cow
A mature female bovine animal kept for milk or beef.
Etymology
From Old English cū, from Proto-Germanic *kūz, from PIE *gʷōws "cow, cattle." This is one of the most securely reconstructed PIE words, attested in nearly every branch. The word reflects the central importance of cattle in PIE pastoral culture — cattle were wealth itself.
The Journey: *gʷōws → cow
*gʷōws
*kūz
cū
cow
Cognates Across Languages
These words in other languages descend from the same PIE root *gʷōws. They are not borrowings but independent inheritances from a common ancestor.
| Language | Word |
|---|---|
| Greek | boûs |
| Latin | bōs |
| Latvian | govs |
| Persian | gāv |
| Armenian | kov |
| Sanskrit | gáuḥ |
| Old Irish | bó |
Did You Know?
PIE *gʷōws is the origin of both English "cow" and "beef" (via Latin bōs → French boeuf). The same animal, split across two linguistic paths.
This word descends from the Proto-Indo-European root *gʷōws. See the full root page for descendant trees, sound law references, and scholarly discussion.