aurochs

aurochs
/awr"oks/, n., pl. aurochs.
1. a large, black European wild ox, Bos primigenius: extinct since 1627.
2. (not used scientifically) the European bison.
[1760-70; < G, var. (now obs.) of Auerochs, MHG urochse, OHG urohso, equiv. to ur (c. OE ur bison) + ohso OX]

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or auroch

Extinct wild ox (Bos primigenius) of Europe, the species from which cattle are probably descended.

The aurochs survived in central Poland until 1627. It was black, stood 6 ft (1.8 m) high at the shoulder, and had spreading, forward-curving horns. Some German breeders claim to have re-created this race since 1945, but their animals are smaller and probably lack the aurochs's genetic constitution. The name has sometimes been wrongly applied to the European bison.

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▪ extinct mammal
also spelled  Auroch  

      (species Bos primigenius), extinct wild ox of Europe, family Bovidae (order Artiodactyla), from which cattle are probably descended. The aurochs survived in central Poland until 1627. The aurochs was black, stood 1.8 m (6 feet) high at the shoulder, and had spreading, forward-curving horns. Some German breeders claim that since 1945 they have re-created this race by crossing Spanish fighting cattle with longhorns and cattle of other breeds. Their animals, however, are smaller and, though they resemble the aurochs, probably do not have similar genetic constitutions.

      The name aurochs has sometimes been wrongly applied to the European bison, or wisent (Bison bonasus).

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • aurochs — [ ɔrɔk ] n. m. • 1752; ouroflz 1414; all. Auerochs, de Ochs « bœuf » et germ. Auer qui a donné le lat. urus → urus ♦ Grand bœuf d Europe (bovidés), proche du zébu d Asie, dont la race est éteinte. Corne d aurochs. ● aurochs nom masculin (moyen… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • aurochs — 1766, misapplication to the European bison (Bos bison) of a word that actually refers to a species of wild ox (Bos ursus) that went extinct 17c., from Ger. Aurochs, from O.H.G. urohso, from uro aurochs (cognate with O.E. ur, O.N. ürr), of unknown …   Etymology dictionary

  • aurochs — [ô′räks΄] n. pl. aurochs [Ger auerochs < OHG ūrohso < ūr, aurochs (< IE base * wer , damp > URINE & names of male animals, as L verres, boar, Sans vr̥ṣabháḥ, bull) + ohso, OX] 1. Rare WISENT 2. URUS …   English World dictionary

  • Aurochs — Au rochs ([add] r[o^]ks), n. [G. auerochs, OHG. [=u]rohso; [=u]r (cf. AS. [=u]r) + ohso ox, G. ochs. Cf. {Owre}, {Ox}.] (Zo[ o]l.) The European bison ({Bison bonasus}, or {Bison Europ[ae]us}), once widely distributed, but now nearly extinct,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • aurochs — m. Uro: especie de bisonte de Europa, ya extinguido …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Aurochs — Not to be confused with Wisent. Aurochs Temporal range: Late Pliocene to Holocene An Aurochs, from a 19th century copy of a painting owned by a merchant in Augsburg. The original probably dates to the 16th century …   Wikipedia

  • Aurochs — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Urús.  Pour l’article homophone, voir Oroch …   Wikipédia en Français

  • aurochs — noun (plural aurochs) Etymology: German, from Old High German ūrohso, from ūro aurochs + ohso ox; akin to Old English ūr aurochs more at ox Date: 1766 an extinct large long horned wild ox (Bos primigenius) of Europe that is the ancestor of… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • aurochs — tauras statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas taksono rangas rūšis apibrėžtis Išnykęs. atitikmenys: lot. Bos primigenius angl. aurochs; urus; wild ox vok. Auerochse; Ur rus. бык тур; первобытный бык; тур pranc. aurochs ryšiai: platesnis terminas… …   Žinduolių pavadinimų žodynas

  • aurochs — /ˈɔrɒks/ (say awroks) noun (plural aurochs) 1. a large wild European bovine, Bos primigenius, domesticated during the Stone Age, now extinct; urus. 2. → wisent. {German, variant of Auerochs, Middle High German ūr ochse, from ūr (related to Old… …  

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