noun / adjective
ruminant
ROO-mih-nunt/ˈruːmɪnənt/
A hoofed animal that rechews partly digested food.
A cow is a ruminant that brings food back up to chew.
Etymology
The Latin root meaning “gullet” underlies a verb for chewing the cud. The participial ending identifies a ruminant as an animal performing that action: chewing food again after bringing it back up.
More examples
- Deer and sheep are both ruminants.
- A ruminant's specialized stomach helps it digest tough plant material.
- The veterinarian studies digestion in ruminant animals.
Forms
ruminant · ruminants
ruminate verb — To rechew food brought up from the stomach.
rumination noun — The process of rechewing partly digested food.
Similar words
- cud-chewer
- Describes the feeding behavior rather than the animal's biological classification.