wayward wrote:
Father Silence wrote:
wayward wrote:
cow, ox whats the diff? 6 of one half dozen of the other
An ox is a castrated male.
FS
not necessarily so FS, an ox can be any sex of cow, the only difference is the ox works for a living, and also a cow can be either sex.
Websters New Student dictionary: Cow: a domestic bovine animal regardless of sex.
In more recent times the distinction has been blurred. In modern dictionaries (Webster's and OED) the castrated male bovine is still definition #2.
In older dictionaries, Webster's 1913 for instance, the definition is:
Webster's 1913 wrote:
The male of bovine quadrupeds, especially the domestic animal when castrated and grown to its full size, or nearly so.
It goes on to say:
Webster's 1913 wrote:
The word is also applied, as a general name, to any species of bovine animals, male and female.
But further explains:
Webster's 1913 wrote:
Note: The castrated male is called a steer until it attains its full growth, and then, an ox; but if castrated somewhat late in life, it is called a stag. The male, not castrated, is called a bull. These distinctions are well established in regard to domestic animals of this genus. When wild animals of this kind are spoken of, ox is often applied both to the male and the female. The name ox is never applied to the individual cow, or female, of the domestic kind. Oxen may comprehend both the male and the female.
So, at one time, the term "ox" was not applied to domestic female cows.
In this case the archaic meaning (the castrated male) is the more important since the "ox and ass" of the Nativity scene is a very old tradition. The pair was first introduced by "Pseudo Matthew" in the 8th Century referencing Isaiah 1:3 "The ox knows his owner, and the ass his master's crib".
Father Silence