milcher

9.9

A cow or other cattle kept to give milk

noun
/ˈmɪltʃər/

Archaic

: vaca lechera

The farmer selected the healthiest milcher for his expanding dairy herd.

Examples

This breed is known to be a productive milcher with high-quality milk.
The farm has several milchers producing fresh milk.
During the show, her prize-winning milcher drew a lot of attention from the judges.
She owns a milcher that gives a lot of milk.
The farmer selected the healthiest milcher for his expanding dairy herd.
This breed is known to be a productive milcher with high-quality milk.
During the show, her prize-winning milcher drew a lot of attention from the judges.

Synonyms

dairy cow

vsmilcher

5 1.5

A cow that is kept mainly to give milk

is the more general term focusing on milk without contrasting meat production

milk cow

vsmilcher

3 1.0

A cow kept to give milk for people to drink

is not limited to excluding animals used for work and only prioritizes milk

dairy cattle

vsmilcher

1 2.4

Animals kept to give milk rather than meat

is used for an individual animal kept primarily for milk rather than groups

milker

vsmilcher

1 3.2

A cow that people keep and raise to produce milk

is broader and includes animals kept mainly for milk even if not specifically bred

milch cow

vsmilcher

Archaic

6.3

A cow that a farmer keeps to give milk

is broader allowing animals kept mainly but not only for milk

Surface Forms

milcher singular

milchers plural

Morphology

milcher = milch (semi-transparent) = milch + er

Form is directly 'milch' + '-er' meaning a milk-producing animal, but 'milch' is relatively rare and unfamiliar to many learners who know 'milk' instead, so inference is only partly transparent.

Etymology

The word milcher comes from the simple word milk, meaning 'milk', with the ending -er meaning 'one that gives'. So a milcher is 'one that gives milk', a cow kept mainly for milk.