oxen

ox·en

O0205000 (ŏk′sən)n. Plural of ox.

oxen

(ˈɒksən) n (Animals) the plural of ox

ox

(ɒks)

n., pl. ox•en for 1,2, ox•es for 3. 1. any of various large, bulky bovids, as domestic cattle, water buffaloes, and yaks, esp. a castrated adult male used as a draft animal. 2. Informal. a clumsy, stupid fellow. [before 900; Middle English oxe, Old English oxa; c. Old High German ohso (German Ochse), Old Norse uxi, oxi] ox′like`, adj.

ox-

var. of oxy-² before a vowel: oxalate.

Thesaurus

Noun

oxen - domesticated bovine animals as a group regardless of sex or age; "so many head of cattle"; "wait till the cows come home"; "seven thin and ill-favored kine"- Bible; "a team of oxen"Bos taurus, cattle, cows, kinecalf - young of domestic cattleBos, genus Bos - wild and domestic cattle; in some classifications placed in the subfamily Bovinae or tribe Bovinibovine - any of various members of the genus Bosox - an adult castrated bull of the genus Bos; especially Bos taurusstirk - yearling heifer or bullockbullock, steer - castrated bullbull - uncastrated adult male of domestic cattlecow, moo-cow - female of domestic cattle: "`moo-cow' is a child's term"beef, beef cattle - cattle that are reared for their meatWelsh Black, Welsh - a breed of dual-purpose cattle developed in Walesred poll - hornless short-haired breed of beef and dairy cattleAfricander - tall large-horned humped cattle of South Africa; used for meat or draftdairy cattle, dairy cow, milch cow, milcher, milk cow, milker - cattle that are reared for their milkDevon - red dual-purpose cattle of English origingrade - a variety of cattle produced by crossbreeding with a superior breedboeuf, beef - meat from an adult domestic bovineherd - a group of cattle or sheep or other domestic mammals all of the same kind that are herded by humans

Oxen

large ruminant animals of the family Bovidae, Artiodactyla order. They are closely related to buffalo. Oxen are characterized by heavy, bulky torsos, short necks, and short strong feet. The forward part of the upper lip lacks hair, and they have bare, moist muzzles. The tail is long and usually has a brush of long hair on the end. In many species the skin on the lower part of the neck and chest forms a hanging fold (the dewlap). The females have four teats. In distinction from buffalo, the horns of oxen are round and smooth and appear both on males and females (except for certain polled breeds of domestic cattle). Wild species of oxen are found in Europe, Asia, and North America. Numerous breeds of domestic cattle are distributed everywhere. Wild oxen live in tropical forests and the forest-steppe; they live in open steppe expanses and on desert plateaus, ranging from regions below sea level to elevations of 5,000 m. They are herd animals and feed on various types of vegetation. The females give birth to one calf. There are four genera of oxen: the true ox, the yak, the ox of the genus Bibos, and the bison.

True oxen (Bos) have no wild representatives. The large wild ox called the urus (Bos primigenius) belonged to this genus. Earlier they were widely distributed in Southeast Asia and in Europe. The last urus was killed in Europe in 1627. The urus was domesticated and became the forefather of some cattle (the gray Ukrainian, the Iaroslav, the Kholmogor, and other breeds).

Yaks (Poephagus) are represented by only one wild species, the yak (in Tibet and nearby regions). In a domesticated state they are found in the mountainous regions of Middle and Central Asia (in the USSR, mainly in Kazakhstan, Kirghizia, and Southern Siberia).

The ox of the genus Bibos includes three species of wild oxen from southern Asia—the gaur (the gayal is its domesticated form), the banteng (the domesticated form of the banteng are the so-called Bali cattle), and the gray ox, or kouprey (Bibos sauveli), which lives in the forests of Cambodia.

Bisons (Bison) include two wild species, the bison and the aurochs, which have not been domesticated.

REFERENCES

Sokolov, I. I. Opyt estestvennoi klassifikatsii polorogikh. (Trudy Zoologicheskogo Inta AN SSR, vol. 14.) Moscow-Leningrad, 1953.
Sokolov, I. I. Kipytnye zveri. (Fauna SSSR: Mlekopitaiushchie, vol. 1, part 3.) Moscow-Leningrad, 1959.
Bogoliubskii, S. N. Proiskhozhdenie i preobrazovanie domashnikh zhivotnykh. Moscow, 1959.
Mlekopitaiushchie Sovetskogo Soiuza, vol. 1. Edited by V. G. Geptner and N. P. Naumov. Moscow, 1961.
Bohlken, H. “Vergleichende Untersuchungen an Wildrindern.” Zoologische Jahrbücher: Abteilung für allgemeine Zoologie and Physiologie, 1958, vol. 68, issue 1/2.

I. I. SOKOLOV

oxen

ox·en

oxen

ox

ox-

oxen

olly olly oxen free

dumb ox

dumb ox

All-y all-y oxen free!

Oxen

Oxen

REFERENCES

oxen

Synonyms for oxen

noun domesticated bovine animals as a group regardless of sex or age

Synonyms

Related Words