The (holy) cow: Bossie or Bessie?

[Charles Doyle]

It's my impression that once English speakers stopped
learning Latin, the bovinym "Bossie" became opaque, and so
it was replaced (by folk-etymology or whatever) with the
more ordinary female name "Bessie."


---- Original message ----
>Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2006 17:41:40 -0400
>From: Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
>Subject: Re: Holy cow! (1917)
>To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>
>---------------------- Information from the mail header ----
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>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-
L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
>Subject:      Re: Holy cow! (1917)
>------------------------------------------------------------
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>
>Isn't the default name for a cow "Bossie"? Cf. various
writings for childre=
>n
>and the intracampusly-famous sports cheer of the University
of California
>Farm, "Bossie! Bossie! Cow! Cow!"
>
>-Wilson

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