cattle

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈkæt(ə)l/ (UK); /ˈkæt̬(ə)l/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English catel, borrowed from Anglo-Norman catel (“property”), Old North French catel, a variant of Old French chatel,^[2][3][4][5] from Medieval Latin capitale (“property, stock”), the neuter of Latin capitalis (“of the head, principal”), from caput (“head”).^[3][2] It is a doublet of chattel.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Property of any kind, including money, land or income: about 1250 in Barnhart, the mid-13th century in Etymonline.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline compares the sense development of fee and pecuniary, also words for property drawn from livestock.^[3] Money or capital as distinct from interest is from about 1330.^[6] Livestock is from before 1325, and in later Middle English especially movable property, including horses, sheep and asses;^[2][3] it began to be limited to cows and bulls from the late 16th century.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1250 – property.^[2]
• before 1325 – livestock.^[2]
• c. 1330 – capital (obsolete).^[6]
• late 16th century – cows and bulls.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Large domesticated animals of the ox family, such as cows, bulls and steers, kept for meat or milk.
2. (archaic) Livestock in general.

Word family

• cattleless
• catalo
• cattalo
• cattleman
• Australian cattle dog
• cattle call
• cattle car
• cattle grub

Related words

• capital
• chattel
• cap
• chief
• cow

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press