Oxen Is One of the Last -en Plurals
Oxen is the plural of ox. It preserves a plural ending that English has almost entirely lost.
Oxen is the plural of *ox*, a castrated bull kept for draught work. The ending is a survival: Old English had a whole class of nouns pluralised with *-an*, and the s-plural swept nearly all of them away. Only *oxen* stands unchanged, with *children* and *brethren* carrying double endings and *eyen* for eyes lasting into Shakespeare's day before vanishing. An ox is not a breed but a job description: any castrated male bovine trained to work in harness.
- Plural of ox. *A team of oxen.*
- Draught animals. *Working oxen.*
- Ox — the singular. *An ox.*
- Yoke — the harness. *A yoke of oxen.*
- Old English — *oxa*, plural *oxan*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | ox | An ox. |
| Plural | oxen | Oxen. |
| Compound | oxcart | An oxcart. |
| Related | yoke | A yoke. |
| Old English | oxa | An ox. |
- Six oxen pulled the wagon.Plural.
- An ox is a working animal.Definition.
- Eyen once meant eyes.History.
Irregular English plurals
- Oxen — the last plain -en plural
- Children, brethren — double plural endings
- Feet, teeth, geese — vowel change from an older process
- Sheep, deer, fish — unchanged in the plural
- Nearly everything else took the s-plural
Old English *oxa*, plural *oxan*, of Germanic origin, related to German *Ochse*.
Why is the plural oxen and not oxes?
It preserves an Old English plural ending that the s-plural replaced almost everywhere else.
Is an ox a breed of cattle?
No. It is any castrated male bovine trained for draught work, whatever the breed.