cud

[kuhd] /kʌd/
noun
1.
the portion of food that a ruminant returns from the first stomach to the mouth to chew a second time.
2.
Dialect, quid1 .
Idioms
3.
chew one's / the cud, Informal. to meditate or ponder; ruminate.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English; Old English cudu, variant of cwiodu, cwidu; akin to Old High German quiti glue, Sanskrit jatu resin, gum. See quid1
British Dictionary definitions for chew the cud

cud

/kʌd/
noun
1.
partially digested food regurgitated from the first stomach of cattle and other ruminants to the mouth for a second chewing
2.
chew the cud, to reflect or think over something
Word Origin
Old English cudu, from cwidu what has been chewed; related to Old Norse kvātha resin (for chewing), Old High German quiti glue, Sanskrit jatu rubber
Word Origin and History for chew the cud

cud

n.

Old English cudu "cud," earlier cwudu, common Germanic (cf. Old Norse kvaða "resin," Old High German quiti "glue," German Kitt "putty"); perhaps from PIE root *gwet- "resin, gum."

chew the cud in Science
cud
  (kŭd)   
Food that has been partly digested and brought up from the first stomach to the mouth again for further chewing by ruminants, such as cattle and sheep.
Related Abbreviations for chew the cud

CUD

could (shortwave transmission)
Idioms and Phrases with chew the cud

chew the cud

Also, chew over. Ponder over, meditate, as in John tends to chew the cud before he answers, or Let me chew that over and let you know. The first term, first recorded in 1382, transfers the appearance of a patiently ruminating cow to a person deep in thought. The variant was first recorded in 1696.