[6] Two nouns that are very similar to one another:
[i] pecus, pecoris [3/n]: collective noun referring to large domestic animals e.g. livestock; a herd of cattle etc.
The meaning may be extended to refer to any group of animals, including a flock of birds:
volātile pecus (Columella) | ‘winged / flying livestock’, i.e. flock of birds
[ii] pecus, pecudis [3/f]: a single head of cattle
Varro (Dē Rē Rūsticā) divides animal husbandry into a nine part matrix under three headings, each category comprising three specific types:
[1] smaller livestock: sheep, goats, pigs
[2] larger livestock: cattle / oxen; donkeys; horses
[3] animals – and people – not kept for direct profit but rather on account of the livestock e.g. dogs / shepherds to protect them) or derived from the livestock e.g. mules
est scientia pecoris parandī ac pāscendī | there is a knowledge of tending and feeding livestock
ut frūctūs quam possint maximī capiantur ex eō | ... so that the greatest profits are obtained from it..
Ea partēs habet novem, | It has nine divisions,
discrētās ter ternās, | separated into three groups of three,
ut sit ūna dē minōribus pecudibus | so that one is concerned with smaller livestock,
cuius genera tria ovēs, capra, sūs, | whose three kinds are the sheep, goat, and pig,
altera dē pecore maiōre, | the other with larger livestock
in quō sunt item ad trēs speciēs nātūrā discrētī: | in which there are likewise three species divided by their nature:
bovēs, asinī, equī. | cattle, donkeys, and horses.
Tertia pars est in pecuāriā quae nōn parantur | The third part consists of those animals in cattle-raising which are not kept
ut ex iīs capiātur frūctus, | so that profit may be obtained from them,
sed propter eam aut ex eā. | but [are kept] on account of it or as a result of it.
Sunt mūlī, canēs, pāstōrēs. | They are mules, dogs, and shepherds.
- caper, caprī [2/m]: goat
- capra, -ae [1/f]: she-goat
- canis, -is [3 m/f]: dog
- sūs, suis [3 m/f]: pig, swine
- ovis, -is [3/f]: sheep
- genus, generis [3/n]: kind, race, type
- species, -ēī [5/f]: appearance, form, kind, species
