Standard Lemma guide

oxtail

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

The tail of an ox or cow.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A cut of meat taken from the tail of a cow or calf; it requires long, slow braising, and is used to prepare oxtail soup.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

the skinned tail of cattle; used especially for soups

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: tail

History

Etymology

From Middle English ox tayll, from Old English oxan tæġl (literally “ox's tail”), equivalent to ox + tail.

Across languages

Translations

26 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: beesstert — meat from the tail of a cow
  • Chinese Mandarin: 牛尾 (niúwěi) — meat from the tail of a cow
  • Czech: hovězí oháňka — meat from the tail of a cow
  • Dutch: ossenstaart — meat from the tail of a cow
  • Estonian: härjasaba — meat from the tail of a cow
  • Finnish: häränhäntä — meat from the tail of a cow
  • French: queue de bœuf — meat from the tail of a cow
  • German: Ochsenschwanz — meat from the tail of a cow
  • German: Ochsenschlepp — meat from the tail of a cow
  • Greek: βοδινή ουρά (vodiní ourá) — meat from the tail of a cow
  • Hungarian: ökörfark — meat from the tail of a cow
  • Indonesian: ekor sapi — meat from the tail of a cow
  • Italian: coda di bue — meat from the tail of a cow
  • Jamaican Creole: axtiel — meat from the tail of a cow
  • Japanese: オックステール (okkusutēru) — meat from the tail of a cow
  • Javanese: buntut sapi — meat from the tail of a cow
  • Korean: 소꼬리 (sokkori) — meat from the tail of a cow
  • Northern Kurdish: gadûv — meat from the tail of a cow
  • Manx: arbyl dow — meat from the tail of a cow
  • Norwegian: oksehale — meat from the tail of a cow
  • Polish: ogon wołowy — meat from the tail of a cow
  • Portuguese: rabo de touro — meat from the tail of a cow
  • Portuguese: rabada — meat from the tail of a cow
  • Russian: воло́вий хвост (volóvij xvost) — meat from the tail of a cow
  • Spanish: rabo de toro — meat from the tail of a cow
  • Vietnamese: đuôi bò — meat from the tail of a cow