mithann.
/ˈmɪtɒn/, /ˈmɪθən/, U.S. /ˈmɪdɑn/, /ˈmɪθ(ə)n/ A domesticated ox, Bos frontalis, which is derived from the gaur and is found only in the highlands of Assam and adjacent areas (Burma (Myanmar) and Bangladesh). Also called gayal.Sometimes regarded as a subspecies of the gaur, B. gaurus frontalis.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > subfamily Bovinae (bovine) > [noun] > genus Bos > bibovine subgenus Bibos or gayal
gayal1791
mithan1845
1845 Jrnl. Asiatic Soc. Bengal 14 i. 265 The Mytton is the only species of horned cattle possessed by the Meris.
1885 E. Balfour Cycl. India (ed. 3) II. 936 Methin, the wild cow of the hills near Cachar.
1885 W. W. Hunter Imperial Gazetteer India (ed. 2) I. 349 The mithan or gayál (Gavæus frontalis).
1890 Pall Mall Gaz. 18 Aug. 7/3 To propitiate these ghosts an animal must be slaughtered—whether it be the prolific pariah dog or the valuable mythun.
1921 Blackwood's Mag. Feb. 258/2 There was no rice, no water, no fences, no herds of mithun.
1923 Blackwood's Mag. Feb. 186/2 The mithong were once more stalled beneath the houses.
1937 Jrnl. Royal Anthropol. Inst. 15 Over the neck of the bound and trembling Mithan.
1967 V. Mehta Portrait of India 197 The mithun, a straight-horned bison of the species Bos frontalis, is the most valued possession of many of the hill tribesmen.
1982 Sci. Amer. Mar. 25/3 Several chapters cover horses and donkeys, human lactase deficiency, onagers, yaks, mithan and water buffaloes.
1996 Conservation Biol. 10 932/2 Those considered vulnerable were the mountain anoa, the yak, and the Burmese population of gayal or mithan, a recognized subspecies of gaur.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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