bouc

Bouc is the French noun for a male goat, the adult animal of the domestic goat (Capra aegagrus hircus). The male is typically kept for breeding or meat, while the female is called chèvre and the young goat is cabri or chevreau.

In everyday language, bouc appears in expressions such as bouc émissaire, meaning scapegoat, and in references to facial hair, such as barb e de bouc, describing a goatee.

In biology and agriculture, the term bouc denotes the male of the species Capra aegagrus hircus. Male goats may be used for breeding or meat, and management practices can include castration for certain purposes, though the word itself generally refers to intact males when discussing reproduction.

In toponymy, the element bouc occurs in several French place names, reflecting historical pastoral activity in the region. An example is Bouc-Bel-Air, a commune in southern France, where the root appears as part of a longer geographic name rather than a standalone term.

Overall, bouc primarily designates a male goat in French, with broader cultural and geographic usages as a component of phrases and place names.