ear tag
- noun
- /ɪr tæɡ/
:
etiqueta de oreja
- There were just eleven cows, purebred Jerseys, and each had an old-fashioned cow name rather than a numbered ear tag to identify it.
Examples
-
Rosie not only had an ear tag, but she has a chip embedded in her neck.
Fiction book (2001) -
Each sheep received an ear tag to ensure they could be identified easily during the sale.
-
While it seems in such an exhausted sleep, or maybe passed out, I take pliers and carefully remove the staple that holds the zero-seven ear tag.
Fiction book (2001) -
The farmer used an ear tag to keep track of each animal in the herd.
-
After the veterinarian examined the cows, she placed an ear tag on each one for identification.
Synonyms
180
1.0
A small piece of paper or plastic attached to something to show information
1
7.9
A mark on an animal's ear that shows who owns it
How Permanent
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to attach a small tag to an animal's ear' is directly derivable from combining 'ear' (body organ) and 'tag' (small label): the phrase describes a literal, compositional action. This is a common, cross-linguistically familiar farming practice, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily understand the MWE.
Etymology
Ear tag comes from the simple picture of a small tag on an animal's ear, like a name tag on a person. That's why it means a tag used to 'identify' and 'track' animals.