Interesting Words of Brutes

Xah Lee, 2005-09

Here's a short collection of interesting words for animals with designations of sex, age, purpose from human animal's perspective.

• sire | male parent
• dam | female parent

  When did the tiger's young ones teach the dam?
  O, do not learn her wrath- she taught it thee;
  The milk thou suck'dst from her did turn to marble,
  Even at thy teat thou hadst thy tyranny. 
  Yet every mother breeds not sons alike:
  [To CHIRON]  Do thou entreat her show a woman's pity.
    —Shakespeare in Titus Andronicus ]

younglings:

• fledgling | bird
• gosling | goose
• kid | goat
• calf | cow,bull,elephant, whale..
• chick | chicken
• cub | bear, wolf, lion
• duckling | duck
• lamb | sheep
• fawn | deer
• leveret | hare
• puppy | pup, dog
• kitten | cat
• kit | cat, or fur bearing animal
• foal | horse
• joey | kangaroo
• pullet | domestic hen
• suckler | suckling calf or mammal
• whelp | mammal: dog, wolf. | Two of thy whelps, fell curs of bloody kind,/ Have here bereft my brother of his life. [Shakespeare in Titus Andronicus Titus Andronicus ]
• yearling | She looked straight into his eyes. “'Kill the yearlings,'” she said very gently. “'Kill the calves.'” [James Agee in A Mother's Tale]
• weanling | child or animal
• fatling | fattened youngling for sale
• poulard | A young hen that has been spayed for fattening.

• pony | any type of horse that is small when mature

Sex

• cock |
• rooster | Another Rooster in the Hen House —from Joker of a dialogue in movie Batman (1989).
• capon | A male chicken castrated when young to improve the quality of its flesh for food
• gander | male goose
• hart | A male deer, especially a male red deer over five years old.

  To-morrow, and it please your Majesty
  To hunt the panther and the hart with me,
  With horn and hound we'll give your Grace bonjour.
    —Shakespeare in Titus Andronicus Titus Andronicus ]

• ox | castrated adult bull
• bullock | castrated bull
• steer | A young ox, especially one castrated before sexual maturity and raised for beef
• stag | male deer.
• tomcat | male cat
• gib | male cat, esp. castrated

• filly | young female horse

• ewe | female sheep.
• hen | A female bird, esp adult domestic fowl; female octopus or lobster.
• bitch | A female canine animal, especially a dog
• cow | The mature female of other large animals, such as whales, elephants, or moose.
• doe | female deer, hare, goat, or kangaroo.
• sow | adult female hog, bear.
• mare | female horse

• cattle | cows, steers, bulls, oxen... bred for human curlinery pleasure.
• colt | young male horse
• stud | horses kept for breeding
• stallion | uncastrated male horse, esp. for breeding

• gelding | castrated animal, esp. male horse.
• geegee
• pinto | mottled horse
• puss,pussy | cat, women
• goose | female goose

• swine | pig, hog, boar
• bison,buffalo
• hare

some rare names

• jackal
• lemur
• dodo
• armadillo