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bovine

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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English

Etymology

More information PIE word ...

Borrowed from Late Latin bovīnus (relating to cattle), from Latin bōs (ox). Cognate to beef.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈbəʊ.vaɪn/
  • (US) enPR: bōʹvīn', bōʹvēn', bōʹvĭn; IPA(key): /ˈboʊˌvaɪn/, /ˈboʊˌvin/, /ˈboʊ.vɪn/
    • Audio (US):(file)
  • Audio (General Australian):(file)
  • Rhymes: (UK) -əʊvaɪn, (US) -oʊvaɪn

Adjective

bovine (comparative more bovine, superlative most bovine)

  1. (not comparable) Of, relating to, or characteristic of cattle.
    Synonyms: neatish, (archaic) vaccine
  2. (not comparable) Belonging to the subfamily Bovinae.
  3. (figurative) Sluggish, dull, slow-witted.
    • 1988 October 10, Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, London: William Heinemann, page 69:
      They had been selected and arranged with a dull, bovine indifference to any meaning that any of them might have.
    • 2018 August 16, Marina Hyde, “Sorry to break it to you, far-righters: James Bond is not on your team”, in The Guardian:
      For reasons which are really a matter for a trainee psychoanalyst, who plays James Bond is a big thing for Spencer. To this end, he has unleashed a series of thoughts so bovine that I’ll just give you one for a little flavour.
    • 2025 February 5, “The Guardian view on Trump’s foreign policy: an alarming new order takes shape”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
      The inevitable consequence of handling complex international issues with cruel and bovine simplicity is to spread fear, uncertainty and instability.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

bovine (plural bovines)

  1. An animal of the family, subfamily, tribe, or genera including cattle, buffaloes and bison.

Translations

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French

Pronunciation

Adjective

bovine

  1. feminine singular of bovin

Italian

Adjective

bovine

  1. feminine plural of bovino

Anagrams

Latin

Adjective

bovīne

  1. vocative masculine singular of bovīnus

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