Vache

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A term often used to refer to a cow, typically in a familiar or affectionate context
2. Describing something resembling or associated with a cow, especially in size or demeanor
3. A colloquial expression denoting a hefty or robust individual, not necessarily animal-related

Etymology: In Latin, "vacca" meant cow, and it passed into Old French as "vache," the everyday French word for the animal. Its ultimate origin is usually traced to an ancient Indo-European word for cow, but the French line runs directly through the Latin form. The word's meaning stretched well beyond cattle in French. Calling someone a "vache" means calling them mean, spiteful or cruel, and "grosse vache" is a crude insult aimed at a large or heavy person, applying the animal's bulk to a human body. In English, "vache" remains a borrowed French word, and it turns up mainly in French-speaking contexts or as an imported insult rather than as a settled English term.

Synonyms: cow, cattle, bovine