# What is the name of the animal that chews its cud and says "moo"? 30 years later **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 10, 2022, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-the-animal-that-chews-its-cud-and-says-moo-30-years-later/969459 "2022-08-10T23:34:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-the-animal-that-chews-its-cud-and-says-moo-30-years-later/969459/21 "2022-08-11T22:26:24Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > You’re missing the point. Yes, it did go over my head. 🙂 I’m reading that “ox” was once a generic singular descriptor for cattle (not specific to either sex) but the definition changed to draft cattle, specifically castrated bulls. So that no longer works. ---
**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:** [August 12, 2022, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-the-animal-that-chews-its-cud-and-says-moo-30-years-later/969459/22 "2022-08-12T00:10:58Z")
> [@am77494](#): > > The Brahma cows of Texas are of Indian Origin, since European cows could not survive the heat of southern states. But what’s the average flight speed of an unladen cow? > [@Atamasama](#): > > I’m reading that “ox” was once a generic singular descriptor for cattle (not specific to either sex) but the definition changed to draft cattle, specifically castrated bulls. So that no longer works. And “Ox” is the word whose plural is “Oxen”. What’s the singular of “cattle”? “Kine” is the best suggestion I’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-the-animal-that-chews-its-cud-and-says-moo-30-years-later/969459/23 "2022-08-12T01:05:09Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > But what’s the average flight speed of an unladen cow? 🙂 We also need to think the effect of climate change on the breeds of cattle . ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-the-animal-that-chews-its-cud-and-says-moo-30-years-later/969459/24 "2022-08-12T01:09:14Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > "Kine” is the best suggestion I’ve seen. Although that is plural too. From a Middle English singular form kye. Kye sounds like a very posh British person saying cow. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-the-animal-that-chews-its-cud-and-says-moo-30-years-later/969459/25 "2022-08-12T01:52:49Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > But what’s the average flight speed of an unladen cow? That depends on whether it’s in a super-lunar trajectory or not. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-the-animal-that-chews-its-cud-and-says-moo-30-years-later/969459/26 "2022-08-12T02:34:55Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > But what’s the average flight speed of an unladen cow? Depends on the size of the weight on the trebuchet used to launch it. ---
**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:** [August 12, 2022, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-the-animal-that-chews-its-cud-and-says-moo-30-years-later/969459/27 "2022-08-12T13:17:19Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Although that is plural too. From a Middle English singular form kye. Kye sounds like a very posh British person saying cow. Ah, I should have realized that that was the Old English plural -n ending (now mostly only seen in “oxen”, “children”, and “brethren”). OK, back to sphere one (since everyone knows cows aren’t square). ---
**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:** [August 12, 2022, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-the-animal-that-chews-its-cud-and-says-moo-30-years-later/969459/28 "2022-08-12T13:53:23Z")
A couple of weeks ago I tried looking up an old Abbot and Costello bit about “a cow herd”. This thread is really pinging me on that sketch. I never found the version I enjoy best from a dude ranch movie they made. [Here’s](https://youtu.be/2_V0b2usj-4) the next best thing. I had a bunch of relatives who were dairy farmers. It’s would have been quite rare when they would have needed to refer to one animal without being able to refer to its gender. I suspect, if so, they would just have said “head”. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-the-animal-that-chews-its-cud-and-says-moo-30-years-later/969459/29 "2022-08-12T14:46:40Z")
Bessie ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2022, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-the-animal-that-chews-its-cud-and-says-moo-30-years-later/969459/30 "2022-08-13T09:06:13Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Bessie… “'Nuff Said McGreavy shouted…” ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2022, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-the-animal-that-chews-its-cud-and-says-moo-30-years-later/969459/31 "2022-08-13T15:08:54Z")
I once read that “cattlebeast” is the proper term you’re looking for, but I’ve never encountered that word out in the wild. Maybe “head of cattle” or “steer”? AFAIK, both are gender-neutral. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2022, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-the-animal-that-chews-its-cud-and-says-moo-30-years-later/969459/32 "2022-08-13T15:15:00Z")
Next we must tackle the pig, pork, ham, hog, boar, sow, swine, gilt, grunter, piglet, weaner, porker, cutter fiasco. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2022, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-the-animal-that-chews-its-cud-and-says-moo-30-years-later/969459/33 "2022-08-13T15:30:04Z")
> Tibby > Guest > Next we must tackle the pig, pork, ham, hog, boar, sow, swine, gilt, grunter, piglet, weaner, porker, cutter fiasco. Well, I can help narrow this down. I teach my students that countable nouns tend to be sold per piece (pig, hog, sow), while non-countable nouns are usually sold by weight or volume (pork, ham). Their family is _suidae_ (soo-ey, get it?) and their genus is _sus_. ---
**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:** [August 13, 2022, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-the-animal-that-chews-its-cud-and-says-moo-30-years-later/969459/34 "2022-08-13T18:44:49Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Maybe “head of cattle” or “steer”? AFAIK, both are gender-neutral. “Steer” is a male that is … no longer quite so male. Better for beef production, handling and most bulls are not needed for breeding anyway. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2022, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-the-animal-that-chews-its-cud-and-says-moo-30-years-later/969459/35 "2022-08-13T22:58:26Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > “Steer” is a male that is … no longer quite so male. Sounds pretty gender neutral to me. Or maybe the term is non-binary. Ask the steer what its prefered pronouns are. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2022, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-the-animal-that-chews-its-cud-and-says-moo-30-years-later/969459/36 "2022-08-14T11:45:08Z")
A guy from Montana introduced me to his girlfriend (we were all early 20s). After she walked away, I told him she was really cute. He replied, “oh, she’s a fine heifer”. (A heifer is a young female cow that hasn’t yet had a calf) ---
**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:** [August 14, 2022, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-the-animal-that-chews-its-cud-and-says-moo-30-years-later/969459/37 "2022-08-14T14:36:07Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > > [@ftg](#): > > > > “Steer” is a male that is … no longer quite so male. > > Sounds pretty gender neutral to me. Or maybe the term is non-binary. Ask the steer what its prefered pronouns are. Or you can ask the former bull how it feels about the “former” part. In any case, it is consider by the people who manage the cattle to be a quite male descriptor. Not at all ambiguous. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2022, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-the-animal-that-chews-its-cud-and-says-moo-30-years-later/969459/38 "2022-08-15T05:19:58Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What’s the singular of “cattle”? What’s the singular of “geese”? The word “goose”, like the word “cow”, is both the name for the female of the species and the default term for any individual member of the species. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2022, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-the-animal-that-chews-its-cud-and-says-moo-30-years-later/969459/39 "2022-08-15T05:22:02Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > > [@Mahaloth](#): > > > > When I read this response in the mid-90’s, I thought the answer was “beef” and the plural is “beeves”, > > Unbelievable… ? Why unbelievable? Technically [correct,](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beef) if rather archaic. > [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > I teach my students that countable nouns tend to be sold per piece (pig, hog, sow), while non-countable nouns are usually sold by weight or volume (pork, ham). Of course, the non-countable “foodstuff” words are often just derived from countable nouns anyway, like the abovementioned “beef” and also “pork” (Latin porcus, “pig”). ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2022, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-the-animal-that-chews-its-cud-and-says-moo-30-years-later/969459/40 "2022-08-15T06:31:47Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > ? Why unbelievable? That the plural of beef is beeves is technically correct? Rather than some regional slang play on irregular verbage Even your own cite gives: 4. plural: Beefs [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-the-animal-that-chews-its-cud-and-says-moo-30-years-later/969459.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-of-the-animal-that-chews-its-cud-and-says-moo-30-years-later/969459.md?page=3)