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A sacrifice of a hundred oxen or cattle at the same time; hence, the sacrifice or slaughter of any large number of victims. Slaughtered hecatombs around them bleed. Addison. More than a human hecatomb. Byron.

A rack for cattle to feed at. [Prov. Eng.]

A shed or hovel for cattle. [Prov. Eng.] Wright.

An officer whose business was to denounce or proclaim war, to challenge to battle, to proclaim peace, and to bear messages from the commander of an army. He was invested with a sacred and inviolable character.

A number of beasts assembled together; as, a herd of horses, oxen, cattle, camels, elephants, deer, or swine; a particular stock or family of cattle. The lowing herd wind slowly o'er the lea. Gray.

A book containing the list and pedigrees of one or more herds of choice breeds of cattle; -- also called herd record, or herd register.

The owner or keeper of a herd or of herds; one employed in tending a herd of cattle.

One of a breed of cattle originating in Herefordshire, England. The Herefords are good working animals, and their beef-producing quality is excellent.

Having permanent horns with a bony core, as cattle.

One of a breed of cattle, originally from Schleswig-Holstein, valued for the large amount of milk produced by the cows. The color is usually black and white in irregular patches.

Conferring honor, or produced by noble deeds. Honorable wounds from battle brought. Dryden.

A hoofed animal; a beast. Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not a hoof be left behind. Ex. x. 26.

The projecting points of the thigh bones of cattle; -- called also hook bones. By hook or by crook, one way or other; by any means, direct or indirect. Milton. "In hope her to attain by hook or crook." Spenser. -- Off the hooks, unhinged; disturbed; disordered. [Colloq.] "In the evening, by water, to the Duke of Albem…

A disease in cattle consisting in inflammation of the stomach by gas, ordinarily caused by eating too much green food; tympany; bloating.

Affected with hoove; as, hooven, or hoven, cattle.

A fetter for horses, or cattle, when turned out to graze; -- chiefly used in the plural.

ally pointed organ, growing upon the heads of certain animals, esp. of the ruminants, as cattle, goats, and the like. The hollow horns of the Ox family consist externally of true horn, and are never shed.

rnished with a horn or horns; furnished with a hornlike process or appendage; as, horned cattle; having some part shaped like a horn. The horned moon with one bright star Within the nether tip. Coleridge. Horned bee (Zoöl.), a British wild bee (Osmia bicornis), having two little horns on the head. -- Horned dace (Zoöl…

An encounter; a battle. "Fierce hosting." Milton.

ng; as, to house one's family in a comfortable home; to house farming utensils; to house cattle. At length have housed me in a humble shed. Young. House your choicest carnations, or rather set them under a penthouse. Evelyn.