Cowleech

/ˈkaʊliːtʃ/ noun

Definition

A veterinarian or person who treats cattle; an archaic term for someone who heals sick cows.

Etymology

From 'cow' + 'leech' (from Old English 'læce,' meaning healer or physician). In medieval times, 'leech' was a common term for any healer; a 'cowleech' specialized in treating cattle, similar to a horse-leech for equine medicine.

Kelly Says

Medieval villages had cowleeches, horse-leeches, and human leeches—all respected practitioners of their specialized medicine using herbs and bloodletting, though the cattle experts didn't write things down, so we know far less about their knowledge!

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