Definitions

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Zoöl.) One of a breed of cattle, originally from Schleswig-Holstein, valued for the large amount of milk produced by the cows. The color is usually black and white in irregular patches.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun The region between the rivers Elbe and Eider, to the south of Schleswig, part of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein.
  • noun A type of dairy cattle, distinctively colored in splotches of black and white.
  • noun A breed of horse, thought to be the oldest of the warmblood breeds, used in show jumping.
  • proper noun A surname.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a breed of dairy cattle from northern Holland

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From a tribe which inhabited the area, the Holsten / Holtsaten. The name is equivalent to German Holz ("wood") + Sassen ("inhabitant"), German Low German Holt ("wood") + Saten ("inhabitant").

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From the animals' region of origin: the horses came from Schleswig-Holstein, the cows came from the area of Frisia and Holstein.

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