Coronavirus, Covid 19 Discussion and How It Has Affected Your Daily Life Chat Thread

[electrycmonk]

Pushing up actual nerd glasses... I loved this exchange about etymology and gender! I teach literature (and sometimes animal studies) and really enjoyed the conversation this afternoon. Thanks, all!

(Takes off Bi-focals) & (giggles softly to self) ..... I did so enjoy this banter y'all, thanks a bunch.

May the rest of the week be better for all of us.

Cheers & g'nite

 

[MROO]

Cows, cattle, whatever. Most people don't refer to cows as cattle.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cow
"Definition of cow
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a: the mature female of cattle (genus Bos)
b: the mature female of various usually large animals (such as an elephant, whale, or moose)

2: a domestic bovine animal regardless of sex or age"

Oh ... Be still my poor, wounded heart! I feel a "Fred Sanford" coming on ..."This is The Big One ... I'm comin' to join you Elizabeth ..."
Methinks Mr. Webster hath underthunk and oversimplified his definitions! At the best, his research is incomplete. At worst, he is completely misguided and uninformed! Oh ... my faith in our printed word and an entire lifetime of relying on Mr. Webster was so shaken that I had to look it up ... and got some partial relief for my poor, pounding heart.

Looking further into the Webster website, we find a bit more clarification:

Then we have the Macmillan Dictionary definition:

And on the US Department of Agricultire's site we find this, which is still incomplete as it doesn't include the proper identity of poor John & Walker, the trusty oxen.:

I feel a little better, now. My faith in the validity of modern definitions is partially restored. Mary? ( @Folly's place ) We have a big job ahead of us. Do you happen to have Mr. Webster's phone number, so we can get this mess straightened out?

 

[MROO]

Cows, cattle, whatever. Most people don't refer to cows as cattle.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cow
"Definition of cow
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a: the mature female of cattle (genus Bos)
b: the mature female of various usually large animals (such as an elephant, whale, or moose)

2: a domestic bovine animal regardless of sex or age"

#2 should be properly identified as a colloquialism ... or even slang ... as it identifies the use of the word, not its actual definition.
Forgive me, but I can't help it ... I'm a dairy farm nerd!

And that's No Bull!

 

[MROO]

Wait... so an ox isn’t a separate species!? Huh!

An ox can be any breed of "cow" ... I've seen Holstein oxen (absolutely MASSIVE!) and Jersey - small and solid, even a Hereford (white-faced red beef steer) trained as an ox - He was HUGE - and the biggest puppy dog I've ever met! That's the only beef I've ever seen as an ox, the rest have all been dairy animals. I don't know why, unless it has to do with size and manageability. I'd be curious to know.

EDIT to add - Thanks Mary - I figured it was probably because they would just be get heavy and out-of-proportion to work well. That makes sense, since they're pre-programmed to put on meat/muscle weight. If nothing else, their legs and feet wouldn't hold up to the strain.
Still, I sure would love to train a Guernsey - He'd be impressive, I'm sure!

 

[MROO]

Any trained bovine is called an ox. Almost always a steer, because bulls are too difficult, and cows are too valuable in other ways. Every ox I'm aware of is a steer. We start them usually as bottle fed babies, really cute, and then they keep in training as they grow up.
Most are from dual purpose breeds, or dairy breeds, because the beef breeds get too heavy and have trouble actually working. The biggest team I ever saw was a team or Aryshires, and with their upturned horns, really impressive!
Mary

I wonder if a free-martin would make a good ox? Curiosity has gotten me, now!

 

[MROO]

I used to go see steer pulls. They’re amazing creatures and very strong. They can pull a lot.

The closest I've come to that is watching the teams at Williamsburg, many years ago. That was SO cool!

 

[MROO]

Actually.... *pushes up fake nerd glasses* The etymology of "man" is gender neutral. Originally it was "Werman" (male) "Wifman" (female) and "Man". Eventually "man" became the default for male AND the gender neutral but "woman" was still considered separate from the neutral.

Language is just weird like that.

And fascinating, too!

 

[MROO]

Hence the problem with 'colt', spoken by folks who should know better. It's a colt or filly, or if already gelded, a gelding.
Like calling all chickens 'roosters'?!
Mary

Don't be silly. Chickens are girls. Roosters are boys. As I was told quite matter-of factly by a five year old at the Fair. When I enlightened the youngster, he was duly impressed that he knoew something his brother didn't and told his father. Dad poo-poohed his little fantasy and turned to me (theone holding the rooster!) for verification and was totally dumbfounded to discover that his son was correct. What a neat moment that was! That "Aha" moment accmpanied by an incredulous shake of the head is probably the thing I like best about working the Fair ... that ... and the caramel corn vendor!

 

[MROO]

Even now when I drive by a field of cattle I’m like “oh look! Cows!”

When we pass cattle in a field, we all yell "Look, MOOS!" But if DD happens to be in the car, especially if she has someone with her, we simply Moo. She's WAY too easy to embarass. And it's WAY too much fun to do ...

 

[MROO]

People at work thought a pony would grow up to be a horse

Then you have the people who think a foal ... colt OR filly ... is a pony!