Kine is an old plural form referring to cattle, especially cows, and it appears most often in biblical, pastoral, or deliberately archaic writing. Its sound immediately places a poem within an older rural or scriptural register. Poets use kine to evoke traditional husbandry, wealth measured in livestock, peaceful grazing, or the world of shepherds and patriarchs. Because the word is no longer common in everyday speech, it can create solemnity, distance, nostalgia, or a sense of continuity with ancient agricultural life.

Kine is an archaic plural form of cow or cattle and is now chiefly encountered in older poetry, biblical language, hymns, and deliberately antiquated pastoral writing. Its use can create solemnity, distance, or scriptural atmosphere. Students should recognise that kine already means more than one animal and should not treat it as singular. Related terms include cattle, cows, herd, oxen, livestock, pasture, lowing, and archaic term.