bison

pronunciation

How to pronounce bison in British English: UK [ˈbaɪsn] word uk audio image

How to pronounce bison in American English: US [ˈbaɪsn] word us audio image

Noun:

any of several large shaggy-maned humped bovids having large heads and short horns

Word Origin

bison: bison: [14] Bison appears to be of Germanic origin, from a stem *wisand- or *wisund-. This became Old English wesand, which did not survive; and it was acquired again in the 19th century as wisent, borrowed from German wisent, applied to the ‘aurochs’, an extinct species of European wild ox. The b- form came into English via Latin bison, a borrowing from the Germanic. Originally of course referring to the European bison, the term was first applied to the North American species at the end of the 17th century.

bison (n.): c. 1600, from French bison (15c.), from Latin bison "wild ox," borrowed from Proto-Germanic *wisand- "aurochs" (cognates: Old Norse visundr, Old High German wisunt "bison," Old English/Middle English wesend, which is not attested after c. 1400). Possibly ultimately of Baltic or Slavic origin, and meaning "the stinking animal," in reference to its scent while rutting (see weasel). A European wild ox formerly widespread on the continent, including the British Isles, now surviving on forest reserves in Lithuania. Applied 1690s to the North American species commonly mis-called a buffalo.

2. But dr kennett notes that present-day bison are not like the ones the clovis people hunted .

3. But the biggest obstacle is the ranchers themselves , whose cattle compete with prairie dogs and bison for grass and space .

4. And low iron levels in blood can cause severe fatigue . To get a good dose of iron , try bison .