# heifer

Pronunciation: US say "HEF-er" /ˈhɛfə(ɹ)/; UK say "HEF-uh" /ˈhɛfə(ɹ)/

## Noun

1. A young female cow, especially one more than a year old that has not yet given birth to a calf.
   - Simple: A young female cow, especially one over a year old that has not had a calf yet.
   - _She raised a heifer for her 4-H project and showed it at the state fair._
   - _The rancher kept his best heifers to replace the older cows in his breeding herd._
2. An insulting name for a woman who is considered unattractive or unpleasant. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A rude name for a woman who someone thinks is ugly or unpleasant.
   - _That heifer next door called the cops on us again over the music._
   - _Move your car, heifer, you're blocking my driveway!_

## Noun

3. A wife; the woman a person is married to. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A wife, the woman someone is married to.

## Origin

Inherited from Middle English heyfre (also hayfre, heyfer), which came from Old English hēahfore or hēahfru. The deeper origin of the Old English word is disputed.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/heifer (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).