cowtail

English

Alternative forms

• cow-tail, cow tail, cow's tail

Etymology

From Middle English *cou-tayl, from Old English cūtæġl (“cowtail”), equivalent to cow +‎ tail.

Noun

cowtail (plural cowtails)

1. The tail of a cow
   • 2002, Lura Spears Zerick, The Golden Olden Days, page 69:

     These burrs stuck to the tails of the cows as they walked by, and were brought to the cowpen, the cowtails greatly enlarged by the huge amount of cockleburs stuck on them.

2. A coarse wool of low quality, usually shorn from the hind legs of sheep