AUROCHS - 7 definitions found
aurochs n 1: European bison having a smaller and higher head than the North American bison [syn: wisent, aurochs, Bison bonasus}] 2: large recently extinct long-horned European wild ox; considered one of the ancestors of domestic cattle [syn: aurochs, urus, Bos primigenius] aurochs 1766, misapplication to the European bison (Bos Bison) of a word that actually refers to a species of wild ox (Bos Ursus) that went extinct 17c., from Ger. Aurochs, from O.H.G. urohso, from uro "aurochs" (cognate with O.E. ur, O.N. ?rr), of unknown origin, + ohso "ox." Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (2003) aurochs noun (plural aurochs) Etymology: German, from Old High German ūrohso, from ūro aurochs + ohso ox; akin to Old English ūr aurochs — more at ox Date: 1766 an extinct large long-horned wild ox (Bos primigenius) of Europe that is the ancestor of domestic cattle Oxford English Reference Dictionary
English Explanatory Dictionary aurochs ˈɔ:rɔks n. (pl. same) an extinct wild ox, Bos primigenius, ancestor of domestic cattle and formerly native to many parts of the world. Also called URUS. [G f. OHG urohso f. ur- urus + ohso ox] Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) Aurochs \Au"rochs\ ([add]"r[o^]ks), n. [G. auerochs, OHG. [=u]rohso; [=u]r (cf. AS. [=u]r) + ohso ox, G. ochs. Cf. Owre, Ox.] (Zo["o]l.) The European bison ({Bison bonasus, or Europ[ae]us}), once widely distributed, but now nearly extinct, except where protected in the Lithuanian forests, and perhaps in the Caucasus. It is distinct from the Urus of C[ae]sar, with which it has often been confused. |
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