Holstein

[hohl-stahyn, -steen; for 2 also German hohl-shtahyn]

noun

Also called Hol·stein-Frie·sian [hohl-stahyn-free-zhuh n, -steen-] /ˈhoʊl staɪnˈfri ʒən, -stin-/. one of a breed of black-and-white dairy cattle, raised originally in North Holland and Friesland, that yields large quantities of milk having a low content of butterfat.
a region in N Germany, at the base of the peninsula of Jutland: a former duchy.

Compare Schleswig-Holstein.

Origin of Holstein

First recorded in 1860–65

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for holstein

Contemporary Examples of holstein

Pour milk from a Holstein cow into one and milk from a Jersey into the other.
The Secret to This Ice Cream: Pampered Cows
Jane & Michael Stern
May 18, 2014

Historical Examples of holstein

In the year 1756 settlements were also made on New river and on Holstein.
Chronicles of Border Warfare
Alexander Scott Withers
He had heard on Holstein of her having passed there and he retraced his steps.
Chronicles of Border Warfare
Alexander Scott Withers
The two Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein were still subjects of dispute.
Up The Baltic
Oliver Optic
What miseries had Holstein from it, which last to our own day!
History Of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Volume IV. (of XXI.)
Thomas Carlyle
Experience had taught Mr. and Mrs. Holstein how and what to do.
Woman's Work in the Civil War
Linus Pierpont Brockett

British Dictionary definitions for holstein

Holstein

noun

the usual US and Canadian name for Friesian 1

Holstein

noun

a region of N Germany, in S Schleswig-Holstein: in early times a German duchy of Saxony; became a duchy of Denmark in 1474; finally incorporated into Prussia in 1866

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 holstein

Holstein

breed of cattle, 1865; so called because originally raised in nearby Friesland. The place name is literally "woodland settlers," from the roots of German Holz "wood" (see holt) and siedeln "to settle," altered by influence of Stein "stone." Since 15c. it has been united with the Duchy of Schleswig.