Plural of cowhand; multiple workers who tend cattle on a ranch or farm.
From cowhand + -s (plural marker). The plural form reflects the team-based nature of cattle ranching work.
In Western literature, cowhands were romanticized as loners, but historically they worked in crews of 10-20 people with strict hierarchies—much less individualistic than the myth suggests.
Cowhand historically defaulted to male workers on cattle ranches; the generic masculine obscured women's labor in ranching, branding, and herding roles that were performed but not recognized or compensated equally.
Use 'cowhands' for mixed or unspecified groups; if specificity is needed, pair with 'woman' or 'man' rather than creating separate terms.
["ranch workers","cattle workers","ranch crew"]
Women ranch hands managed cattle, performed dangerous work, and contributed to settlement and ranching infrastructure, yet were largely absent from 'cowboy' mythology and historical records.
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