What does "cowhand" mean?

One who tends free-range cattle, especially in the American West.

What is a synonym for "cowhand"?

Common synonyms include: cowpoke, cowman, cattleman, cowboy, cowherd, cowperson.

//ˈkaʊˌhænd// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
One who tends free-range cattle, especially in the American West.
"Though a first rate cow hand he very shortly proved himself to be wholly incapable of acting as head."
2
a hired hand who tends cattle and performs other duties on horseback wordnet
3
Cowman or herdsman, especially to a dairy cattle herd.

"Though a first rate cow hand he very shortly proved himself to be wholly incapable of acting as head."

From cow + hand, or perhaps blend of cowboy + farmhand.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.