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ruminant
[ roo-muh-nuhnt ]
noun
- any even-toed, hoofed mammal of the suborder Ruminantia, consisting of the cloven-hoofed, cud-chewing quadrupeds, including cattle, sheep, goats, bison, buffalo, deer, antelopes, giraffes, and chevrotains.
adjective
- being or relating to animals that ruminate or chew the cud, typically those of the suborder Ruminantia:
Methane emissions from ruminant animals represent a quarter of all methane emissions in the region.
- contemplative; meditative:
In a corner of the library, a ruminant scholar sat poring over a thick book.
ruminant
/ ˈruːmɪnənt /
noun
- any artiodactyl mammal of the suborder Ruminantia , the members of which chew the cud and have a stomach of four compartments, one of which is the rumen. The group includes deer, antelopes, cattle, sheep, and goats
- any other animal that chews the cud, such as a camel
adjective
- of, relating to, or belonging to the suborder Ruminantia
- (of members of this suborder and related animals, such as camels) chewing the cud; ruminating
- meditating or contemplating in a slow quiet way
ruminant
/ ro̅o̅′mə-nənt /
- Any of various even-toed hoofed mammals of the suborder Ruminantia. Ruminants usually have a stomach divided into four compartments (called the rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum), and chew a cud consisting of regurgitated, partially digested food. Ruminants include cattle, sheep, goats, deer, giraffes, antelopes, and camels.
Other Words From
- ru·mi·nant·ly adverb
- non·ru·mi·nant noun adjective
- un·ru·mi·nant adjective
Word History and Origins
Example Sentences
Gilbert has also noted that outbreaks of the extremely contagious peste des petits ruminants virus have also been recently confirmed in mountainous areas of Nepal.
Nonlethal parasite infections are pervasive in ruminants — plant eaters that play key roles in shaping vegetation on land.
Cows and other ruminants release methane as a byproduct of their digestive process.
That’s why cows and other ruminants, like goats and sheep, have multiple compartments in their stomachs to help them digest their food.
Many studies have examined the chemicals’ impact on methane in adult ruminants.
Away goes your fine brain, the house of thought and instinct, to swell the cud of a ruminant animal!
He was eating in his slow ruminant way—he ate enormously but never hungrily.
Paunch, pawnsh, or pnsh, n. the belly: the first and largest stomach of a ruminant.
Monona, who had previously hidden a cooky in her frock, now remembered it and crunched sidewise, the eyes ruminant.
On the other hand, his intelligence is a grade or two above that of perhaps any ruminant or other herbivorous quadruped.
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Related Words
More About Ruminant
What does ruminant mean?
A ruminant is an even-toed, hoofed, four-legged mammal that eats grass and other plants. Ruminants include domestic cattle (cows), sheep, goats, bison, buffalo, deer, antelopes, giraffes, and camels.
Ruminants typically have a stomach with four compartments. They are known for chewing cud, which is food that has been regurgitated from the first compartment to be chewed again. To chew and rechew in this way is to ruminate, and this process called rumination.
Ruminant can also be used as an adjective to describe such animals.
It can also be used in a figurative way to describe someone who ruminates on things—extensively thinks them over or ponders them. (When used in a figurative way, the verb ruminate and the noun rumination are more commonly used than the adjective ruminant.)
Example: Ruminants typically thrive in grasslands where there is ample space for them to graze.
Where does ruminant come from?
The first records of the word ruminant come from the 1600s. It ultimately derives from the Latin verb rūmināre, meaning “to chew the cud.” Rūmināre comes from the Latin rūmen, which gives us the English rumen—the first of four compartments in the stomach of ruminant animals.
The other three compartments are called the reticulum, omasum, and abomasum. Ruminants belong to the suborder Ruminantia and come in many shapes and sizes—from tiny goats to huge bison to tall giraffes. But they have several features in common. They all have hooves with an even number of toes. They’re all four-legged. They often have horns. And they have four-part stomachs that allow them to get nutrients from grass and other plants by regurgitating it and chewing it over again.
You can see how this can be used figuratively: when you ruminate on something, you think about it over and over. In fact, the idioms chew it over and chew the cud both refer to contemplating something for a while.
Did you know ... ?
What are some other forms related to ruminant?
- ruminate (verb)
- rumination (noun)
What are some synonyms for ruminant?
- contemplative (figurative sense)
What are some words that share a root or word element with ruminant?
What are some words that often get used in discussing ruminant?
How is ruminant used in real life?
The word ruminant is typically used in the context of farming, ranching, and scientific studies about animals.
We found the first shepherds arriving, taking advantage of the open range, and ice still melting for ruminants to cool off and drink. pic.twitter.com/EddMFsoFkp
— The Sheep from the Future (@future_sheep) May 27, 2020
Agriculture is the largest single source of greenhouse emissions in New Zealand, accounting for 48% of the country's total in 2017. Methane emissions from ruminant animals made up 34% of its total emissions. https://t.co/WKB0EwRS27
— NPR (@NPR) November 8, 2019
The genomes of ruminant animals—which includes cattle, sheep, and antlered deer—promise advances for #agriculture, #conservation, and #biomedicine. But they're also showing how humans have had impacts on several species. ($) https://t.co/gOSYlqQzLW #SciMagPerspective #Evolution pic.twitter.com/FYXNhmeWHF
— Science Magazine (@ScienceMagazine) June 24, 2019
Try using ruminant!
Is ruminant used correctly in the following sentence?
Ruminant animals have been domesticated for thousands of years.
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