kine1
- a plural of cow1.
Origin of kine1
kine2
Origin of kine2
cow1
- the mature female of a bovine animal, especially of the genus Bos.
- the female of various other large animals, as the elephant or whale.
- Informal. a domestic bovine of either sex and any age.
- Slang: Disparaging and Offensive.
- a large, obese, and slovenly woman.
- a woman who has a large number of children or is frequently pregnant.
- till/until the cows come home, for a long time; forever: You can keep arguing till the cows come home, but I won't change my mind.
Origin of cow1
Examples from the Web for kine
Historical Examples
Kine feed in the grass-grown bailey court; its glory is departed.
English VillagesP. H. Ditchfield
And as I enter the little village, I am greeted by the bleat of sheep and the low of the kine.
The Book of KhalidAmeen Rihani
The paths in the woods were covered with the dead bodies of kine, calves and sheep.
England and GermanyEmile Joseph Dillon
She is a little taller, and she is so graceful when she milks the kine.
The BuddhaPaul Carus
Only two women were left in Middalhof with her, and some thralls who tended the kine and horses.
Eric BrighteyesH. Rider Haggard
kine
- (functioning as plural) an archaic word for cowsor cattle
Word Origin
cow1
- the mature female of any species of cattle, esp domesticated cattle
- the mature female of various other mammals, such as the elephant, whale, and seal
- (not in technical use) any domestic species of cattle
- informal a disagreeable woman
- Australian and NZ slang something objectionable (esp in the phrase a fair cow)
- till the cows come home informal for a very long time; effectively for ever
Word Origin
cow2
- (tr) to frighten or overawe, as with threats
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for kine
n.
archaic plural of cow, a double plural (cf. children) or genitive plural of Middle English kye "cows," from Old English cy (genitive cyna), plural of cu "cow."
cow
n.
Old English cu "cow," from Proto-Germanic *kwon (cf. Old Frisian ku, Middle Dutch coe, Dutch koe, Old High German kuo, German Kuh, Old Norse kyr, Danish, Swedish ko), earlier *kwom, from PIE *gwous (cf. Sanskrit gaus, Greek bous, Latin bov-, Old Irish bo, Latvian guovs, Armenian gaus "cow," Slovak hovado "ox"), perhaps ultimately imitative of lowing (cf. Sumerian gu, Chinese ngu, ngo "ox"). In Germanic and Celtic, of females only; in most other languages, of either gender. Other "cow" words sometimes are from roots meaning "horn, horned," e.g. Lithuanian karve, Old Church Slavonic krava.
cow
v.
"intimidate," c.1600, probably from Old Norse kuga "oppress," of unknown origin, but perhaps having something to do with cow (n.) on the notion of easily herded. Related: Cowed; cowing.
Idioms and Phrases with kine
cow
In addition to the idiom beginning with cow
- cow college
also see:
- cash cow
- holy cow
- sacred cow
- till the cows come home