dogcow

English

Etymology

dog +‎ cow

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Noun

dogcow (plural dogcows)

1. (computing, slang) A creature resembling a dog and a cow, used as a placeholder image in early Macintosh operating systems.
   • 1990, Microtimes, volume 7, page 174:

     As all Mac wizards know, "moof" is the preferred statement for dogcows.

   • 1994, Sharon Zardetto Aker, The Mac almanac, page 469:

     Although all dogcows look the same, this is probably the very one that appeared in that stack, in which case his name is Clarus.

   • 2002, Erin Jansen, Vincent James, NetLingo: The Internet Dictionary, page 138:

     Mac creators dropped the dogcow in later OS versions, but online petitions and press coverage designed to "bring back the dogcow" have made Apple executives aware of the tremendous cult following of this hybrid icon.