aurochs Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun European bison having a smaller and higher head than the North American bison
    wisent; Bison bonasus.
  2. noun large recently extinct long-horned European wild ox; considered one of the ancestors of domestic cattle
    urus; Bos primigenius.

WordNet

Au"rochs noun
Etymology
G. auerochs, OHG. rohso; r (cf. AS. r) + ohso ox, G. ochs. Cf. Owre, Ox.
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) The European bison (Bison bonasus, or Europæus), once widely distributed, but now nearly extinct, except where protected in the Lithuanian forests, and perhaps in the Caucasus. It is distinct from the Urus of Cæsar, with which it has often been confused.

Webster 1913