Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A young cow, especially one that has not yet given birth to a calf.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A young cow.
  • noun A young female terrapin, Malaclemmys palustris, measuring 5 or 6 inches along the lower shell. See cow terrapin, under terrapin.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Zoöl.) A young cow.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A young female bovine (cow) that has not yet had a calf.
  • noun slang An ugly or objectionable woman; a cow.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun young cow

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old English hēahfore; see perə- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Middle English hayfare, hayfre, from Old English heahfore, hēahfre, compound of (1) *heag- ‘mating’ (compare dialectal German Hagen, Hegel ‘breeding bull’, Middle Dutch haechdroese ‘genitals’, Old English hagan ‘id.’), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱak- ‘to be able, help’ (compare Sanskrit śaknóti ‘to be able’, Avestan sak- ‘to agree’) and (2) -fore (compare English elver, fieldfare, Old English sceolfor ‘cormorant’).

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Examples

  • These men drilled a long time on what they called a heifer dance -- a beautiful spectacular, and highly moral and instructive quadruped clog, sirloin shuffle, and cow gallop, to the music of a piano-forte.

    Remarks Bill Nye 1873

  • The Holstein heifer has one neck and two ears – but also four eyes, two noses and two mouths.

    Blinkie The Two-Headed Calf | Impact Lab 2007

  • 'What do you call a heifer in a number-seven football jersey carrying an M-16 assault rifle?' he asked the assembly, pitching a gag he'd heard on Off The Ball.

    Be My Enemy Brookmyre, Christopher, 1968- 2004

  • Gianna heard Bubbles, who sat directly behind her, mumble something derogatory in response to being called a heifer.

    Stealing Candy Allison Hobbs 2010

  • Gianna heard Bubbles, who sat directly behind her, mumble something derogatory in response to being called a heifer.

    Stealing Candy Allison Hobbs 2010

  • A heifer is a different story, a cause for celebration.

    The Dirty Life Kristin Kimball 2010

  • This is a little Holstein heifer--Holstein is a breed of milk cow and a heifer is a female--she will grow up to be the sweet little bovine with the brown eyes and the cud chewing and the patient waiting for milking.....

    Archive 2008-12-01 Judith "Jlo" Quinton 2008

  • This is a little Holstein heifer--Holstein is a breed of milk cow and a heifer is a female--she will grow up to be the sweet little bovine with the brown eyes and the cud chewing and the patient waiting for milking.....

    The 12 Days Of Christmas - Day 8: Guest Post By Josie Gwin Judith "Jlo" Quinton 2008

  • Then Zeus changed the maiden into a heifer, to save her from the anger of Here, but presently Here learned that the heifer was the maiden whom she hated, and she went to Zeus, and said,

    Museum of Antiquity A Description of Ancient Life

  • A certain man at his death left his son, then a child, a cow-calf, which wandered in the desert till he came to age; at which time his mother told him the heifer was his, and bid him fetch her, and sell her for three pieces of gold.

    The Koran (Al-Qur'an) George Sale 1716

Comments

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  • a springing heifer or a springer is a young cow about to deliver her first calf

    February 4, 2008

  • This word was chosen as Wordnik word of the day.

    November 11, 2009

  • ZEKE

    Say! Get in there before I make a dime bank

    out of you! Listen, kid, are you going to

    let that old Gulch heifer try and buffalo

    you?

    July 9, 2010