cow¹ / kou/ • n. a fully grown female animal of a domesticated breed of ox, used as a source of milk or beef: a dairy cow. See cattle. ∎  (loosely) a domestic bovine animal, regardless of sex or age. ∎  (in farming) a female domestic bovine animal that has borne more than one calf. Compare with heifer. ∎  the female of certain other large animals, for example elephant, rhinoceros, whale, seal, or reindeer. ∎  inf., derog. a woman, esp. a fat or stupid one: what does he see in that cow?PHRASES: have a cow inf. become angry, excited, or agitated.till the cows come home inf. for an indefinitely long time.cow² • v. [tr.] (usu. be cowed) cause (someone) to submit to one's wishes by intimidation: the intellectuals had been cowed into silence.

cow a cow is the emblem of St Bridget of Ireland and St Perpetua, a 3rd-century martyr of Carthage, who was gored by a mad heifer in her martyrdom.

In Egyptian mythology, the goddess Hathor may be represented as a cow; in Greek mythology, Io was turned into a heifer by Zeus to protect her from Hera.
why buy a cow when milk is so cheap? an argument for choosing the least troublesome alternative; frequently used as an argument against marriage. The saying is recorded from the mid 17th century. With why keep a dog, and bark yourself?, it is one of the few proverbs in the form of a rhetorical question. (Compare also, a slice off a cut loaf isn't missed.)

See also a bellowing cow soon forgets her calf, better a good cow than a cow of a good kind, sacred cow, three acres and a cow.

cow 1 female bovine animal. OE. cū = OS. kō (Du. koe), OHG. kuo (G. kuh), ON. kýr :- Gmc. *kō(u)z :- IE. *g^wōus, whence also Skr. gāú-, Arm. kov, Gr. boûs, L. bōs, OIr. bó, Latv. gùovs. The normal descendant of the mutated OE. pl. cȳ is north. kye; the form kine (now arch.) descends from a ME. (XIII) extension of this with -n from the weak decl.

cow Mature female cattle that produce more than one calf. It also applies to other mammals, such as elephants and seals.

Cow

a bunch of twigs; a birch or besom of twigs.

Examples: cow of heather, 1651; of birch; of broom; of twigs.