Dictionary

cowsense en · NOUN

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws Proto-Germanic *kōz Proto-West Germanic *kō Old English cū Middle English cow English cow Proto-Indo-European *sent-der. Proto-Italic *sentiō Latin sentiō Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Italic *-tus Latin -tus Latin sēnsusbor. Proto-Germanic *sinnaz Frankish *sinnbor. Vulgar Latin *sennus Old French sensbor. Middle English sense English sense English cowsense From cow + sense.

Meanings

1. (uncountable) An instinctive ability to work well with cattle.
   • The data tabulated from the replies on the question blanks show in general that there must be a co-ordination of all the factors conducive to the production of high quality milk, coupled with good sound “cowsense” on the part of the herdsman, to produce milk that will score 90 or above. 1916, American Produce Review - Volume 41, page 919:
   • Quannah was a handsome horse, well put up, with disposition and cowsense galore. 1975, Jan Haddle, The Complete Book of the Appaloosa, page 157:
   • Belsky horses all had inborn cowsense as did the old-type Spanish cowpony. 1991, Kathleen Rauschl Ward, The American Horse: From Conquistadors to the 21st Century, page 10:
   • He is uneducated, but possesses a quality too many of our college boys lack, viz., “cowsense” and stable experience. 1918, Jersey Bulletin - Volume 37, Issue 1, page 866:
2. (uncountable) Intelligence on the part of a cattle beast.
   • The Longhorn cow remained to become the founder of an empire. She matched wits with the wilderness, met claw and fang with horns and cowsense. 1975, Orville K. Sweet, Birth of a Breed: The History of Polled Herefords, page 2:

Forms