Online Etymology Dictionary

cattle: mid-13c., from Anglo-Fr. catel "property," from M.L. capitale "property, stock," neut. of L. capitalis "principal, chief," from caput "head" (see head). Original sense was of moveable property, especially livestock; not limited to "cows" until 1550s.
pecuniary: c.1500, from L. pecuniarius "pertaining to money," from pecunia "money, property, wealth," from pecu "cattle, flock," from PIE base *peku- (cf. Skt. pasu- "cattle," Goth. faihu "money, fortune," O.E. feoh "cattle, money"). Livestock was the measure of wealth in the ancient world. For a related sense development in O.E., see fee. Cf. also Welsh tlws "jewel," cognate with Ir. tlus "cattle," connected via notion of "valuable thing."
fee: late 13c., from O.Fr. fieu, from M.L. feodum "land or other property whose use is granted in return for service," probably from Frank. *fehu-od "payment-estate," in which the first element is cognate with O.E. feoh "money, property, cattle" (also Ger. Vieh "cattle," Goth. faihu "money, fortune"), from PIE *peku- "cattle" (cf. Skt. pasu, Lith. pekus "cattle;" L. pecu "cattle," pecunia "money, property"); second element similar to O.E. ead "wealth." Sense of "payment for services" first recorded late 14c. Fee-simple is "absolute ownership," as opposed to fee-tail "entailed ownership," inheritance limited to some particular class of heirs (from O.Fr. taillir "to cut, to limit").
peculiar: c.1460, from L. peculiaris "of one's own (property)," from peculium "private property," lit. "property in cattle" (in ancient times the most important form of property), from pecu "cattle, flock," related to pecus "cattle" (see pecuniary). Meaning of "unusual" is first attested 1608; peculiarity "special characteristic" is from 1646; noun meaning "an oddity" is 1777.
rodeo: 1914 as public entertainment show of horse-riding skill, from earlier meaning "cattle round-up" (1834), from Sp., "pen for cattle at a fair or market," lit. "a going round," from rodear "go round, surround," related to rodare "revolve, roll," from L. rotare "go around" (see rotary).
Holstein: breed of cattle, 1865; so called because originally raised in Friesland.
husky (1): "hoarse," c.1722 in reference to a cattle disease (of persons, 1740), from the notion of "dry as a husk;" sense of "tough and strong," is first found 1869 Amer.Eng., on analogy of corn husks.
Angus: masc. proper name, from Scot., related to Ir. Aonghus, a compound that may be rendered in Eng. as "one choice." Also the name of a county in Scotland, hence a breed of cattle associated with that region (1842).
feeder: early 15c., “one who feeds an animal;” 1560s, “one who eats;” agent noun from feed. Of cattle and streams, by 1790s; of roads and railroads, by 1850s.
Hayward: proper name, is O.E. hege-weard "guardian of the fence/hedge." His original duties seem to have been protecting the fences around the Lammas lands, when enclosed, to prevent cattle from breaking in while the crops grew.
breeder: 1570s, "one who produces or originates," agent noun from breed (v.). Meaning "one who breeds cattle" or some other animal is recorded from 1530s. Of nuclear reactors, from 1948. As a scornful homosexual term for "heterosexual person," attested from 1986.
anthrax: late 14c., "any severe boil or carbuncle," from L., from Gk. anthrax, lit. "live coal," also "carbuncle," of unknown origin. Specific sense of the disease in sheep and cattle (and occasionally humans) is from 1876.
maverick: 1867, "calf or yearling found without an owner's brand," in allusion to Samuel A. Maverick (1803-1870), Texas cattle owner who was negligent in branding his calves. Sense of "individualist, unconventional person" is first recorded 1886, via notion of "masterless."
impound: 1554, "to shut up in a pen or pound," from in- "in" + pound (n.). Originally of cattle seized by law.
hidebound: 1550s, from hide (n.1) + past tense of bind. Original reference is to emaciated cattle with skin sticking closely to backbones and ribs; metaphoric sense of "restricted by narrow attitudes" is first recorded c.1600.
tail (v.): "follow secretly," U.S. colloquial, 1907, is from earlier sense of "follow or drive cattle," from tail (n.1). Tail off "diminish" is attested from 1854.
Herefordshire: O.E. Herefordscir, from Hereford (958), lit. "ford suitable for the passage of an army." Probably so-called in ref. to the Roman road passing over the Wye River. Herford in Germany has the same etymology. As the name for a type of cattle, first bred there, it is attested from 1789.
earmark: 1520s, from ear (1) + mark (1). Originally a cut or mark in the ear of sheep and cattle, serving as a sign of ownership; first recorded 1570s in figurative sense. Related: Earmarked.
Guernsey: breed of cattle, 1834, from the Channel Island where it was bred; the island name is Viking. Like neighboring Jersey, it was also taken as the name for a coarse, close-fitting vest of wool (1839), and in Australia the word supplies many of the usages of jersey in U.S.
chattel: early 13c., chatel "property, goods," from O.Fr. chatel (see cattle, which is the Norman-Picard form of the same word). Application to slaves (1640s) is a rhetorical figure of abolitionists, etc.
dewlap: c.1350 dewe lappe, from lappe "loose piece" (O.E. læppa), first element of unknown origin or meaning. Originally of cattle.
round (v.): late 14c., "to make round," from round (adj.). Meaning "to approximate a number" is from 1934. Round up "to collect in a mass" is from 1615; specifically of livestock from 1847; round-up (n.) "cattle drive" is from 1873;
gad (v.): "to rove about," mid-15c., perhaps a back-formation of O.E. gædeling "wandering," or associated with gad (n.) "a goad for driving cattle" (see gadfly). Related: Gadding.
aquarium: 1854, from L. neut. of aquarius, gen. of aqua "water" (see aqua-). The word existed in L., but meant "drinking place for cattle." An earlier attempt at a name for "fish tank" was marine vivarium.
murrain: "cattle plague," early 14c., from O.Fr. moraine "pestilence," from mourir "to die," from L. mori (see mortal).
stile: O.E. stigel "device for climbing, ladder," related to stigen "to climb," from P.Gmc. *stig- "to climb," (see stair). An arrangement to allow persons to pass but not sheep and cattle.
Smithfield: place in London, celebrated since at least 17c. as a market for cattle and horses, later the central meat market. In various colloquial expressions. Originally Smethefield, from O.E. smethe "smooth." Smithfield ham (1908, Amer.Eng.) is from a town of that name in Virginia.
clover: O.E. clafre, from P.Gmc. *klaibron. First ref. in Eng. to luck of a four-leaf clover is from 1507. To be in clover "live luxuriously" is 1710, "clover being extremely delicious and fattening to cattle" [Johnson].
amenable: 1590s, "liable," from M.Fr. amener "answerable" (to the law), from à "to" + mener "to lead," from L. minare "to drive (cattle) with shouts," var. of minari "threaten" (see menace). Sense of "tractable" is from 1803, from notion of disposed to answer or submit to influence.
loco: 1844, Amer.Eng., from Sp. loco (adj.) "insane," of uncertain origin, perhaps from Arabic lauqa, fem. of 'alwaq "fool, crazy person." Loco-weed (1879) was name given to species of western U.S. plants that cause cattle and horse diseases that make them stagger and act strangely.
Pan: Arcadian shepherd god with upper body of a man and lower part like a goat, c.1369, a god of the woods and fields, from L., from Gk. Pan, perhaps cognate with Skt. pusan, a Vedic god, guardian and multiplier of cattle and other human possessions, lit. "nourisher." Similarity to pan "all" (see pan-) led to his being regarded as a personification of nature. Pan-pipe, upon which he supposedly played, is attested from 1820.
cowboy: 1725, "boy who tends to cows," from cow + boy. Sense in Western U.S. is from 1849; fig. use by 1942 for "brash and reckless young man" (as an adj. meaning "reckless," from 1920s). Cowhand is first attested 1852 in Amer.Eng. Cowpoke (1881) was originally restricted to the cowboys who prodded cattle onto railroad cars with long poles.
spread (n.): 1691, "extent or expanse of something," from spread (v.). Meaning "copious meal" dates from 1822; sense of "food for spreading" (butter, jam, etc.) is from 1812. Sense of "bed cover" is recorded from 1848, originally Amer.Eng. Meaning "degree of variation" is attested from 1929. Spreadsheet is first attested 1982. Meaning "ranch for raising cattle" is attested from 1927.
pasture: c.1300, from O.Fr. pasture "grass eaten by cattle," from L.L. pastura "a feeding, grazing," from L. pastus, pp. of pascere "to feed, graze" (see pastor).
mill (v.): "to keep moving round and round in a mass," 1874 (implied in milling), originally of cattle, from mill (n.1) on resemblance to the action of a mill wheel. Related: Milling.
feudal: 1610s, from M.L. feudalis, from feudum "feudal estate," of Germanic origin (cf. Goth. faihu "property," O.H.G. fihu "cattle," see fee). Related to M.E. feodary "one who holds lands of an overlord in exchange for service" (late 14c.).
cubbyhole: 1825, the first element possibly from a dim. of cub "stall, pen, cattle shed, coop, hutch" (1540s), a dial. word apparently with cognates in Low Ger. (cf. E.Fris. kubbing, Du. kub). Or related to cuddy "small room, cupboard" (1793), originally "small cabin in a boat" (1650s). Or perhaps simply a children's made-up word.
shrimp: 1327, "kind of slender shellfish," probably from O.N. skreppa "thin person," from P.Gmc. *skrempanan (see scrimp). Related to O.E. scrimman "to shrink." The connecting notion is probably "thinness" (cf. Dan. dialectal skrimpe "thin cattle"). The meaning "puny person" in Eng. is attested from late 14c.
sty (1): "pen for pigs," O.E. sti, stig "hall, pen" (in sti-fearh), from P.Gmc. *stijan (cf. O.N. stia "sty, kennel," O.H.G. stiga "pen for small cattle").
chute: 1725, Amer.Eng., "fall of water," from Fr. chute, from O.Fr. cheoite pp. of cheoir "to fall," from L. cadere (see case (1)). Meaning "narrow passage for cattle, etc." first recorded 1881.
suet: late 14c., "solid fat formed in the torsos of cattle and sheep," probably from an Anglo-Fr. diminutive of sius, the nominative use of sue, seu "tallow, grease," from O.Fr. sieu "tallow," from L. sebum "tallow, grease."
jersey: "knitted cloth" (1583) and "breed of cattle" (1842) both from Jersey, one of the Channel Islands, said to be a corruption of L. Caesarea, the Roman name for the island (or another near it), infl. by O.E. ey "island;" but probably in fact a Viking name (perhaps meaning "Geirr's island"). The meaning "woollen knitted close-fitting tunic," especially one worn during sporting events, is from 1836.
merino: "fine-wool breed of sheep," 1781, from Sp., possibly from Ar. Merini, a Berber family or tribe of sheep farmers in northwest Africa whose animals were imported into Spain 14c.-15c. to improve local breeds. Or from L. majorinus, from major "greater," either in ref. to size of the animals or from Sp. derivative merino (n.) "overseer of cattle pastures," also a title of judicial officers.
afanc: cattle-devouring aquatic monster in Celtic countries, from Celt. *abankos "water-creature," from *ab- "water" (cf. Welsh afon, Breton aven "river," L. amnis "stream, river," which is of Italo-Celtic origin).
wrangle (v.): late 14c., from Low Ger. wrangeln "to dispute, to wrestle," related to M.L.G. wringen, from P.Gmc. *wrang-, from PIE *wrengh-, nasalized variant of *wergh- "to turn" (see wring). The noun is recorded from 1540s. Wrangler "person in charge of horses or cattle, herder" is first recorded 1888; as a proprietary name for a brand of jeans, copyrighted 1947, claiming use from 1929.
synecdoche: 1388, "part for whole or vice versa," from M.L. synodoche, from L.L. synecdoche, from Gk. synekdokhe, lit. "a receiving together or jointly," from synekdekhesthai "supply a thought or word, take with something else," from syn- "with" + ek "out" + dekhesthai "to receive," related to dokein "seem good" (see decent). Figure in which an attribute or adjunct is substituted for the thing meant ("head" for "cattle," etc.).
rustle: "to emit soft, rapid sounds," late 14c. (implied in rustling), of uncertain origin, perhaps imitative (cf. M.L.G. ruschen, M.Du. ruusscen, Ger. rauschen "to rustle"). The noun is attested from 1759. Meaning "steal" (especially cattle) first attested 1882, probably from earlier Amer.Eng. slang sense of "move about vigorously" (1872), perhaps a separate word, compounded from rush and hustle.
superannuated: "retired on account of old age," 1633, "obsolete, out of date," from M.L. superannuatus "more than a year old" (of cattle), from L. super "beyond, over" (see super-) + annus "year" (see annual).
gadfly (n.): 1620s, "fly which bites cattle," probably from gad "goad, metal rod" (early 13c.), here in the sense of "stinger," from O.N. gaddr "spike, nail," from P.Gmc. *gadaz "pointed stick;" but sense is entangled with gad (v.) and an early meaning of gadfly was also "someone who likes to go about, often stopping here and there." Sense of "one who irritates another" is from 1640s (equivalent of L. oestrus).
Boeotian: 1590s, "ignorant, dull," from Boeotia, district around Thebes in ancient Greece (said to have been so called for its cattle pastures), whose inhabitants were characterized as proverbially dull and countrified by their neighbors, the Athenians. The Boeotians presumably held reciprocal opinions, but their great writers, Plutarch and Pindar, thoug patriots, are full of praise for Athenian deeds and institutions.
"Though his aim was to vindicate Boeotia, [Pindar] has probably done her a disservice, in that he has helped to immortalise the scurrilous proverb Βοιωτία ύς, which he wished to confute. ... If left to itself, the slander might have passed into oblivion long ago." [W. Rhys Roberts, "The Ancient Boeotians," 1895]