Re: Epicene words

On 27 Feb 2005, at 5.10 am, Steg Belsky wrote:

>> And "cow" is the opposite - commonly used as the epicene term for
>> _cow/bull_, but also only the female.
Tristan McLeay <conlang@T...> wrote:

>Not quite; 'cow' is used as the epicene term for cattle. A female
>whale is a cow and a male one's a bull, but whale's aren't cows.
>(Anyone know how that one came about?)
I don't agree.  "Cow" IS the epicene word for the genus Bos.  I can
say "There sure are a lot of cows in that pasture," even if there is
a sprinkling of bulls and steers among them.  I don't HAVE to use the
word "cattle."  It is not, however, the epicene word for other
species, but designates only the female whale, camel, eland, manatee,
etc.  I have never heard an refer to a "pod of cows."  When "cow" is
used for species other than Bos, the species name must be used in
conjunction with it, e.g., cow whales.  "Cow" used be itself is
automatically assumed to refer to the Bos genus, unless there is a
context that says otherwise.

It is similar in this respect to the word "hen."  A flock of hens
means (at least to me) a flock of female chickens.  One must specify
hen sparrows or hen pigeons or whatever.

It is interesting that the word "cattle" is cognate to "capital."
The word originally meant personal property or any livestock.

Charlie
http://wiki.frath.net/user:caeruleancentaur

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