sea cow

noun

any sirenian, as the manatee or dugong.

Obsolete. the hippopotamus.

Origin of sea cow

First recorded in 1605–15

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sea cow

Historical Examples of sea cow

The way it held the sea-cow gave us a notion of its immense strength.
On the Banks of the Amazon
W.H.G. Kingston
Squier and Davis, who first figured it, supposed it to represent a manatee, or sea-cow.
The Prehistoric World
E. A. Allen
I wonder if Bob has any idea of the size of a manatee or sea-cow?
The Motor Boys in Strange Waters
Clarence Young
It was named from the sea-cow, which was found there, and used as an article of food.
Petals Plucked from Sunny Climes
Sylvia Sunshine
The sea-cow is one of these animals; the last specimens of which were seen in 1767 and 1768.
My Native Land
James Cox

British Dictionary definitions for sea cow

sea cow

noun

any sirenian mammal, such as a dugong or manatee

an archaic name for walrus

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