Definitions

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

  • noun A hybrid that results from a cross between the North American bison (buffalo) and the beef cattle and typically has the appearance of a bison.

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

  • noun hardy breed of cattle resulting from crossing domestic cattle with the American buffalo; it yields leaner beef than conventional breeds; it is called also beefalo.

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

  • noun hardy breed of cattle resulting from crossing domestic cattle with the American buffalo; yields leaner beef than conventional breeds

Etymologies

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

[catt(le) + (buff)alo.]

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Examples

  • The progeny, which he calls cattalo, make excellent beef, and he gets a very big price for the hides as robes.

    Ranching, Sport and Travel Thomas Carson

  • His "cattalo" experiment was just getting started, but like most fresh ventures it needed boosts of financial support from the outside.

    Zane Grey, Romancing the West May, Stephen J. 1997

  • The latter, I find, is usually addressed as "Slinkie" by her friends, and the former is known as "Cattalo Charley" because he once formed a joint-stock company which was to make a fortune interbreeding buffalo and range-cattle, the product of that happy union being known, I believe, as "cattalo."

    The Prairie Child Arthur Stringer 1912

  • The stage drew near to the place where now is located the famous Goodnight cattalo ranch.

    Oh, You Tex! William MacLeod Raine 1912

  • The cattalo took the hardiness of the buffalo, and never required artificial food or shelter.

    The Last of the Plainsmen Zane Grey 1905

  • "Look at the cattalo calves," cried Jones, in ecstatic tones.

    The Last of the Plainsmen Zane Grey 1905

  • Jones had to hear every detail of all that had happened since his absence in the East, and he was particularly inquisitive to learn all about the twenty cattalo calves.

    The Last of the Plainsmen Zane Grey 1905

  • Then there are the cattalo and the beefalo, crosses between cattle and buffalo, first attempted in Texas.

    VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol XV No 2 1984

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