cowlike

1 3.3

Looking and moving like a cow, slow and calm

adjective
/ˈkaʊlaɪk/

: bovino

We saw fields of crops growing and herds of something grazing: large animals, cowlike, except for their heads, which were small, the faces resembling bighorn sheep.
cowlike udders

Examples

Superbly modeled, for all their cowlike air, the pale bread of their bellies magnificently rises.

Academic text (1992)
With her cowlike eyes, cowlike udders, and broad cowlike hips.

Fiction book (1991)
With her cowlike eyes, cowlike udders, and broad cowlike hips.

Fiction book (1991)
With her cowlike eyes, cowlike udders, and broad cowlike hips.

Fiction book (1991)
I pull my knife and kneel by the ray's blunt, cowlike nose.

Fiction book (1996)
The girl had a gentle, cowlike demeanor, making her very approachable.
His cowlike behavior at the party made everyone laugh, as he kept munching on snacks.
The artist captured the cowlike features of the animal perfectly in her painting.

Synonyms

bovine

vscowlike

Offensive

1 7.7

Slow and calm in movement or expression

refers more broadly to resembling the animal in appearance, behavior, or manner

How Cowlike

cowlike

1 3.3

bovine

Specialized

1 6.6

Surface Forms

cowlike positive

Morphology

cowlike = cow (transparent) = cow + like

The meaning is directly formed from the noun 'cow' plus the productive adjectival suffix '-like' meaning 'resembling'.

Etymology

Cowlike is made from cow and the ending -like, where -like means 'similar to'. So something cowlike looks or moves like a cow — calm, slow, or gentle — which explains why we use it for appearance or behavior.