Bison Definition
bīsən, -zən
noun
A bovine mammal (Bison bison) of western North America, having large forequarters, a shaggy mane, and a massive head with short curved horns; a buffalo.
American Heritage
Any of a genus (Bison) of bovid ruminants having a shaggy mane, short, curved horns, and a humped back, as the American buffalo (B. bison) or the wisent.
Webster's New World
A bovine mammal (Bison bonasus) of Europe, similar to the North American bison but with a somewhat smaller head and longer horns; a wisent.
American Heritage
The flesh of the North American bison, used as food.
American Heritage
Other Word Forms of Bison
Noun
Singular:
bison
Plural:
bisonsOrigin of Bison
-
Middle English bisontes (plural), from Old French bison, from Latin bisōn, bisōnt- (“wild ox”), from Proto-Germanic *wisundaz (“wild ox, aurochs”), from Proto-Indo-European *wisAn- (“aurochs, aurochs horn”), from Proto-Indo-European *weys- (“to flow, melt”). Akin to Old High German wisunt "bison" (German Wisent "bison"), Old English wesend, wusend "bison, buffalo, wild ox", Middle Dutch wēsent "wild ox".
From Wiktionary
Latin bisōn of Germanic origin Old High German wisunt
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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