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lowing

lowing

1 3.6
A deep sound that cows make like a long moo
  • noun
  • /ˈloʊɪŋ/
translation icon : mugido
  • As we walked through the pasture, we could hear the lowing of cattle in the distance.
  • lowing of cattle
  • lowing of cows

Examples

  • With the grass rustling in the wind... ...and the pool rippling to the waving of the reeds... ...the tinkling sheep bells, the voice of the shepherd boy... ...and the lowing of the cattle in the distance.

  • But this afternoon, Phoebe comes simply to sit in the cool grass between the river and the cliff, to drink a bottle of wine, feel the sun, and listen to the lowing of cows.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • She heard the cows lowing, coming close with their lowing.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • "They smiled at each other and the silence between them was filled for a few moments by the lowing of cattle.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears, and the lowing of cattle that I hear?"

    Blog text (8)
  • She heard the tramping and lowing of the cattle as they were driven into the city and along the street toward the market.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • No more cattle lowing, no chickens clucking, no children's cries, distant, in the forest, by the pond.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • I know the time by the lowing of the cow ready to be milked... and the cackle of the hen when the egg shall be gathered.

  • The crowing of the roosters and the lowing of the hungry calves are no longer heard in the village, but the bulbuls, as in the days when we first came here, still chatter every morning and tell their unchanging dreams.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Off the farm lane now, where the green boughs descend to eye level, isolated from the rest of the world, where the song of the lark, the cries of the farmers, even the lowing of the cattle reach their ears only distantly.

    Fiction book (2002)

Synonyms

moo
vslowing
28 1.0

A deep low sound that a cow makes

has identical meaning but is a more literary term
bellowing
vslowing
4 5.9

A very loud deep shout like an animal's roar

describes the same low sound but milder and specific to cattle
cow's moo
vslowing
1.0

A low, long sound a cow makes

applies to cattle generally rather than a single animal

How Deep

bellow
20 4.6
lowing
1 3.6

Surface Forms

lowing singular
lowings plural

Morphology

lowing = low (transparent) = low + ing

The noun is a nominalized present participle formed directly from the verb 'low' with -ing, preserving the meaning of the sound.

Etymology

Lowing comes from the simple verb low, which means 'to make the deep, mooing sound of cows'. So lowing is just the long, low 'moo' you hear from cattle.