Many of the words and phrases we
use in our language every day have their source in agriculture.
Because most Americans are at least two or three generations
removed from farm life, many of these words and phrases have
no meaning to us, apart from the way we have come to understand
them. The word, "ram," for example, has come to mean
crush or impact another object, although it has its origins
in a common behavior of a male sheep, a ram. When threatened
or provoked, a mature male sheep will lower its heads and charge
into an opponent or predator. Click on the following links to
find the agricultural etymologies of some other common words
and sayings.
Goats /
Horses / Poultry
and Eggs /Sheep /
Swine