Spanish word

novillo

Pronunciation

IPA/noˈβiʝo/

Meaning

  • masculine nounyoung bull

Example

Mi vecino compró un novillo para la granja.

My neighbor bought a young bull for the farm.

Illustration for novillo (young bull)

More examples

En la carta del restaurante había un plato de novillo que recomendaban.

There was a young-bull entrée on the restaurant menu that they recommended.

Core concept

Immature bull intended for beef production.

Common phrases

  • pedir carne de novillo

    order young bull meat

  • plato de novillo

    young-bull entrée

Similar words

becerro: Newborn calf only a short time after birth.
ternero: Young calf still nursing and dependent on milk.
toro: Sexually mature adult male bovine used for breeding.
vaca: Mature female bovine kept for milk production.

Definition in Spanish

Bovino joven, por lo general macho, que ya superó la etapa de ternero pero aún no es un ejemplar adulto, criado principalmente para la producción de carne.

Word origin

From Latin novellus 'new, young' combined with the diminutive -illo in Spanish, producing novillo to mean a young male bovine.

Usage tips

  • Novillo has no written accent and appears as novillos in plural on labels, but the exact age range varies by region, so confirm the meaning rather than assuming it equals English 'bull' or 'steer'.

Other meanings

  • steernoun
  • bullocknoun

Word lists with this word