ox
[oks]
- the adult castrated male of the genus Bos, used chiefly as a draft animal.
- any member of the bovine family.
- Informal. a clumsy, stupid fellow.
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Origin of ox
before 900; Middle English oxe, Old English oxa; cognate with Old Frisian oxa, Old Saxon, Old High German ohso, Old Norse uxi, oxi; akin to Welsh ych
ox-
- a combining form meaning “containing oxygen”: oxazine.
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Origin of ox-
short for oxygen
Ox.
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Origin of Ox.
From the Medieval Latin word Oxonia
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for ox
Contemporary Examples
There's no Nicely-Nicely Johnson hanging out in Times Square these days, no Harry the Horse, no Angie the Ox.
The doctors said it was as strong as an ox, considering he was so sedentary.
Whoever's ox Obama chooses to gore will probably be a considerably less enthusiastic coalition member come 2016.
During this time, he also oversaw his own farm, Ox Hollow Farm in Roxbury, Connecticut.
This dish is based on the beautiful white honeycomb tripe, which comes from the second stomach, or the reticulum, of an ox.
Historical Examples
Then, he smote his thigh with a blow strong enough to kill an ox.
Within the LawMarvin Dana
Then he dealt him a straight blow in the face that felled him like an ox.
The Hunted OutlawAnonymous
Peace, my darling, here's no danger; There's no ox a-near thy bed.
Grandma's MemoriesMary D. Brine
And of a sudden he struck a blow at the youth that might have felled an ox.
The Merry Adventures of Robin HoodHoward Pyle
The bovine humanity fitted to the machinery as the ox to the treadmill.
City of Endless NightMilo Hastings
ox
- an adult castrated male of any domesticated species of cattle, esp Bos taurus, used for draught work and meat
- any bovine mammal, esp any of the domestic cattle
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Word Origin
Old English oxa; related to Old Saxon, Old High German ohso, Old Norse oxi
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for ox
n.
Old English oxa "ox" (plural oxan), from Proto-Germanic *ukhson (cf. Old Norse oxi, Old Frisian oxa, Middle Dutch osse, Old Saxon, Old High German ohso, German Ochse, Gothic auhsa), from PIE *uks-en- "male animal," (cf. Welsh ych "ox," Middle Irish oss "stag," Sanskrit uksa, Avestan uxshan- "ox, bull"), said to be from root *uks- "to sprinkle," related to *ugw- "wet, moist." The animal word, then, is literally "besprinkler."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper