Around 10,500 years ago, taurine cattle were domesticated from wild aurochs progenitors in central Anatolia, the Levant and Western Iran.

[2] The word is a variant of chattel (a unit of personal property) and closely related to capital in the economic sense.

[3][2] The word cow came via Anglo-Saxon cū (plural cȳ), from Common Indo-European gʷōus (genitive gʷowés) 'a bovine animal', cf.

[4] In older English sources such as the King James Version of the Bible, cattle often means livestock, as opposed to deer, which are wild.

[2] Cattle are large artiodactyls, mammals with cloven hooves, meaning that they walk on two toes, the third and fourth digits.

[8][9] Cattle breeds vary widely in size; the tallest and heaviest is the Chianina, where a mature bull may be up to 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) at the shoulder, and may reach 1,280 kg (2,820 lb) in weight.

They do this in symbiosis with micro-organisms – bacteria, fungi, and protozoa – that possess cellulases, enzymes that split cellulose into its constituent sugars.

[45] Dominance relationships in semi-wild highland cattle are very firm, with few overt aggressive conflicts: most disputes are settled by agonistic (non-aggressive, competitive) behaviors with no physical contact between opponents, reducing the risk of injury.

Young bulls gain superior dominance status over adult cows when they reach about 2 years of age.

[46] When grazing, cattle vary several aspects of their bite, i.e. tongue and jaw movements, depending on characteristics of the plant they are eating.

[65] Early research focused on Hereford genetic sequences; a wider study mapped a further 4.2% of the cattle genome.

[68] Quantitative trait loci have been found for a range of production and behavioral characteristics for both dairy and beef cattle.

Archaeozoological and genetic data indicate that cattle were first domesticated from wild aurochs (Bos primigenius) approximately 10,500 years ago.

[70] Modern mitochondrial DNA variation indicates the taurine line may have arisen from as few as 80 aurochs tamed in the upper reaches of Mesopotamia near the villages of Çayönü Tepesi in what is now southeastern Turkey, and Dja'de el-Mughara in what is now northern Syria.

[70] A study on 134 breeds showed that modern taurine cattle originated from Africa, Asia, North and South America, Australia, and Europe.

Hybrids such as the beefalo breed can even occur between taurine cattle and either species of bison, leading some authors to consider them part of the genus Bos, as well.

[81] Breeders have attempted to recreate a similar appearance to the aurochs by crossing traditional types of domesticated cattle, producing the Heck breed.

Many routine husbandry practices involve ear tagging, dehorning, loading, medical operations, artificial insemination, vaccinations and hoof care, as well as training for agricultural shows and preparations.

Around the world, Fulani husbandry rests on behavioural techniques, whereas in Europe, cattle are controlled primarily by physical means, such as fences.

[93] Breeders use cattle husbandry to reduce tuberculosis susceptibility by selective breeding and maintaining herd health to avoid concurrent disease.

[101] Certain breeds of cattle, such as the Holstein-Friesian, are used to produce milk,[102][103] much of which is processed into dairy products such as butter, cheese, and yogurt.

[112] At the start of the 21st century, about half the world's crop production depended on land preparation by draft animals.

[119] Bovine spongiform encephalopathy is a neurodegenerative disease spread by a prion, a misfolded brain protein, in contaminated meat.

Cattle can attempt to deal with higher temperatures by panting more often; this rapidly decreases carbon dioxide concentrations at the price of increasing pH, respiratory alkalosis.

[128] These rules can become political matters, as when it was proposed in the UK in 2011 that milk from tuberculosis-infected cattle should be allowed to enter the food chain.

[130] The gut flora of cattle produce methane, a powerful[131] greenhouse gas, as a byproduct of enteric fermentation, with each cow belching out 100kg a year.

[137][138] In many world regions, overgrazing by cattle has reduced biodiversity of the grazed plants and of animals at different trophic levels in the ecosystem.

[139] A well documented consequence of overgrazing is woody plant encroachment in rangelands, which significantly reduces the carrying capacity of the land over time.

[152] Densely-stocked cattle feed more rapidly and lie down sooner, increasing the risk of teat infection, mastitis, and embryo loss.

[153][154] The stress and negative health impacts induced by high stocking density such as in concentrated animal feeding operations or feedlots, auctions, and transport may be detrimental to cattle welfare.