cowe

Cowe is a term that can refer to multiple senses in English. In historical manuscripts, cowe is an archaic or dialect spelling of the noun cow, found in Middle English and Scots texts to denote the adult female bovine. The modern standard spelling is cow, and cowe appears mainly in archival materials, glossaries, or discussions of historic language.

As a surname, Cowe exists in Scottish and English records. Surnames like Cowe are often traced to occupational origins or place names; in this case, the name may have originated from a person who tended cattle or from a locality associated with cattle herding. Over time, the spelling converged with other variants such as Cow and related forms, but Cowe persists in genealogical sources and on contemporary name databases.

In contemporary contexts, cowe is rarely used outside of historical discussion or as a proper noun in family names. The term may appear in genealogical records, onomastic studies, or discussions of Scots language history. Because it can denote more than one thing, disambiguation is common in scholarly and archival writing when the word appears without sufficient context.