seacow
/ˈsiːˌkaʊ/
noun
Origin
English
sea + cow — Compound of sea (Old English 'sǣ') and cow (Old English 'cū').
Overview
Meaning Now
- A large, aquatic, herbivorous mammal of the order Sirenia, such as the manatee or dugong.
- Specifically, the extinct Steller's sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas), a large sirenian once found in the North Pacific.
Literal older meaning
A sea-dwelling animal compared to a cow due to its grazing habits.
Language path
Old English → Middle English → English
Earliest form
sea-cow
Earliest period
17th century
Journey
The term was applied by European explorers to Sirenians—manatees, dugongs, and the now-extinct Steller's sea cow—because their habit of grazing on underwater sea grasses reminded observers of cattle grazing in a pasture.
Evolution
- Old English
sǣ + cū
“The sea and a bovine mammal.”
The elements existed separately before being combined to describe exotic marine mammals.
- 17th Century
sea-cow
“A general term for manatees or dugongs seen by explorers.”
Used as a calque of various European languages' descriptive terms for these animals.
Connections
Word parts
sea
root
The ocean
cow
root
Large bovine herbivore
Related across languages
Dutch
zeekoe
sea cow
German
Seekuh
sea cow
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Related to seacow
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.