oestrus

[ es-truhs, ee-struhs ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, Zoology.

oestrus

/ ˈɛstrəm; ˈiːstrəm; ˈiːstrəs; ˈɛstrəs /

a regularly occurring period of sexual receptivity in most female mammals, except humans, during which ovulation occurs and copulation can take place; heat

Origin of oestrus¹

First recorded in 1690–1700; from Latin, from Greek oîstros “gadfly, sting, madness”

Origin of oestrus¹

C17: from Latin oestrus gadfly, hence frenzy, from Greek oistros

The Œstrus ovis occasions much distress to the sheep at the moment of depositing its eggs within the nostril.

Let us now explain how the eggs of the Œstrus, deposited in the skin of the bullock, accommodate themselves to this strange abode.

It is asserted that the buzzing alone of 63 the Œstrus terrifies a bullock to such an extent as to render it unmanageable.

The eggs of the Œstrus, which are white and of conical form, adhere to the horse's hair, as shown in Fig. 43.

It is by a similar process that the horse introduces the eggs of the Œstrus which are hatched in its stomach.

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