Bovine — A Vocabulary Story
Mariam and the Great Cow Stare-Off
Mariam's class trip to Hollow Oak Farm was going brilliantly until a cow fell in love with her packed lunch.
The cow leaned over the gate, fixed Mariam with a slow, bovine stare, and refused to blink. Mariam stared back. The cow chewed. Mariam chewed. It was the most serious stare-off in farming history.
Bovine means relating to cattle or cows. It can also describe someone who is slow, dull, or stupid in a way that resembles a cow. As a noun, it means an animal of the cattle family, such as a cow or ox.
"She likes you," said Farmer Holly, wheeling a barrow past. "Bovines are terribly nosy. Give them one apple and they'll follow you to the ends of the earth. Or at least to the muddy end of this field."
Mariam clutched her apple tighter. The cow's enormous nostrils twitched with hope.
"You can't have it," Mariam said firmly. "It's mine."
The cow let out a long, mournful moo, the saddest sound Mariam had ever heard. Then it rested its huge head on the gate and gazed at her with big, gentle, bovine eyes, as if apples were the only thing that had ever mattered in the whole wide world.
Mariam lasted eleven seconds.
"Fine," she groaned, holding the apple out flat on her palm, just as Farmer Holly had shown the class. A warm, whiskery mouth hoovered it up in one go.
By home time, three more bovines had gathered at the gate, all giving Mariam the same hopeful look.
"That's the trouble with cows," chuckled Farmer Holly. "Bovine gossip travels fast."
On the coach home, Mariam checked her bag twice. Just in case anyone was still watching.
Word Definition
bovine
meaning
relating to cattle or cows; slow, dull, or stupid in a way that resembles a cow; an animal of the cattle family, such as a cow or ox
synonyms
sluggish · dull · stolid · placid
antonyms
sharp · lively · alert
example sentence
The farmer studied the bovine herd grazing quietly in the field.