<P> The English word cowboy has an origin from several earlier terms that referred to both age and to cattle or cattle - tending work . </P> <P> The word "cowboy" appeared in the English language by 1725 . It appears to be a direct English translation of vaquero, a Spanish word for an individual who managed cattle while mounted on horseback . It was derived from vaca, meaning "cow," which came from the Latin word vacca . Another English word for a cowboy, buckaroo, is an anglicization of vaquero . </P> <P> Originally, the term may have been intended literally--"a boy who tends cows ." By 1849 it had developed its modern sense as an adult cattle handler of the American West . Variations on the word "cowboy" appeared later . "Cowhand" appeared in 1852, and "cowpoke" in 1881, originally restricted to the individuals who prodded cattle with long poles to load them onto railroad cars for shipping . Names for a cowboy in American English include buckaroo, cowpoke, cowhand, and cowpuncher . "Cowboy" is a term common throughout the west and particularly in the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains, "Buckaroo" is used primarily in the Great Basin and California, and "cowpuncher" mostly in Texas and surrounding states . </P> <P> The word cowboy also had English language roots beyond simply being a translation from Spanish . Originally, the English word "cowherd" was used to describe a cattle herder, (similar to "shepherd," a sheep herder) and often referred to a preadolescent or early adolescent boy, who usually worked on foot . (Equestrianism required skills and an investment in horses and equipment rarely available to or entrusted to a child, though in some cultures boys rode a donkey while going to and from pasture) This word is very old in the English language, originating prior to the year 1000 . In antiquity, herding of sheep, cattle and goats was often the job of minors, and still is a task for young people in various third world cultures . </P>

Where did the techniques of the western cattle industry originate