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Bovine comes from the Latin word for "cow", though the biological family called the Bovidae actually includes not only cows and oxen but also goats, sheep, bison, and buffalo. So bovine is often used technically, when discussing "bovine diseases", "bovine anatomy", and so on. It can also describe a human personality, though it can be a rather unkind way to describe someone. When Hera, the wife of Zeus, is called "cow-eyed", though, it's definitely a compliment, and Zeus fairly melts when she turns those big bovine eyes on him.
Examples of bovine in a Sentence
The Salt Lake Tribune, 16 Aug. 2023
The story of Punchy the bull – the bovine creature found roaming the streets of Cleveland – got a lot stranger Friday.
—Laura Johnston, cleveland, 17 July 2023
This high-quality product contains bovine colostrum, which is the first milk produced by cows after giving birth.
—Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 25 Apr. 2023
Pure Encapsulations Colostrum is derived from bovine milk and is known for its immune-boosting properties.
—Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 25 Apr. 2023
Naturally, there's also a bovine version of the new heavy-duty ZR2.
—Eric Stafford, Car and Driver, 14 Apr. 2023
There’s a lot of excitement about new evidence that a food supplement of red algae could reduce bovine methane by over 80%, and big funding is going to startups that are working on turning the idea into practice.
—Brian Kateman, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2023
Oz and his spouse also own between $1.5 million and $6 million shares in the fertility clinic network Prelude Fertility, and between $500,000 and $1 million in shares of Pantheryx, a biotechnology company that specializes in bovine colostrum products.
—Bysoo Rin Kim Andlucien Bruggeman, ABC News, 8 Apr. 2022
DePuy combed the industry for already approved therapies with similar properties —and found a soft-tissue reinforcement patch already used in hernia repairs made from bovine heart tissue.
—Scott Lewis, Discover Magazine, 25 Sep. 2011
Juliet Izon, wsj.com, 26 Sep. 2023
The 1,600-pound bovine, which escaped from a property last weekend, was wrangled Thursday afternoon by a cattle-catching service, Barrington Hills said in a social media post.
—Clifford Ward, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2023
Also, some may want to note the softgels are made from bovine (cow) gelatin.
—Willow Jarosh, Ms, Rd, Health, 22 Aug. 2023
But Take Note: The DHA and EPA softgel capsules are made out of bovine (cow) gelatin, and the omega-3 softgel contains fish oil.
—Anne Cook Carroll, Ms, Parents, 2 Aug. 2023
For those looking for dishes from the hearth not of the bovine persuasion, Garcia is serving up oyster mushroom with black garlic and cambray onion; prawns with aji Amarillo, pineapple, and pichuberry; and half-chicken with roasted shallot, aji verde, and squashini.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 28 Aug. 2023
Few people react to pills, but medicines or vaccines that contain gelatin, glycerin, magnesium stearate or bovine extract can cause trouble for highly sensitive individuals.
—Joe Graedon and Teresa Graedon, oregonlive, 21 Aug. 2023
By honoring as many ethnic groups as possible in this city of immigrants with a flag-raising in the city’s oldest park — by the haunches of the nation’s most famous bronze bovine — Mr. Adams can woo voters in advance of his 2025 re-election bid.
—Dana Rubinstein, New York Times, 5 Aug. 2023
The first time Littlejohn caught Lester, the steer had escaped through a fence with several other bovines, Littlejohn said.
—Cathy Free, Washington Post, 6 June 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bovine.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Bovine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bovine. Accessed 1 Oct. 2023.
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Kids Definition
bovine
1 of 2 adjective
bovine
2 of 2 noun
More from Merriam-Webster on bovine
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for bovine
Nglish: Translation of bovine for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of bovine for Arabic Speakers
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