cowboy

cowboy

See also: Cowboy and cow-boy

English

Cowboys

Etymology

cow +‎ boy

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkaʊˌbɔɪ/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Noun

cowboy (plural cowboys)

1. A man who tends free-range cattle, especially in the American West.
   • 1899, Stephen Crane, chapter 1, in Twelve O'Clock:

     There was some laughter, and Roddle was left free to expand his ideas on the periodic visits of cowboys to the town. “Mason Rickets, he had ten big punkins a-sittin' in front of his store, an' them fellers from the Upside-down-F ranch shot 'em up […].”

2. A man who identifies with cowboy culture, including wearing a cowboy hat and being a fan of country and western music.
3. (informal) A person who engages in reckless behavior, especially for the purpose of showing off.
4. (Britain, informal) A dishonest and/or incompetent independent tradesman.
5. (card games, slang) A playing card of king rank.

Hypernyms

• cowhand
• cowperson
• cowpoke

Coordinate terms

• cowgirl

Derived terms

• all hat and no cowboy
• canteen cowboy
• cocaine cowboy
• cocksucking cowboy
• cowboy action shooting
• cowboy beans
• cowboy boot
• cowboy caviar
• cowboy chord
• cowboy church
• cowboy coffee
• cowboy-hatted
• cowboys and Indians
• cowboy shot
• cowboy shower
• cowboy supper
• cowboy tea
• cowboy up
• drugstore cowboy
• milk-bar cowboy
• Queen's cowboy
• rhinestone cowboy
• singing cowboy

 

Related terms

• cowman
• cowherd

Descendants

• → Catalan: cowboy
• → Dutch: cowboy
• → Finnish: cowboy
• → French: cow-boy, cowboy (see there for further descendants)
• → German: Cowboy
• → Hungarian: cowboy
• → Japanese: カウボーイ (kaubōi)
• → Khmer: ខោវប៊យ (khaowbɔɔy), ខូវប៊ (khəwbɔɔ)
• → Korean: 카우보이 (kauboi)
• → Norwegian Bokmål: cowboy
• → Norwegian Nynorsk: cowboy
• → Polish: kowboj
• → Portuguese: caubói, cowboy
• → Russian: ковбо́й (kovbój) (see there for further descendants)
• → Serbo-Croatian: kàuboj, ка̀убој
• → Spanish: cowboy
• → Swedish: cowboy
• → Thai: คาวบอย (kaao-bɔɔi)

Translations

person who tends cattle

Albanian: lopçar (sq) m Arabic: رَعَوِيّ الْبَقَر‎ m (raʿawiyy al-baqar), بَقّار‎ m (baqqār) Armenian: կովբոյ (hy) (kovboy) Azerbaijani: kovboy Bashkir: көтөүсе (kötöwse) Belarusian: пасту́х m (pastúx) Bengali: রাখাল (bn) (rakhal) Bulgarian: пасти́р (bg) m (pastír) Chinese: Cantonese: 牧人 (muk6 jan4) Mandarin: 牧人 (zh) (mùrén) Cornish: bughwas m Czech: kovboj m Danish: cowboy c Esperanto: vakero Finnish: cowboy (fi) (in American West); karjapaimen (fi) (in general) French: cow-boy (fr), cowboy (fr), vacher (fr) German: Cowboy (de) m, Kuhhirte (de) m Greek: αγελαδάρης (el) m (ageladáris) Hebrew: בּוֹקֵר‎ (he) m (boqér) Hindi: काउबॉय m (kāubŏy), गोपाल (hi) m (gopāl) Icelandic: kúreki (is) m Irish: buachaill bó m Italian: mandriano (it) m, vaccaio m, vaccaro m Japanese: 牧人 (ja) (ぼくじん, bokujin), 牧夫 (ぼくふ, bokufu) Kazakh: бақташы (baqtaşy), малшы (malşy), сиыршы (siyrşy), табыншы (tabynşy) Khmer: ខោវប៊យ (khaowbɔɔy), ខូវប៊ (khəwbɔɔ) Korean: 목자(牧者) (ko) (mokja) Kyrgyz: кесерге (keserge) Latin: bubulcus m Macedonian: го́ведар m (góvedar), каубо́ец m (kaubóec) (of American cowboys), каубо́ј m (kaubój) (of American cowboys) Malay: koboi Maori: kaupoai, kaupoai Marathi: काउबॉय m (kāubŏy) Navajo: akałii Norwegian: Bokmål: cowboy m Nynorsk: cowboy m Persian: گاوچران‎ (fa) (gâvčerân), کابوی‎ (fa) (kâboy) Polish: kowbojka f, kowboj (pl) m, kowboje m pl, kowbojki f pl Portuguese: vaqueiro (pt) m, caubói (pt) m Romanian: văcar (ro) m Russian: пасту́х (ru) m (pastúx), ковбо́й (ru) m (kovbój) (of American cowboys) Scots: coolad Scottish Gaelic: gille-cruidh m Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: ка̀убој m Roman: kàuboj (sh) m Slovak: (please verify) kraviar m, (please verify) cowboy m Spanish: vaquero m, gaucho (es) m, huaso (es) m, llanero (es) Swedish: cowboy (sv) c, kobojsare c Tagalog: bakero Thai: คาวบอย (kaao-bɔɔi) Turkish: kovboy (tr) Ukrainian: пасту́х m (pastúx), корівни́к (uk) m (korivnýk) Urdu: کاؤبای‎ m (kāubāy), گوپال‎ m (gopāl) Uzbek: kovboy (uz) Vietnamese: cao bồi (vi) Welsh: cowboi m Yiddish: קאַובוי‎ m (kauboy), קאַובאָי‎ m (kauboy)

man who identifies with cowboy culture

Bashkir: ковбой (kovboy) Belarusian: каўбо́й m (kaŭbój) Bulgarian: каубо́й m (kaubój) Chinese: Cantonese: 牛仔 (ngau4 zai2) Mandarin: 牛仔 (zh) (niúzǎi) Finnish: cowboy-fani French: cowboy (fr) m, cow-boy (fr) m German: Cowboy (de) m Japanese: カウボーイ (kaubōi) Khmer: ខោវប៊យ (khaowbɔɔy), ខូវប៊ (khəwbɔɔ) Korean: 카우보이 (ko) (kauboi) Macedonian: каубо́ец m (kaubóec), каубо́ј m (kaubój) Norwegian: Bokmål: cowboy m Nynorsk: cowboy m Portuguese: caubói (pt) m, peão (pt) m Russian: ковбо́й (ru) m (kovbój) Thai: คาวบอย (kaao-bɔɔi) Ukrainian: ковбо́й (uk) m (kovbój)

a dishonest and incompetent worker

Finnish: petkuttaja (fi), puijari Greek: ατζαμής (el) m (atzamís) Norwegian: Bokmål: cowboy m Nynorsk: cowboy m

one who engages in reckless behavior

Finnish: rämäpää (fi) Portuguese: caubói (pt) m, machão (pt) m Vietnamese: cao bồi (vi)

See also

• cattleman
• buckaroo

Verb

cowboy (third-person singular simple present cowboys, present participle cowboying, simple past and past participle cowboyed)

1. (intransitive) To work as a cowboy, herding cattle.
   • 1994, Sherry Robinson, El Malpais, Mt. Taylor, and the Zuni Mountains: a hiking guide and history

     Besides cowboying he worked at a small sawmill that cut logs into "four slabs and a tie" and sold ties to the railroad.

   • 1995, American Cowboy (volume 2, number 4, Nov-Dec 1995, page 26)

     Derwood Bailey cowboyed for 50 cents a day, a noon meal, and a gallon of oats for his horse.

   • 2003, C. J. Hadley, Trappings of the Great Basin Buckaroo

     I still had never ridden or cowboyed, and I wanted to learn something about it. I'd been making the damn saddles for years but didn't know how to use them.

References

• Weisenberg, Michael (2000) The Official Dictionary of Poker. MGI/Mike Caro University. →ISBN

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Danish

Etymology

From cowboy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔwbɔj/, [ˈkʰɒwˌb̥ʌj]

Noun

cowboy c (singular definite cowboyen, plural indefinite cowboys or cowboyer)

1. cowboy

Inflection

Declension of cowboy

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	cowboy	cowboyen	cowboys cowboyer	cowboyerne
genitive	cowboys	cowboyens	cowboys' cowboyers	cowboyernes

Derived terms

• cowboybukser
• cowboyfilm
• cowboyhat

 

References

• “cowboy” in Den Danske Ordbog

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Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English cowboy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɑu̯.bɔi̯/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: cow‧boy

Noun

cowboy m (plural cowboys, diminutive cowboytje n)

1. cowboy

Derived terms

• cowboyhoed
• cowboykapitalisme
• cowboylaars

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Finnish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English cowboy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɑu̯boi̯/, [ˈkɑu̯bo̞i̯]

Noun

cowboy

1. cowboy (person who attends cattle, especially in the American West)

Declension

Inflection of cowboy (Kotus type 21/rosé, no gradation)
nominative		cowboy	cowboyt
genitive		cowboyn	cowboyiden cowboyitten
partitive		cowboyta	cowboyita
illative		cowboyhin cowboyhyn	cowboyihin
		singular	plural
nominative		cowboy	cowboyt
accusative	nom.	cowboy	cowboyt
	gen.	cowboyn
genitive		cowboyn	cowboyiden cowboyitten
partitive		cowboyta	cowboyita
inessive		cowboyssa	cowboyissa
elative		cowboysta	cowboyista
illative		cowboyhin cowboyhyn	cowboyihin
adessive		cowboylla	cowboyilla
ablative		cowboylta	cowboyilta
allative		cowboylle	cowboyille
essive		cowboyna	cowboyina
translative		cowboyksi	cowboyiksi
instructive		—	cowboyin
abessive		cowboytta	cowboyitta
comitative		—	cowboyineen

Possessive forms of cowboy (type rosé)
possessor	singular	plural
1st person	cowboyni	cowboymme
2nd person	cowboysi	cowboynne
3rd person	cowboynsa

Synonyms

• lehmipoika (humorous)
• karjapaimen (person who attends cattle in general)

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French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kaw.bɔj/, /ko.bɔj/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

cowboy m (plural cowboys, feminine cowgirl)

1. (rare) post-1990 spelling of cow-boy

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Hungarian

Etymology

From English cowboy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈkɒuboj]
• Hyphenation: cow‧boy
• Rhymes: -oj

Noun

cowboy (plural cowboyok)

1. cowboy

Declension

Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	cowboy	cowboyok
accusative	cowboyt	cowboyokat
dative	cowboynak	cowboyoknak
instrumental	cowboyjal	cowboyokkal
causal-final	cowboyért	cowboyokért
translative	cowboyjá	cowboyokká
terminative	cowboyig	cowboyokig
essive-formal	cowboyként	cowboyokként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	cowboyban	cowboyokban
superessive	cowboyon	cowboyokon
adessive	cowboynál	cowboyoknál
illative	cowboyba	cowboyokba
sublative	cowboyra	cowboyokra
allative	cowboyhoz	cowboyokhoz
elative	cowboyból	cowboyokból
delative	cowboyról	cowboyokról
ablative	cowboytól	cowboyoktól
non-attributive possessive - singular	cowboyé	cowboyoké
non-attributive possessive - plural	cowboyéi	cowboyokéi

Possessive forms of cowboy
possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	cowboyom	cowboyaim
2nd person sing.	cowboyod	cowboyaid
3rd person sing.	cowboya	cowboyai
1st person plural	cowboyunk	cowboyaink
2nd person plural	cowboyotok	cowboyaitok
3rd person plural	cowboyuk	cowboyaik

Derived terms

Compound words

• cowboycsizma
• cowboyfilm
• cowboykalap
• cowboyregény

 

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Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From English cowboy.

Noun

cowboy m (definite singular cowboyen, indefinite plural cowboyer, definite plural cowboyene)

1. a cowboy (most senses)

   cowboyer og indianere - cowboys and Indians

References

• “cowboy” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From English cowboy.

Noun

cowboy m (definite singular cowboyen, indefinite plural cowboyar, definite plural cowboyane)

1. a cowboy (most senses)

   cowboyar og indianarar - cowboys and Indians

References

• “cowboy” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English cowboy.

Noun

cowboy m (plural cowboys)

1. Alternative spelling of caubói

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Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English cowboy.

Noun

cowboy m (plural cowboy)

1. cowboy

Declension

Declension of cowboy

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) cowboy	cowboyul	(niște) cowboy	cowboyi
genitive/dative	(unui) cowboy	cowboyului	(unor) cowboy	cowboylor
vocative	cowboyule		cowboylor

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Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English cowboy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkauboi/ [ˈkau̯.β̞oi̯]
• Rhymes: -auboi

Noun

cowboy m (plural cowboys)

1. cowboy

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Swedish

Etymology

From English cowboy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkaʊ̯bɔj/

Noun

cowboy c

1. cowboy

   Synonym: (humorous) cowboysare

Usage notes

The plural form could also be cowboys.

Declension

Declension of cowboy
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	cowboy	cowboyen	cowboyer	cowboyerna
Genitive	cowboys	cowboyens	cowboyers	cowboyernas

See also

• vilda västern (“the Wild West”)