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Glite Dictionary
first stomach

first stomach

8.3
Part of a cow's stomach that stores food to be chewed again
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : primer estómago
  • Food is initially stored in the first stomach before being regurgitated as cud.

Examples

  • During digestion, the first stomach acts as a large fermentation chamber.

  • The cow's first stomach plays a vital role in breaking down tough plant materials.

  • The cow's first stomach is essential for digestion.

  • Did you know that a goat has a first stomach?

  • In ruminants, the food passes through the first stomach, known as the rumen, before being chewed again.

  • The cow's digestion begins in the first stomach, where it stores food before regurgitating it as cud.

  • During digestion, the grass is initially held in the first stomach of a sheep before it is reprocessed.

Synonyms

rumen
vsfirst stomach
  • Specialized
1 9.9

First part of the stomach in animals like cows where swallowed food collects to be chewed again

is the common descriptive phrase for that same compartment

Surface Forms

first stomach singular
first stomachs plural

Morphology

first + stomach

The compound is strictly compositional: 'first' modifies 'stomach' to indicate the stomach that comes first in a sequence. A B1 learner who knows both words can infer it denotes the initial compartment of a multi-part stomach; the additional technical details about ruminant digestion are specialized but do not prevent basic comprehension from the constituents.

Etymology

First stomach comes from the simple idea in animals like cows: it is the first part of the stomach where food is stored. This part later sends food back to the mouth to be 'chewed again' as 'cud', so the name describes its job of holding and returning food.