2 THE OX AND ITS KINDRED 
phrases as the " human species " when we wish to 
refer to Homo sapiens in a specific sense. 
The w^ant of a collective term is still more pro- 
nounced in the case of the domesticated ruminant to 
which the Swedish naturalist Linnaeus applied the 
name Bos taurus, as bull is restricted to the male, 
and cow to the female, while, in addition, there are 
such terms as steer, heifer, and calf for the immature 
stages of one or both sexes of the species. 
Ox ( = the animal that draws) is, indeed, some-' 
times used as the species-name, while its Saxon 
plural oxen is constantly employed as the designa- 
tion of the whole group, although it properly denotes 
only the castrated male, otherwise known as bullock. 
Cattle ( = chattel, a possession), a word which was 
originally used both in the singular and the plural, 
is also often employed in the latter sense; although 
properly it includes not only "horned cattle," but 
likewise sheep, goats, horses, and even pigs. It 
seems, therefore, quite clear that there is no English 
equivalent to Bos taurus ; but as we cannot possibly 
speak of a " female bull," the use of the term " ox " 
in this sense, although not correct, is a convenient 
compromise. It is, however, more than doubtful 
whether it is permissible to speak of a " female 
ox." 
In the languages of Europe words apparently 
derived from two distinct roots are employed to desig- 
nate the ox. In ancient Greek we have, for instance, 
bous, which became bos in Latin, with the inflective 
bovis in the genitive, from which is derived the 
adjective bovine \ this, in turn, formed bove or bue in 
modern Italian, and boeuf in French. This same 
root reappears in the Old English term beeves, as 
