musk oxn.
/ˈmʌsk ɒks/, U.S. /ˈməsk ˌɑks/ 1. A large, heavily built ruminant, Ovibos moschatus (family Bovidae), with a thick shaggy coat and horns curving down from a boss on the head, formerly found throughout the Arctic region but now chiefly on the tundra of northern Canada and Greenland.The male emits a strong odour during the rutting season.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > subfamily Bovinae (bovine) > [noun] > ovibos moschatus (musk-ox)
musk ox1744
musk bull1784
musk cow1784
musk sheep1784
Ovibos1825
musk1843
1744 A. Dobbs Acct. Countries adjoining Hudson's Bay 18 Betwixt these Rivers is a kind of Ox, called the Musk Ox, which smells at some Time in the Year so strong of Musk, that it cannot be eat.
a1792 S. Hearne Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort (1795) 31 The flesh of the musk-ox is not only coarse and tough, but smells and tastes so strong of musk as to make it very disagreeable when raw.
1835 J. Ross Narr. Second Voy. North-west Passage xvi. 252 They further informed us that there were plenty of musk oxen on the hills to the southward.
1892 W. Pike Barren Ground N. Canada 65 We scattered over the country, hoping to find a band of musk-ox.
1925 Chambers's Jrnl. 14 Feb. 167/1 Here..will roam large herds of the domesticated musk-ox or ovibos.
1955 Sci. News Let. 1 Oct. 222/3 Musk oxen, Ovibos moschatus, belong to a sub-group of animals lying somewhere between bison and sheep, and they show many characteristics of both.
1975 F. Mowat Snow Walker (1978) 74 On his sled lay Koonar, well wrapped in muskox robes against the brittle cold.
1990 B. McKibben End of Nature ii. i 91 It may turn out that we're not much more suited by our genes to quick adaptation than the musk-oxen.
2. The flesh of the musk ox used as food.
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1857 G. F. McDougall Voyage 354 The tables themselves were literally covered with roast-beef (musk-ox), beef-steak pie, preserved meats, [etc.].
1941 G. De Poncins Kabloona 202 As for musk-ox, such meat was less to my taste, and I never want to eat it again.
1995 Touch Arctic Adventure Tours '95 (Canada) 15/2 On your way back through Cambridge Bay, there are opportunities for shopping and a walk along the Bay, perhaps a visit to the meat plant to pick up some musk ox jerky, caribou sausage, or smoked char.
Compounds
musk-ox horn n.
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1859 F. L. M'Clintock Voy. ‘Fox’ 338 A large spoon or scoop, the handle of pine or bone, the bowl of musk-ox horn.
1908 G. Herring tr. K. Rasmussen People of Polar North ii. 102 They cut themselves drinking cups from musk-ox horns.
1993 Up Here (Yellowknife, N.W. Territories) Oct. 54/2 The traditional baby belt is a length of hide rope with a toggle carved out of muskox horn or caribou antler at one end.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1744