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
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 till the cows come home
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.
till the cows come home
For a long time: “Mr. Rowland said that as far as he was concerned, the delinquent students could stay there washing blackboards till the cows came home.”
Idioms and Phrases with till the cows come home
till the cows come home
Also, when the cows come home. For a long time, as in You can keep asking till the cows come home, but you still may not go bungee-jumping. This term alludes to when the cows return to the barn for milking. [Late 1500s]
cow
In addition to the idiom beginning with cow
- cow college
also see:
- cash cow
- holy cow
- sacred cow
- till the cows come home