estrus
[es-truh s]
- Also es·trum [es-truh m] /ˈɛs trəm/, oestrus. the period of heat or rut; the period of maximum sexual receptivity of the female.
- estrous cycle.
Show More
Origin of estrus
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
estrus
- the usual US spelling of oestrus
Show More
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for estrus
n.
1850, "frenzied passion," from Latin oestrus "frenzy, gadfly," from Greek oistros "gadfly, breeze, sting, mad impulse," perhaps from a PIE *eis, forming words denoting passion (cf. Avestan aešma- "anger," Lithuanian aistra "violent passion," Latin ira "anger"). First attested 1890 with specific meaning "rut in animals, heat." Earliest use (1690s) was for "a gadfly." Related: Estrous (1900).
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
estrus
- The periodic state of sexual excitement in the female of most mammals, excluding humans, that immediately precedes ovulation and during which the female is most receptive to mating; heat.
Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
estrus
[ĕs′trəs]
- A regularly recurring period in female mammals other than humans during which the animal is sexually receptive. Estrus occurs around the time of ovulation. Also called heat
Show More
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.