Gaurs

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Large wild bovines native to South and Southeast Asia known for their massive size and dark coat ; plural form used to denote multiple individual animals of this species ; refers collectively to these strong herbivorous mammals found in forested regions
2. Members of a species of robust, wild cattle found in tropical Asian forests, characterized by their considerable height and muscular build ; a term indicating more than one of such animals ; used to name these prominent bovids living in subtropical habitats
3. Descriptions of several of the biggest wild cattle species with distinctive curved horns and a sturdy frame inhabiting South Asian woodlands ; plural indication showing quantity ; referring to these formidable grazing creatures as a group

Etymology: "Gaurs" is the plural of "gaur", a large wild ox of South and Southeast Asia, with a massive build, a humped shoulder and a pale-stockinged lower leg. The singular was borrowed into English from Hindi, where "gaur" comes from Sanskrit "gaura", a word meaning "white" or "tawny." English speakers began using it in the early 19th century, when European naturalists and officials in British India were recording the region's wildlife. The Sanskrit adjective is the same word that gives the animal its name, so the ox was known by its colour before it was known by a species label. Its close relative is "gayal", the domesticated form of the same animal, and the two words are doublets: separate borrowings from the same source that reached English by different routes.

Synonyms: Indian bison