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estrus

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es⋅trus

  [es-truhs]
Use estrus in a Sentence
–noun Zoology.
1. Also, es⋅trum  [es-truhm] , oestrus. the period of heat or rut; the period of maximum sexual receptivity of the female.
2. estrous cycle.
Origin:
1885–90; < L oestrus oestrus

Related forms:
es⋅tru⋅al  [es-troo-uhl] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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es·trus also oes·trus   (ěs'trəs)   
n.  The periodic state of sexual excitement in the female of most mammals, excluding humans, that immediately precedes ovulation and during which the female is most receptive to mating; heat.

[New Latin, from Latin oestrus, frenzy, gadfly, from Greek oistros; see eis- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

estrus 
1850, from L. oestrus "frenzy, gadfly," from Gk. oistros "gadfly, breeze, sting, mad impulse" (probably cognate with Lith. aistra "violent passion," L. ira "anger"). Earliest Eng. sense is of "frenzied passion;" first attested 1890 with meaning "rut in animals, heat."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: es·trus
Pronunciation: 'es-tr&s
Variants: or es·trum /-tr&m/ or chiefly British oes·trus/'E-str&s/ or oes·trum /'E-str&m/
Function: noun
1 a : a regularly recurrent state of sexual excitability duringwhich the female of most mammals will accept the male and is capable of conceiving : HEAT b : a singleoccurrence of this state
2 : ESTROUS CYCLE
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

estrus es·trus or oes·trus (ěs'trəs)
n.
The periodic state of sexual excitement in the female of most mammals, excluding humans, that immediately precedes ovulation and during which the female is most receptive to mating; heat.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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