ![woolly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ebca7d/32.png) [@woolly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woolly)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-are-oxen/201089/8 "2003-09-12T13:17:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elfkin477 \* > they’re the same animal (genetically) as a bull and steer, just castrated much younger than a steer. Is that true? Terminology varies and often interchangeable but in our context a steer grows into an ox. The age of castration doesn’t really come into it (as previously noted ox is gender neutral). Ox tended to be used as a term for older (sometimes a decade or more) drought animals, steers tended to be slaughtered for meat under 2yo. Much above 24 months the beast is mature and the meat becomes tougher and mainly suited for boned and ground beef. In Australia the term bullock was used in preference to ox. Steers over 2yo were referred to as bullocks. Bullock teams were draught animals that pulled drays or (totally inconsistently) ox carts. However, relatively recently our export standard beef animal became refered to as “Jap Ox” (being destined for the Japanese meat trade). ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-are-oxen/201089/9 "2003-09-12T14:17:20Z")
> [@](#): > > What is the equivilant for cattle? Well, apparently there isn’t such a term in English. Same situation for the domestic fowl, right? I would argue, though, that “cow” and “chicken” have pretty much become (or are well on their way to becoming) the standard terms in colloquial American speech for these animals, regardless of sex or age. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-are-oxen/201089/10 "2003-09-12T14:24:20Z")
Technically I suppose one would refer to the singular of “cattle” by the archaic word “kine” (as in “do not bind the mouth of the kine that thredeth out the grain”), but to do so would mark you as totally pedantic. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-are-oxen/201089/11 "2003-09-12T16:20:35Z")
I believe the general term for a cow or bull is a bovine. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-are-oxen/201089/12 "2003-09-12T16:40:28Z")
“Kine,” like “cattle,” is a collective word. You can’t have one kine any more than you can have one cattle. “Bovine” – like “ovine,” “porcine,” “hirsine,” “caprine,” “leporine,” “equine,” “cervine,” etc. – is an adjective, not a noun. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-are-oxen/201089/13 "2003-09-12T17:33:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by acsenray \* > \*\*“Kine,” like “cattle,” is a collective word. You can’t have one kine any more than you can have one cattle. “Bovine” – like “ovine,” “porcine,” “hirsine,” “caprine,” “leporine,” “equine,” “cervine,” etc. – is an adjective, not a noun. \*\* Urg. You’re right. ---
**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:** [September 12, 2003, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-are-oxen/201089/14 "2003-09-12T18:11:42Z")
> [@](#): > > In Australia the term bullock was used in preference to ox. Steers over 2yo were referred to as bullocks. So bullocks have no bollocks? And “chicken” is the gender-neutral term. Male chickens are roosters or cocks, and female chickens are hens. You might try “goose” for a missing neutral, though. One the other side of the coin, you can argue that “dog” is specifically male, with “bitch” being female. Or if you take “dog” to be neutral, then the male-specific term is missing. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-are-oxen/201089/15 "2003-09-12T18:30:58Z")
> [@](#): > > And “chicken” is the gender-neutral term. I’m arguing that that’s the case now. But that’s not the traditional definition of “chicken,” which is specifically tied to the age of the bird. ---
**Author:** ![frixxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@frixxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frixxxx)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-are-oxen/201089/16 "2003-09-12T18:59:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Little Nemo \* > \*\*I believe the general term for a cow or bull is a bovine. \*\* Definition from [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com): 1. The mature female of cattle of the genus Bos. 2. The mature female of other large animals, such as whales, elephants, or moose. 3. A domesticated bovine of either sex or any age. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-are-oxen/201089/17 "2003-09-12T19:52:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cheesesteak \* > \*\*My vote goes for \*[Steakosaurus](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_097b.html) \*\*\* The linked column also includes this quote by Robin NiDana: _Cow may be the last word left which means both “female animal” and “generic animal.”_ She obviously didn’t think of “duck”, which is used to mean a mallard, teal, etc., of either sex, as well as the female counterpart of a drake. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-are-oxen/201089/18 "2003-09-12T20:40:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chronos \* > \*\*One the other side of the coin, you can argue that “dog” is specifically male, with “bitch” being female. Or if you take “dog” to be neutral, then the male-specific term is missing. \*\* Among dog breeders, the term used for a male is “stud”. Sometimes specifically as “stud-dog”, or offering “stud service”, or advertising a specific male dog as standing “at stud to approved bitches”. Interestingly, nearly the same terms are used in horse breeding, where stud is basically an informal synonym of stallion. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-are-oxen/201089/19 "2003-09-12T22:16:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BrotherCadfael \* > **By the way…What do you call a single adult member of the species that chews its cud and goes “moo”?** Neat. (As in neat’s foot oil…) Trinopus ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-are-oxen/201089/20 "2003-09-13T01:45:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by acsenray \* > \*\*“Kine,” like “cattle,” is a collective word. You can’t have one kine any more than you can have one cattle. \*\* Technically true I suppose, but I once asked the marketing manager of dairy operations for the nice folks at Purina (and something like a 5th generation dairy farmer himself) what the singular, non-gender specific term was and he said “a cattle.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-are-oxen/201089.md?page=2)